#i hate when people try to be like oh well just cut the gerudo out of zelda again no bitch nintendo needs to fix there lore

[scopophobia-polaris]

And we can't forget that to make that distinction clear they made the Gerudo beefed up giantesses to further mark them less human? hylian?(idk man the zelda series took out round eared humans in sksw and said that anyone that is "human" is hylian so that's why the sheikah are labeled as hylian in totk which is ASS like of course the game writes them as hylian now to other the gerudo harder) then they were in oot

And OoT is fucking awful about the Gerudo like they introduced a whole race of people as enemies to justify Ganondorf being evil I GUESS

(God forbid we all remember the page for oot ganondorf in hyrule historia they seriously drew that and over 10 years later thought that would be a fun one to include show everyone now)

ohhh my god I had forgotten about the Gerudo Mask in OoT, and the amount of unbridled racism that it provokes in everyone you talk to

[headcanonsandhijinx]

I watched a few clips from ‘Black Widow’ and this au just popped into my head. (Be warned, this whole is incredibly messy and disjointed. I apologise for that. I’m just writing this as it pops into my head in a stream of consciousness because I’m kinda tired rn.)

Black Widow/Winter Soldier Wild AU

Can you imagine if when Wild’s really young and is discovered to be the hero, he’s just ripped away from his family and life to be trained as the hero. Except the training is pretty much just training him to be an obedient assassin who does whatever he is ordered to. He’s essentially got the training of Black Widow and the Winter Soldier and is just used by the royal family for whatever they want him to do basically.

***

I imagine parts of his training be things like…

1. The obvious weapons training. He’s trained with pretty much any weapon you can find in Hyrule until he’s a master at all of them. Sword, spear, bow and arrow, bommerang, etc.

2. Hand to hand combat as well. Again, he’s pretty much mastered it.

3. Pain resistance. He’s basically trained to ignore pain and they did this by beating him over and over until he learned not to flinch and show a physical reaction.

4. He speaks pretty much every language in Hyrule (Hylian, Goron, Gerudo, Rito, Zora, and Sheikah) fluently.

5. Any other stuff you can think of that he could be trained in basically.

***

Of course, as the hero he’s still Zelda’s bodyguard, they just never get along like they start to in the game before the Calamity awakens. Mainly because Wild has to follow her father’s every order and, like in canon, she hates that she has to be protected and feels useless because she can’t access her goddess given powers. And because Wild literally doesn’t even have the freedom to even think for himself, there isn’t really anyway for them to bond, so Zelda never ends up becoming nice to him like she is after he rescues her from the Yiga attack in one of the memories. (Yeah, this AU probably isn’t going to be super Zelda friendly, basically for more angst purposes when the LU boys come in).

A way to make the situation worse is by having all the champions, even Revali as much as he teases, be deeply uncomfortable by the way Wild is treated by the royal family. (I kinda imagine Revali still being a prick but he’s a bit nicer to Wild then he is in canon.) When they all first visit Hyrule Castle and see how he basically is treated more like a tool than a person, they are all absolutely furious. They all end up volunteering to train Wild in their various fighting styles as a way to get him away from the castle and his orders for a bit so that they can actually treat him kindly. But they treat him so differently to how he’s treated back in the castle that he’s actually confused by them treating him kindly. They’d all gotten back to their respective quarters that night and shed a few tears, the boy didn’t even know proper kindness.

The champions just see Wild as a member of their family and, although he doesn’t say it, he becomes fond of them too. He’s like a brother to all of them. They hate having to leave him to go and prepare the Divine Beasts and pray they see him soon.

Calamity Ganon rises.

The champions are killed in their respective Divine Beasts, and the makeshift family they had with Wild is broken apart.

Wild runs across a muddy field in torrential rain with Zelda’s hand in one of his and the Master Sword in his other. He’s running on nothing but orders and adrenaline. He has several cracked ribs, his left arm is broken even as he grips Zelda’s hand, there is blood pouring out of several cuts and gashes across his body, but still he keeps running. He has too, his body will not allow him to stop as he was ordered to run and protect the princess. She is his mission and he cannot fail.

But moments after Zelda finally unlocks her powers as she shields them from a guardian, he fails his mission. He collapses under the weight of his injuries and moments later, he dies in the middle of Hyrule Field. He has failed his mission and Hyrule has fallen. (Sorry, I don’t really know when I slipped into story mode there?)

But Zelda still manages to have him placed him the resurrection shrine as they still need him, and so, 100 years later, Wild wakes up.

The whole thing gets sadder if you imagine Wild’s training being so strong that it sticks after his resurrection. He doesn’t even understand it, he just hears a voice in his head yelling at him to not do this and not do that. (Extra sad thing, the reason he does all the side quests is because Zelda is the highest authority figure in Hyrule, but as she’s trapped in the castle and unable to give him orders, Wild just obeys anyone because he assumes that they’re a higher ranking than him, even though they are just normal people. And most of the time, they aren’t giving him orders they are asking for help, but he just doesn’t know the difference.)

Anyway, Wild completes his mission and defeats Calamity Ganon and everything seems okay. He’s still at Zelda’s side as she’s the current ruler and part of his programming is to obey the current monarch. They still don’t really get along, but Zelda is trying to be kind to him now, but I imagine that it’s just kind of too late for that now.

However, everything changes when the LU gang turn up (finally!) and look for this Hyrule’s hero, they do find him. But they just don’t expect him to be an emotionless 118 year old assassin. They talk with Zelda to discuss their quest and she says that Wild can go with them, blah blah blah. So they take Wild with them on their quest and just get more and more outraged the more they find out about him (oh, also Wild is mute in this and uses sign language.)

Since Time seems to be the leader of the group, Wild starts to treat him like he treats Zelda. Listens to whatever he says as Wild sees it as an order, protects him more during fights, that kinda stuff and it breaks Time’s heart when he figures it out.

Also i imagine that it’s also really strange for Wild to visit the other Hyrules and meet the other Zelda’s who have great relationships with their respective Links, because he doesn’t have that with his Zelda. (Although, I do see Malon immediately taking a liking to him and wanting to hug the poor boy, which would be super emotional for him as he hasn’t been hugged in years and can’t even remember his own mother).

***

But there are two times that the gang really learn how much his training messed him up and oh boy, are they fucking fuming!

The first time happened when Wild gets stabbed during a fight and doesn’t even flinch. Nobody notices until after the fight when they all sit at the camp fire that night and Wild just starts sewing his wound up as they all watch in horror. Hyrule asks why he never said he was injured and Wild says ‘it wasn’t important.’ And doesn’t understand why they make a fuss and insist he wastes a healing potion on himself (yes, Wild has an absolutely crap self-esteem here and doesn’t actually think he’s worth anything other than what he can do for people.) Hyrule has to be stopped from tackling Wild to check on the wound himself.

The second was when Wild put himself in danger during a fight to protect the others and when the fight was over Time yelled at him. It was out of concern for Wild’s wellbeing and asking why him had put himself in danger, but Wild thought he was in trouble and asked if Time wanted to punish him. Everyone, especially Time, was horrified and confused. Time asked what Wild meant by punishment and then almost wished he’d never asked. Wild just went into explanations of various punishments he’s had. They were all incredibly harsh, including being whipped, having to stand outside holding a sword outstretched in his hands all night while not being allowed to lower his arms, having to fight other full-armoured and equiped soldiers without any armour or weapons himself, etc. Wild is then the subject of a very big cuddle pile.

***

Basically this AU can be summed up as Black Widow/Winter Soldier Wild gets treated nicely for the first time in years and is very confused/uncomfortable, while the gang all immediately see Wild and are like ‘ahh yes, our amnesiac assassin now’ while they try to convince him that there is more to him than just being a puppet for people. Of course, while the quest with the black blooded monsters takes place as well.

[hyrule-kingdom-updates]

🌼 any of them

Whoops, wrote a fic

Describe one of your OC’s worst nightmares.

An optimist would look at the world of divination with wonder. The universe is a but a magnificent hall of tapestries, beautiful pieces of art woven into anything you could imagine. Tapestries where you are a hero, tapestries where you are royalty, tapestries where your people live with riches, tapestries depicting your eternal victory over your enemies. The universe is endless and bountiful, for in the future, all futures are possible.

This is how Astor usually can depict the good fortune tellers from the worse.

If they’re an optimist, they’re most likely a faker.

The only true divinator that he had met that was even a bit of an optimist was his mother, and even then, he had always had the sinking feeling that she hid a deeper sorrow behind her simple shoes of colorful flames and shining moon and starlight. No, it was quite hard to stick to true, unfiltered optimism in this field, as while it was true that all futures and choices were possible, that freewill ran its course through all who walked the vast possibilities of the universe, the issue came in the fact that you could not travel it to and fro.

There are futures where you live, there are futures where you achieve your wildest dreams, timelines where your childhood is happier, and timelines where you find true love and satisfaction.

But you aren’t in those timelines. The future you have is this one, and it is set in stone.

Walk all the roads you want, say all the words, read all the stories, but when a seer analyzed exactly what world we live in, exactly what end is destined for this string of the universe, there will be no holding back. There is only the unfiltered, raw, typically pessimistic truth of the end. Savor it.

“In truth, Elane, I hate my job. Fear it, even,” Astor set his teacup down, looking out the balcony towards the inky, midnight view. “I fear one day I will find the prediction—the true, ultimate glimpse into the night, that seals in the fact that we’re doomed.”

The Queen only cocked her head with a smile. “Well, I’m flattered that there’s still a ‘we’ in this scenario. Good to know I’ll be joining you in the lockup when my mother find our contraband cucco nuggets—“

“I’m serious, Elane.”

She only laughed quietly, before leaning back in her chair, and gazing out into the pleasant evening. “I know...”

There was a quiet between them, not quite awkward or stiffening, but quiet in the way that you might hold your breath after someone embraces you warmly. Quiet in acceptance, quiet to make room for the sounds of something rare and fickle.

“I swear, I might retire early,” Astor finally said. “Quit while I’m ahead. Head off to Hateno or Mabe and bury my head in the sand.”

“You might want to try Gerudo then, if sand is what you’re searching for. I’m sure Urbosa would be thrilled.”

“Tsk. I am inclined to disagree.”

Elane chuckled again, and she let the quiet embrace her for a moment.

“Eternal doom aside, for a moment, I would posit that there’s hardly anything to fear. You’ve foreseen my daughter’s growth, analyzed the future livelihood of the kingdom, and predicted our victory over Ganon. I’d say it’s hard to bargain with that.”

“Maybe, but I could be wrong.” Astor circled his finger on the lip of his cup. “It happens, people make a prediction, but miss one star, or slip up one word...or perhaps one cow suddenly dies, or one ember quickly fades, and suddenly we’re actually in an entirely different timeline than predicted.”

“Didymos Astor? Wrong about something? Oh my, I never thought I’d see the day...” Elane smiled to herself again as she lifted her cup for another sip.

Astor clicked his tongue. “Well. You should hope I’m not wrong about anything. If someone of my skill makes an incorrect prediction, it would probably be disastrous for everyone.”

Elane winked as she set down her cup. “Well, good thing you’re a prodigy, then.”

“Good thing, indeed.”

Quiet keep their third company once again. Astor still had not sipped from his cup, but Elane was already heading for her fourth refill, no doubt begging for any energy after tucking her daughter to bed. A young toddler with enough energy to power a Guardian army, Elane has always found it quite odd that she used up a lot of her energy to annoy the Royal Seer. It was charming to see him get put off by a Mallory’s boundless curious aura, but mostly relieving in the sense that the Queen could get a moments rest and trust little Zelda would be alright.

Elane looked back inside through the half open door, and smiled at a bundled sleeping figure, surrounded by an army of stuffed animals. She then turned back and finally noticed Astor’s continued silence on the next refill.

She sighed. “Although I would be saddened to see you leave,” she began, “If a retirement would make you happy, Astor, I would loathe to do anything to stand in your way.”

He looked up at her, analyzing her body language and expression. She was genuine, of course, as she always was in these sorts of talks. Astor finally let himself exhale in peace, as he smiled and shook his head.

“Unfortunately I don’t think it would do me much good, anyways. Location won’t let me escape my own thoughts and visions.” He took a sip of his tea—a bit citrusy this evening, a hint of apple—and relaxed. “I’d imagine His Majesty would miss me dearly, and I simply wouldn’t want to leave him in distress.”

“Ha! Oh yes of course, Rhoam would be crying tears if you left us...” she replied, sarcastically. “Tears of deep, deep sorrow.”

Astor looked out into the night in silence again, not touching his cup.

“But I’ll tell you what Astor,” Elane began again. “If you ever receive that world dooming prediction, whatever may happen that may instigate your view of the deepest hells,” she raised her cup. “You come find me, and we’ll have a drink.”

He raised an eyebrow. “A drink? What sort of drink?”

She shrugged. “Whatever you like. Tea, wine, beer, water or juice if it’s your fancy. Whatever will keep your spirits high.”

Astor smirked, solemnly. “I don’t think you understand just how severe and dreadful certain predictions can be. When we say ‘all futures are possible,’ we do mean all possibilities.”

“And I understand, dear seer. I truly do.” She tilted her head as she kept her cup in the air. “But the way I see it, is that with divination or not, doom and hell come into people’s lives one way or the other. But it hasn’t really stopped the majority from loving their lives now, has it?” Her eyes twinkled like starlight. “Dearest Astor, if our destined doom is predicted one day, I command you to at least smile through our tea party.”

Quiet.

He finally sighed, the corners of his lips perking. His protests drowning in her expression.

“I suppose if you’re the one pouring, it’d be difficult to refuse.” He raised his cup and clinked it with hers.

She was dead eight days later.

With her death came the final factor. The final star.

“Your daughter is destined to fail us,” he said again. “The Calamity shall rise and consume us all, and she won’t stop it in time.”

Rhoam slammed his fists on the desk, but the seer did not flinch. “We’ll train her hard, we’ll start now, even! I’ll get those clerics from the temple to teach her the starting prayers!” he yelled.

“It won’t work.” Astor replied, simply. “Perhaps she might attain them down the line, but she most certainly won’t awaken her powers by Ganon’s rise. It’s over.”

“You told me we could do this!” Rhoam pointed a finger, accusingly. “You saw our prosperity, our victory!”

“That was what I initially saw, yes. But unfortunately we live in world where the Queen of Hyrule is dead, and thus the threads of our future weave accordingly.”

“You’re a liar!” Rhoam bellowed again. “You saw her death, saw our end and lied to us since the beginning, haven’t you?!!”

“Don’t you think that if I knew Elane would die, I would say something?! That I would give ample time for her to say goodbye to you and her daughter??” Astor finally raised his voice, met with equal silence. “I failed to correctly analyze our timeline the first time around, and for that I am sorry. But I can not control what pieces of the future fate allows me to see. It’s not an open novel for you to give me a bad book report grade on. It’s a museum of endless tapestries, of which I am task with analyzing one stroke at a time to identify which is woven to a singular man, and the fact that I have given you a complete enough answer now is a gift within itself, so don’t even try to accuse me forgery and lies.”

The two men clenched their jaws, staring angrily at each other.

Astor finally whispered. “Overtime I might gather more specifics, but overall—this is over.”

Rhoam balles his hand into a fist. “We’ll start a new schedule for Zelda first thing in the morning—“

“It won’t work, it’s futile—“

“We’ll make it work—“

“This is set in stone, this is the world you live in—“

“Well what if you’re wrong again?”

“I’m not.”

“But what if you are?”

“I’m. Not. I’ve read the signs again and again and again, in fact I’ve been reaching the same conclusions repeatedly for the last four weeks. It. Is set. In stone.” He tapped his finger on the wood with each syllable to emphasize. “Perhaps the futures of prosperity are accurate for the Rhoams and Mallorys that live in a different time, but unfortunately for us, we live in one where Elane is dead. This is our reality and you’re doing no good denying as such.”

Silence.

Rhoam made his way towards the door. “You’re a liar.” The seer scoffed. “You’re a liar and you don’t know what you’re saying! Borderline treason if I’m being honest! You’re pathetic, and a rotten fake—“

“If it pleases His Majesty to confirm the integrity of his humble subject,” Astor cut in, sarcastically, “It might be good to know that also I’ve predicted you won’t imprison me, or exile me, or execute me, given you’re still ever reliant on my uncontested skills for more personal matters. That, and you wish to try and keep me around to hopefully prove me wrong, in which you can then tell yourself you’d be in the right to truly punish me.” He stared the regent dead in the eyes. “But don’t worry, you won’t.”

Rhoam slammed the door shut as he stomped off.

That night, Astor has another dream. Or perhaps it was a vision, he wasn’t sure, as the details were so surreal and horrific and captivating that it would have surely been a blessing to chalk it up entirely to vivid imagination.

There were screams and the sound of rocks crumbling. Bones were cracking and monsters were squealing and shrieking. And be felt his arms burn, and he felt his soul drain, and he looked down to see his skin peeling into dark flakes, his muscles, sludge. And in the distance, a young woman with golden hair laughed at him, but her eyes were hollow and gold. And she laughed and laughed as his body was slowly broken to pieces, bones torn asunder, skin burned to smoldering malice, senses vivid until the final moment when he woke.

But the good thing about nightmares, was that...that was it. There was no where else to go. There was nothing left to offer. No more pain to fear.

It made sense of course. Of course, of course. He never went to the funeral, he never offered his sympathies. There was no longer anything to mourn, as he allowed himself to view the world in its true, disgusting form. The people were doomed, and the dead, well...perhaps they might have deserved it. Yes, that was the only way this all made sense, of course. He even stopped trying to warn other folk after a few too many dozen harsh rejections to his character. No, now in complete isolation and resignation of his path, there was nothing else that could possibly drag him back to—

“How do I die?” Zelda Mallory Hyrule asked, one day.

At first, he was confused, and he turned in his chair. “What?”

She was seven at the time, and it was truly an odd and concerning thing to be coming from a seven year old girl’s mouth. Or perhaps it wasn’t, given the circumstances.

“How do I die?” she said again. She was laying down on his worn carpet, fiddling with the frilled edge.

Was she truly that bored? Already out of other questions? Hmph, he had always warned her to stay away, as a seer’s office wasn’t really meant for childish entertainment. Yet still she always came and asked to hide away from her father, and, well...anything to spite that man...

“Why do you ask?” he finally replied. Had someone said something to her? A threat? He clenched his jaw. I swear, if that fool tried to force her powers by—

“You’re always going on about how I’m wasting my time with praying and stuff...but father says I still gotta to stop the Calamity or else we could all die.” She didn’t look up from the bits of carpet string she was playing with (and contemplating on popping in her mouth), “So I figured if you tell me how I die we can settle the debate for good!”

Astor just sighed. “Well, of course you d—“

He stopped himself, but not for the reasons a more put together person, might. Not because of the generally frowned upon action of telling a child how she dies, no, that was not exactly beyond him. No, Astor cut off his sentence simply because it had crossed his mind that—

“...I’m not entirely sure...” he whispered.

He suddenly stood. Walking towards the other end of his office, carefully stepping over the child. “E-Excuse me a moment.”

Why had he never considered this? Of course, he had seen the signs clearly enough, the visions, the stars. A girl cries over a corpse, a light vanishes in the night. Malice plagued the sky and dooms the day. But did the Calamity actually kill her? Does she drown in rubble and malice like the others? Slain by a demon or monster perhaps? Or if not, then, would that mean...?

The princess soon forgot about the question by the next day, and the next, and the next, and the next, and the next.

Astor spent nearly eight sleepless nights into finding an answer.

But he never truly did.

These things happened more times than one may think, when it came to predictions. Vagueness was commonplace, but specificities and straightforward answers were about as rare as a green sunset. Of course, he knew she would die, goddess blood or not, she lived the life of a mortal. But how? When? While it certainly wasn’t impossible to predict a person’s death, but whatever the circumstances of Mallory’s was made the process was infuriatingly impossible.

It was possible she would die of malice or suffocation under rubble, even circumstances where she dies at the Ganon’s hand himself. But then there were clear visions of her living, walking through a grassy field, ruins in the distance covered in leaves and moss, her turning and calling to a friend to keep up with her pace.

But no, nonono. She would die during the Calamity’s rise, that was the majority of what the futures offered to her were. That was the probable outcome.

But the factors and visions and signs and alignments were so fine and minuscule in difference, that Astor truly couldn’t a true statement, a true prediction, a true answer to the question. What timeline did we live in?

It taunted him.

Maybe it was better if the question was put to rest, did it even matter?

“Mallory?” he asked. “That’s a stupid name.”

“What?! No it’s not!” Elane laughed and shoved his shoulder. “Please, YOU’RE not one to talk.”

“Well as a victim of stupid first names, I think I’m qualified to speak accurately on the subject.”

“Aha! But it’s not technically a first name.” Elane tapped his head. “It’s a middle name, her first name would be ‘Zelda,’ of course.”

“Yes, and that is also a s—“

The queen shoved his shoulder into the wall before he even finished the sentence. “Oh would you shut up...”

He laughed, unconventionally carefree. Her Majesty’s happiness these days truly was contagious. Or perhaps that was a side effect of pregnancy? Did all expecting mother’s give off this aura?

“I think it’s a wonderful name.” Elane said. “Reminds me of a cute little duck, like a mallard!” She tucked her arms and flapped her elbows to imitate as such. “Quack, quack!”

“This is further adding to my argument actually”

“Hmph! Ok then Mr. Overseer of all names” She tapped a finger to his chest. “If it’s such a stupid name, then when she starts getting bullied for it around the castle, I shall expect you to take care of her in full.”

He scoffed. “Oh, I’ll be sure to do so. She’ll definitely need it.”

Elane pecked his head with a kiss.

“Good! I grant you my blessing lovingly tease her, as well. And I expect the best from you, Astor!”

His face suddenly warmed for some reason, and he couldn’t form words.

“What?”

“.....W...”

He was suddenly whack in the head with a rolled up piece of paper. Astor sprang awake from his desk. “...W...What...?”

“Morning, Mr. Astor!!” Princess Zelda-Mallory beamed. “And happy birthday!!! Sorry I woke you up early, but I needed to give this to you before the winter solstice festival later and—“

She continued to ramble on and on, but Astor simply opened the rolled up paper she had handed to him. It was simply filled with dozens and dozens, arguably hundreds, of hand drawn stars. In the corner was written, “You always look at the same stars so here’s some new ones!” in crude purple crayon. At the time, he failed to notice the accompanying note on the back that read “One for each year of how old you are!” Thankfully he was too busy looking through the different stars, with varying degrees of sparkles and smiley faces.

He finally looked back at the princess, who was still rambling on and on about her day, and her father’s day, and her newest stuffy dress, and her latest adventures with her stuffed toys, and—

“Why are you always here, Zelda?” Astor finally said. She stopped talking, looking at him, quizzically. “I mean...” he grumbled, “You know I don’t really like you, right?

“Eh, I don’t care. I think you’re neat!!” She held out her arms as she zoomed around his circular office. “Your room is so cool! And you got fun books!”

“Necromancy isn’t necessarily what I would consider ‘fun’ reading material—“

“Plus your outfits are cool, and you’re super smart, like my mom.”

He blinked.

“Plus, you’re the only one that’s not mean to me about my dumb powers. But really that’s just a chair on the top!”

“Do you mean cherry on top?”

“No! I meant chair! Watch me!! I’m gonna do a backflip off of this—“

“NO.” Astor immediately stood up, and snatched the girl off of the wooden chair. “NO. No backflips.” He set her down on the rug and pointed to a side of the room which held a broken table, stool, and a few old chairs—the victims of the princess’ previous acrobatic attempts.

She crossed her arms and stuck out her tongue. “You’re no fun!”

“I’m running out of furniture, is what I am.”

“But I’ll let this slide since it’s your birthday! Hmph.”

She started pulling at the loose threads of the carpet. “Don’t know why you had to stop my birthday backflip! Who cares if I get a little scratch?”

“I do—“

“YOU DO?!” Mallory was immediately up and clinging to his robes.

Astor sputtered, instinctively waving his arms to free himself from the child’s grip. But then he finally processed her question, and...

“I...” He looked at her starlight eyes. She had that stupid, naive grin that he always remembered from her mother. A stupid, pathetic, horrible, terrible, optimistic smile.

He finally scoffed. “I just can’t have you getting hurt on my watch, as otherwise, I’d probably be a dead man. That’s all.”

The princess lifted her hands in a “hooray!” fashion, and yelled the exclamation, accordingly. She then resumed her zipping and zooming around the room, much to Astor’s unexpected relief.

That night, he visited the question again.

Why? He didn’t really know.

The question wouldn’t offer him anything, it wouldn’t relieve him of anything—in fact it really did just the opposite. If he found that died miserably, it would be another scream in the nightmare, another nail in the comforting coffin of despair. But if he someone found that she lived, that there was a day after the Calamity, where even a child such as her could possibly prosper...

Having hope and seeing it fail anyway would probably be the most torturous of all.

Again, he had a dream, of a world tainted by blood and malice. But this time he was floating. He was floating and watching the end of it all.

Castle Town was nothing but ruins and ash, and no colors existed but red, black, and grey.

He couldn’t hear anything but a shrill hum in his ears, but he knew there was screaming. He looked to his hand, expecting to see malice or blackened skin, but instead found a strange floating device in his palm. It spin slowly, pink constellations drifting across its surface.

The hum in his ears turned into a groan, and then a whisper. It said something familiar, but he was sure he had never heard it before.

It is time.

The next night he had a dream of a girl standing in a green field, calling out to her friends somewhere behind her. She rested under the ruins of a collapsed pillar, and ate a homemade sandwich with a memorable smile.

Astor reached a conclusion.

In most futures, the girl dies horribly. He wrote in his journal. To be expected, I would assume the rise of the Calamity isn’t exactly easy to survive from.

But what I have discovered is a very specific set of circumstances that lead to a more favorable outcome, at least for her.

I have no way of knowing if it accurately depicts the comings of our time, or another. There are too many variables and specifics. Too long I have spent trying to discern our fate, but the probabilities and possibilities for doom are so interchangeable that it really go either way. The only truth I know is that she lives if—

He paused, tapping the dry quill to the desk again in thought. He dipped it once more.

I’ve decided that if I ever find myself in the scenario where I can solidify her a more favorable destiny, I will take it. I can only hope dare to alter my existing nightmare into something different, there’s really nothing left to lose, is there?

Astor leaned in his chair for a moment, savoring the silence of his office. He looked out the window and took in the night. The stars were gorgeous this evening.

Although if it fails I hope it kills me.

Call it arrogance, but I don’t think I can handle being wrong again.

The seer sighed, then suddenly flipped to the next blank page, angrily.

If I had never met her it would have been fine. If I had just minded my own damn business and continued to work in being resigned to our fate, at least then I could have—

There was a soft knock at his door.

He knew who it was.

Astor pinched the bridge of his nose as he opened it. “It’s past 2am, Princess, what could you possibly have to tell me?”

She looked down and shuffled her feet. “I had a nightmare...”

“Yes, people do have those sometimes.” He immediately closed the door.

Another knock.

After a moment, Astor opened it again. “Don’t you have guards outside your room, how did you sneak up here?”

“Secret tunnel!” She grinned, proudly, as she replied with a sort of sing-song tone.

“That’s nice.”

The door slammed shut again.

She knocked once more. There was the longest pause.

“FFFFFFine!” The world was out of his lips before he even fully swung open the door, and Mallory happily scrambled inside. “But no touching anything, I’m working.”

“It’s ok, I just wanna stay up all night and read your books!” She was already scrambling for the necromancy section, again.

Astor sighed, and went to slump back into his desk. The princess was already sprawled across the floor, distracting herself with another stack of wondrous, ill-recommended book. He didn’t really care.

I don’t really care. He wrote once again. I know there are futures where I dedicate myself to the Calamity, and she dies anyway. I know it doesn’t really matter, I know it’s hopeless to care, and that’s why I don’t.

He looked back at Zelda, he saw her slowly blink back her tiredness. He knew in a few hours or so, he’d have to drop her sleepy figure back off to those useless guards, and berate then for letting her wander off again, as it always was.

If I do this and it’s all for nothing, he began, I fear it will be worse than if I had just stood to the side and perished. It’s already doomed, and this pathetic, foolish optimism might cause me to turn this nightmare into something even worse.

He sighed, and the hours passed as he just sat with his thoughts.

Zelda was using and open book as a pillow.

Astor opened the door, and went to pick her up.

I’m not living through another nightmare. He thought, as he descended the stairs from the observatory. The girl’s breathing was steady as she wrapped an arm by his shoulder.

If it fails I hope it kills me before I see it. He repeated again.

I can’t handle being wrong again.

[pastelsandpining]

Girl Talk

 I TOTALLY FORGOT WHO POSTED THE ORIGINAL POST ABOUT THIS IF YOU KNOW THE POST PLEASE LET ME KNOW THIS IS SO OVERDUE OH MY GOD I’M SO SORRY

Words: 1248 - This was supposed to be longer but I just.. lost inspiration and it’s cut short. If there’s a demand for a part two then heyyy maybe I’ll write more

Summary: After Link’s heroic hand grab, Zelda and Impa can’t help but spend a while talking about it. You know, the way teenage girls do.

Totally Age of Calamity Zelink 

Masterlist

With the day they’d had, she knew this was the last thing she should be worried about. With the amount of monster attacks growing nearly every week and how close they’d gotten to the castle today, on top of the guardian nearly shooting her head clean off, she should not have been concerned with something so trivial. Yet as soon as they were away from her father and in the safety of her bedroom with the door shut firmly behind them, Zelda dissolved into the giggling mess she’d kept hidden for hours. Impa too was laughing, giving her shoulders a gentle shake.

“Goddesses,” said the princess, burying her face in her hands. 

“I’ve never seen him before!” Impa cried. “Is he new? He’s so young!”

“I don’t know! I don’t know every soldier in the army! That’s my father’s job,” Zelda argued, dropping her hands with a groan.

“Well, you should! He totally likes you.”

Zelda’s cheeks flushed quite furiously, and she was vaguely aware she looked like a fish with how she sputtered and scrambled for a reply.

“What? That’s utterly ridiculous!” she finally spat, gripping the blankets tighter. “He was simply doing his job-“

“Last I checked, the soldiers of Hyrule aren’t required to grab the hand of the princess!”

“He was guiding me to safety-“

“No one else did it! Come on, Princess, why’s it such a bad thing? He’s not bad on the eyes, and he reflected that guardian’s laser like it was nothing!”

Zelda grabbed the nearest pillow and buried her face in it, biting back the urge to scream. 

“This is hardly appropriate,” she said, though it was swallowed by the feather stuffed silk. “It’s so improper.”

“No, what’s ‘hardly appropriate’ is not taking a blessing that the goddess is handing you on a silver platter.”

“He does not like me,” Zelda firmly stated, lifting her head at last. 

“How could he not? You’re beautiful, you’re smart, you’re the freaking princess! And he didn’t have to grab you by the hand but he did and in anyone else’s world, that’s a pretty good sign-“

“This is the last thing we should be focusing on!” 

“You are ridiculous, Princess,” Impa said, ripping the pillow from her hands and tossing it aside. “We’ve got the Slate activated, we’ve got the runes working again, and you’ve got your pilot contenders all lined up. You’ve earned a minute to think about something other than the Calamity.”

As proper and perfect she was supposed to be, Zelda was still sixteen and the thought of a boy liking her, or a romantic partner in general, made her feel giddy and excited. And with one of her closest friends by her side, encouraging her like a little devil on her shoulder, how could she not indulge? 

“His name is Link,” she said at last, giggling into her hands like she was sharing some sort of secret. “There’s much talk of him around the castle. Even father’s taken a liking to him. He’s the youngest to ever be a part of the military, and all of the chambermaids think he’s, ah, how did you put it? ‘Not bad on the eyes’?”

“So you do know him!”

“Hardly! I know of him, though I suppose it’ll be very hard to not know him after he’s saved my life.” Zelda rubbed her reddened cheeks to try and push the blood flow elsewhere. It was a little embarrassing to say that aloud—to admit that she had to be saved.

“Well, if you don’t take him then I will.” Impa crossed her arms, but Zelda barked out a laugh at the idea of the challenge. 

“He’s all yours,” she replied simply. “I’m lucky my father's allowing me to contribute to your research. If he found out I had some Hylian soldier on my mind on top of that, I’d sooner rot to death than get out of his lecture.”

“Your father can back off for a few minutes,” Impa muttered, and Zelda couldn’t help but agree. 

“And besides,” the princess continued with a wave of her hand. “As soon as the Calamity’s dealt with, he’ll probably marry me off so I can prepare to be queen.”

“Then why not have a little fun now while you can?” 

“You are a horrible influence on me. There should be a law preventing that.” Zelda fell back onto her bed, glancing towards her friend when she joined.

“A law preventing friendship? Now you really sound like your dad. Excuse me for wanting to make sure the princess gets to be a normal girl every now and then.”

“Fine, but you go first. I know you’ve met plenty of people outside the castle. Anyone special~?” Zelda asked, nudging Impa with her elbow.

“Well, not anyone in Kakariko,” replied Impa with a sigh. “There’s Robbie, but Purah’s called dibs from day one. And there’s this boy from Deya, but he’s got the brains of a Bokoblin. The best contender is this girl from Lurelin Village. I saw her spear a fish and that was it.”

“Not a bad choice,” Zelda said with a nod. “Girls who know their way around weapons are.. well, I love Gerudo Town for more reasons than just my godmother being chief.”

“A Gerudo, nice. Has anyone caught your eye there?”

“No,” she answered with a shrug. “I haven’t focused on anything of the sort in months. But if I had to, I’d say the court poet isn’t so bad.”

Impa made a noise that was somewhere between a laugh and a cough. Zelda fought to keep a straight face.

“There’s no way you’re telling me you’d consider court poet Pikh, who can’t hold a simple conversation without bringing up his talents, over Link.”

“At least he can hold a conversation,” Zelda replied with a huff. “I’ve yet to hear Link utter a word!”

“Oh no, a man who doesn’t give his unwarranted opinion, how absolutely disgusting.” 

Zelda picked up another pillow and tossed it into Impa’s face, fighting the urge to giggle. She was right, really. For the moment, the princess did feel like a regular girl and it was nice. How she wished she could do it more often.

“Perhaps I can convince father to let me stay with you in Kakariko for a weekend. He won’t be thrilled of course, but he trusts you all the same. It could do me some good to get away,” Zelda spoke, working to twist her hair out of her braids. 

“If you can convince him, I’ll escort you myself,” said Impa in response.

Though it wouldn’t be necessary because when the well-needed trip finally came around, who was assigned to help them reach Kakariko safely but dearest, talk of the kingdom Link.

As soon as the words escaped from the mouth of her father, Zelda shared a look with Impa. And once they were out of earshot, her dear friend nudged the princess and she had to grab her arm to hide it, fighting back a laugh. Poor Link was left to follow them confused as the girls whispered amongst themselves. 

It carried on like that for a while. He was appointed as her knight attendant, which meant he was always on her tail—something Impa found hysterical. But it was an inside joke for them, a little entertainment in between the heavy preparations. And she couldn’t tell if she appreciated or hated having Impa accompany them too, because her dear friend used every opportunity she could to tease her mercilessly.

Goddesses, what was a girl to do?

[xiao8-bb]

Man, I Feel Like A

A Linked Universe fic

At what point is it considered appropriate to tell your travelling companions you’re actually a man, and at what point are you supposed to take the secret to your grave?

Wild himself would admit he makes a pretty good shieldsister, if it weren't for the fact he's not even a woman half the time.

Chapter 1: First Meetings [posted on ao3 here]

Hylia help them, they almost got skewered onto spears where the portal spat them out.

Hyrule is quick to hold up his hands in a gesture of peace, feeling crosseyed trying to focus on the gleaming metal just centimeters away from his nose.  The woman on the other end of the weapon sneers.  “Voe!  How dare you invade our town!”

Voe?  It’s a foreign word.  He darts his gaze around, taking in the training dummies lined up, the weapons in racks and in every woman’s hands, and, well, the crowd of armed women that look ready to kill for whatever offense their group have inflicted in the single minute they’ve had since being dropped three meters down a rock wall.  This looks more like a military barrack than a town.

To his side, Time tries appeasement.  “We apologize for the fuss, we did not intend to disturb your town.  We were ambushed by monsters when a portal opened up and brought us here.”  He was the one to crowd the group back, keeping them from immediately fighting back when the guards cried out with alarm at their unexpected appearance.  

“Gerudo,” he had hissed out between clenched teeth.  “Stand down and we should be fine, but stay on your guards.”

It was a good call; guard after guard flooded into the area they had dropped down into, and they were surrounded almost immediately.  It would’ve been a brutal fight, not one they were likely to win.

One of them, it’s impossible to tell who, jeers.  “Unfortunate for you voe, then.”  

“We will escort you out,” another says.  Her grip on her sword is less aggressive than before, but a pass of her glare is enough to warn them not to try anything.  “Follow me, and do not touch or bother any of the civilians, or your safety will not be ensured.”

“Wait.”

The crowd around them shifts, slowly breaking away, and yet another woman steps through.  Like all the others, she towers above them all, but her presence manages to be even more intimidating than the rest.  “Portal, you say?  You were teleported here?”

Legend scoffs, loud enough that Hyrule can’t help but look to the sky and pray that he’s not going to piss off the locals and get them killed.  “Did you miss the big swirling void that let us bounce down the rock wall?”  He yelps when a hilt jabs his back.

“Don’t speak to the captain that way!”

The captain, as she seems to be, only narrows her eyes at them.  “It would do you well to watch your tone.  Khali, Leena, escort them out to the shrine with me.  Kanom, go summon Link.  I believe they may be of interest to her.”

Link?

His wide eyes catch on everyone else’s, flickers of surprise and excitement crossing their faces.  Was this a new land?  He’d thought it was Time’s, given that he knew the people, but the name is strikingly consistent.  Would the hero really be so easy to find?

“Who’s Link?” Wind pipes up.  His young age works in his favor—none of the women seem as hostile to him as the others.  “What’s he- uh, she gonna do with us?”

Two warriors nudge them into walking, the captain leading the way.  “She is a gentle soul, so you have nothing to fear, little one,” one says, sounding more relaxed now that their group is on their way out.  “She’s been tracking down the portals, so she will likely ask you questions and send you on your way.”

The other guard snorts, a faint giggle rising from the end.  “Bah, send them on their way?  She’s too sweet for that.  Little Hylian vai will probably insist on helping them get to the bazaar or the stables herself.”

“Quiet, you two,” the captain snaps, and both fall silent.  Her eyes are cutting as she glances back at the group.  “Link is a kind vai, yes, but do not be mistaken.  If she finds any of you a danger to herself or others, she will cut you down with no hesitation.  Step wisely.”

They’re led out through an out-of-way path, only a few non-armed Gerudo catching sight of them.  The moment they’re out of the town walls, the sun seems to take that as permission to beat down harder.  Sand shifts under Hyrule’s feet, and he can’t help but look around in wonder.  Desert as far as he can see, storms of it whipping in the distance.  He walks along in a daze, twisting his head and nearly knocking into poor Twilight as he surveys the land.  The older man looks like he might soon keel over in the heat, covered as he is.

He’s not the only one looking around.  There’s something about this place that speaks of its vastness.  Even Legend and Time, seasoned adventurers they are, seem disconcerted at how never-ending the desert seems to be.  That settles whether it’s Time’s Hyrule or not, then.  A new land, a new Link.

They turn around a corner of the wall and stop.  “Over there,” the captain says as she points to a strange stone structure.  It’s tall, engraved with strange blue markings that glow even under the afternoon sun.  Swirls and disjointed lines, a strange eye framed by a few more flourishes.  Under the eye, an alcove sits, another circle glowing in the floor as if a small mirror to the platform that leads to its entrance.

“That’s the… shrine, you called it?” Warriors asks.  It certainly doesn’t look like a place of worship, but the religion could be different here for all they know.  All he gets in reply is an indifferent hum.

For what it’s worth, the shrine provides blessed shade, and Hyrule doesn’t hesitate to duck inside, though he avoids getting too close to any of the glowing circles in the floor.  Twilight and Legend do the same, and one by one the others sigh and stretch and sit where the sun can’t burn.

Without further ado, the captain says, “Link should arrive sooner than later, and it would most likely be in your best interests to stay until she does.  Perhaps she can keep you from stumbling into another portal.”  She spares them one last look, sharply assessing, and adds, “And for the child’s sake, do not try to traverse the desert.  Not until late afternoon when it’s cooled down, at least.”

And with that, the Gerudo leave.

As soon as they’re out of earshot, Four asks, “So we’re in a new Hyrule, right?  Unless anyone here can claim it?”

One by one, each deny the possibility.  “Another hero, then,” Sky murmurs, something regretful under his breath.  He was the most haunted as their band grew, and though they’ve reassured him that the cycle is in no way his fault, he still seems to ache at every new iteration, every sliver of adventure’s lore revealed.  “Did you hear the guards?  They said she, so…?”

“A heroine!” Wind cheers.  He’s sitting on the edge of the platform, curiously sifting the sand through his fingers.  He looks up and grins at them as he speaks.  “Aryll’s gonna be happy, she’s always wanted a big sister.  Oh!”  His eyes sparkle at a thought.  “Do you think she’s gonna be younger than me?  Another little sister!  I don’t know about you guys, but I need someone to dote on, it’s kinda weird without someone younger around.”

Warriors snorts gently.  “I don’t think my heart can take it if we get someone even younger than you, squirt.  Yes,” he says before Wind can protest, “you are an experienced adventurer and all, but the fact that you had to be isn’t great.  I would hate to think of someone even younger.”  

Hyrule thinks he looks to Time for a second, but he’s back to smiling at Wind before Hyrule can be sure.

It drops to a comfortable quiet after that while they wait for Link to show up.  Not completely silent, though.  Twilight and Sky rib at Time to remove his armor “before you get heatstroke, which you will definitely get” while they themselves shed layers.  Wind and Four discuss how beach sand and desert sand are different.  The sun doesn’t let up, hazily drifting down the sky a few degrees at most.  Hyrule lets his eyes unfocus, staring at the mirages that float along the horizon.

Legend sits up from where he leans against cool stone.  “Is that her?”

There, at the town entrance.  A Hylian dressed in the same garb as the Gerudo talks to two guards, hands gesturing and pointing to the shrine.  She raises a hand to shield her eyes as she peers at them, and Wind waves widely when he notices.  Link waves back, a little less enthusiastic but still clearly.  After a farewell to the guards, she makes her way over to them.

Suddenly, Hyrule feels nerves eat at his fingertips, a buzz under his skin.  Yet another hero to get used to being around.  Will they get along?  Will she tip the scale from the group being tolerable to overwhelming in their presence?

Someone bumps into his shoulder—Legend makes a show of not looking directly at him, eyes fixed upon the approaching figure.  “Loosen up,” he says quietly, still not looking at Hyrule.  “It’ll be fine, we’ll figure it out as we go along.”

It’s too late to dip further into anxious thoughts.  Link crests a sand dune and becomes clear to the sight for the first time.

Pretty, Hyrule thinks.  Scarred, he thinks next.

They’re everywhere, disfigured skin all around her left side, crawling up her shoulder and neck and even past the veil that covers her face and into her hairline.  Burns linger on this woman harsher than they could exist on anyone living, and countless other scars litter the remaining skin.  Sword slashes, spear stabs, even what looks to be lightning ferns.  

But she’s undeniably pretty.  Beautiful, even.  Her eyes are a dazzling blue even from afar, and she moves with a grace only royalty could hope to emulate.  Long hair swings in time with her strides.  Despite the battles written in her skin, she walks with a confidence born out of having survived all of them.

“Sav’aaq!” she calls out.  “I’m told you lot got dumped out of a strange portal?”

-

Well, she’s definitely older than Wind, but she is definitely going to be a cool person to adventure with.  The sword strapped to her back is probably bigger than he is, and she stands before them with her hip cocked out just like how Tetra does.  It’s a strong pose, confident and with a hint of swagger. 

Wind loves it.  She looks like she has a million wild stories to tell.

“Sav’aaq!” he greets back, fumbling the word a little.  Only a little, though!  The way her eyes curl into a smile tells him he didn’t do too badly.  “That’s hello, right?  Are you Link?  The captain said you’d wanna talk to us!”

He slips out from between Twilight and Four to grin more directly at her, unable to help his excitement.  She’s Link, one of them; he can feel it in his heart.  The same feeling of familiarity and recognition and right that he’s felt with all the other heroes.

This close, she doesn’t look that much older than him.  Maybe a few years at best.

“It means ‘good day’, yeah.  And yes, I’m Link.”  She walks right up to the platform, uncaring of the blue glow under her shoes.  There’s a terseness in the line of her shoulders, but she holds herself otherwise loose, casual.  “So—portal?”

This is where Time steps up, exchanging glances with Twilight and Warriors.  Wind allows himself to be pulled a bit further back into the shade while they decide: do they come clean immediately?  Do they play along with what Link is after?

Wind’s seen this debate a handful of times.  They usually make a good enough judgement, so he’s content to follow their lead for the time being.

Warriors is the one to speak.  “Yes, a dark portal, big enough to swallow us all.  We fell into it, and it took us from where we were to, well, the middle of this town.”  His tone shifts to wry.  “I take it men aren’t welcomed here, miss?”

Link hums.  “No, voe are not allowed to enter Gerudo Town.  Though it’s strange…”

She takes another step towards them, gaze intent as she studies them one by one.  Beside him, Hyrule takes a step back, uncertainty tightening his eyes.  Sky shifts uneasily.  Four’s breathing purposefully evens out.  Even Legend tenses up.  Despite not doing anything threatening, something in her stance has shifted to scream danger!, and Wind swallows with an abruptly dry throat.

“What is strange?” Time prods.  His stance also changes, from unassuming and relaxed to on guard.  The other two also hold themselves differently, like subconsciously they’re all preparing for a fight.

Suddenly, Wind realizes she’s cornered them in the shrine.

“These portals have only ever released monsters, you see.”  Her voice drops quieter and quieter, but the steel underneath is almost visible.  “Then how is it your group gets dropped out of one?  Hylian travelers, unlucky enough to fall into a portal rather than being ambushed by monsters from one?

“...Unless you aren’t truly Hylian travelers?”

“Wait!” Four blurts out, but it’s too late.  Only Time’s battle-ingrained reflexes keep him from being cut, his own sword drawn just fast enough to block her blade.  “This is a misunderstanding!”

Quick as lightning, Link raises her shield to block a strike from Warriors, taking the opportunity to parry back and swipe at his knees.  Warriors swears and jumps back, nearly bashing his head into the wall behind.  

“Wait!”

Metal rings out against metal as Sky meets her next strike, the glow of the Master Sword ghostly across his face.  “Please, hear us out!”

“...!”  Link backflips once away, dodging a grab from Twilight.  “That’s…!”

Sky waits, but after a few moments, he lowers his arm.  She’s staring at the sword in disbelief, incredulity obvious even in the way her ears stick up.  “I take it you recognize her?” he asks, not quite daring to fully lower his guard.  They’re all frozen in a tableau of wariness, all aware of the danger she could pose to them before they can convince her of the situation.

Her gaze travels up from the blade up to him, and even though Wind isn’t at the end of her glare he feels its feral intensity.  “Why,” she asks—no, demands, “do you have that?”

“It’s a long story, if you’d just let us explain—”

“I restored the sword to its resting place,” Link says, low and fierce.  “Calamity Ganon is dead.  What kind of trickery is this?  Are you the ones responsible for the monsters?”

Wind brightens in spite of himself.  That’s as good as confirmation she’s wielded the sword before.  His hunch was right.  If only they can get her to trust them…!

“Take the sword and she’ll tell you!” Sky insists.  “This isn’t a trap.  We mean you no harm, really.  Please, we are heroes just like you.”

“Is giving the woman who just tried to kill us your sword a good idea?”  Wind elbows Legend harshly.  “What!  It’s a valid concern!”

To be fair, Wind hasn’t lowered his weapon either.  They’d all jumped into action the moment she did.  Fellow hero or not, reflexes are a life-saving thing.  It’s with wary stances that they watch Sky flip the Master Sword, offering it hilt first to Link.  A moment passes, two, and Link’s sword swings back up to be sheathed on her back.

When her hand grips the Master Sword, its glow paints her scars in lurid blue.

“...Otherworldly travelers?”

Wind lets out a breath he didn’t know he was even holding.  “I dunno, it kinda sounds like we’re aliens when you say it like that.  We’ve figured out we’re coming from different parts of different timelines, though!”

Link huffs out a laugh, hostility sliding off her frame.  She hands back the Master Sword to Sky and takes a step back to survey their group once more.

“My apologies for the rough start,” she says, dipping her head in a bow.  “It’s been more and more dangerous around here lately.  Portals are popping up everywhere and spitting out strange monsters.  Did you hit the wall?”  She directs this last part to Warriors, who smiles charmingly, if not a tad warily.  Bleck.

“Not to worry, miss.  It’ll take more than a stumble to take me down!”  Gross.  Grossssssss.  Wind forgoes holding up his sword to cover his face and groan.

“Do you have to flirt with every person you meet?” he complains.

“Why you little—!  It’s called natural charisma and being polite!”  Warriors catches him in a headlock and starts scrubbing at his scalp, much to his horror.  “I’m not going to flirt with someone who’s essentially me!”

With that, the tension breaks.  Hyrule laughs at the fuss and even louder when Legend says, faux-casual, “That doesn’t exclude everyone else you flirt with, captain.”  Wind twists and squirms to throw Warriors off, bolstered by the laughter of his friends and of the newest hero to join their group.

Link, for her part, relaxes considerably.  She speaks quietly with Time and Twilight while the rest shake off their little adrenaline high, then addresses the group as a whole once they quiet down.  “There’s an inn at the bazaar near here where voe are allowed to enter.  Just don’t cause any trouble and you should be fine.  If we leave now, the sun shouldn’t be too hot to bear and we should arrive before it gets cold.”

The path is long and winding, sand getting in boots and under clothes.  Wind finds himself near the front of the group, pelting Link with questions that she seems amused to entertain.  She smiles, at least, so he’s taking that as a win.  What’s a voe?  It’s the Gerudo word for male, with vai as female.  How far is the trek to the bazaar?  A couple hours, maybe even three or four if there were enemies in the way.  What are those round plants that grew in random spots?  Hydromelons, and she picks up all the ones in their path and magicks them away with a tap of a slab on her waist and a wink, much to his awe.  How does she not get sunburned in that outfit?  She leans close, showing him the magic interwoven into the fabric.

Finally, a large rock spire becomes visible in the distance, draped in flags and with lanterns hung up.  “Just about another half hour,” Link says.  She doesn’t seem at all tired by the long walk.  “Once we’re there, I’ll get you boys some dinner and you can fill me in on the details of your quest while we eat?”

“Sounds good,” Twilight says, obviously relieved.  Poor poor rancher; even with the sun beginning to lower, he still looks the most bedraggled by the desert.  Sand has stuck into his pelt til it looks more tan than grey.  “Your Hyrule uses rupees too, right?”

Link waves him off without even turning to look.  “Dinner’s on me, let me call it even for trying to behead you all before now.”  Wind turns to exchange wide eyes with Four—behead?—but his are a lot more eager than Four’s look.  Link is totally going to be his older sister.  She’s already like a pirate, except she’s one of a sea of sand rather than water.

The sand gives way to steady rock.  Time sighs in relief, and Wind can’t help but turn around to give a cheeky little “That’s what you get for wearing such heavy armor!” and prancing away from a half-hearted swipe.  He and the smaller heroes probably had the easiest time of it, those more heavily clad sinking into the sand.

With the evening chill sweeping in, they’re quick to weave their way past stalls and lighting torches to enter a building carved in the spire they had seen earlier.  A general store sits in front, the shopkeeper barely flicking her eyes up at them before waving them further inside.  “Sav’saaba,” Link greets.  “Do you have room for…”  She takes a moment to count them all.  “Nine guests?”

The innkeeper stares at the large group for a moment before sighing.  “You’re lucky today’s caravan is camping outside,” she says.  “180 for regular beds, 360 for soft beds.  If you want dinner too, it’s double for regular and 540 for soft beds.”

“Regular beds, no dinner.  I can use the cooking counter inside, right?”  At the innkeeper’s nod, she taps the slab at her waist and pays with a handful of rupees that materialize in her other hand, ignoring the heroes’ protests.  “Pay me back later if you’re so hung up over it,” she says, firmly herding them over to the inn’s baths.

“So, not the little sister you hoped for, huh?” Four teases, sinking into the bathwater.  The baths are big enough that a few can go in at once, and they’re all tired enough to forego the usual turns.  The warm water feels nice against muscles aching after an eventful day, and Wind blows a few bubbles under the surface.  The only thing nicer than this is the hot springs Twilight brought them to a few portals ago.  “Guess she’s pretty nice.”

“You seem taken in by her,” Warriors adds, sliding in to join them.  He rolls his shoulders and sighs as he settles in, tipping his head back.  His eyes close even as he continues talking.  “Shouldn’t get on my case of having manners when you’re trailing after her like a puppy—HEY.”

Wind ducks back under the water to avoid the revenge splash.  Being wet by choice is infinitely better than being wet by attack.

“It’s not my fault she’s cool and you’re lame,” he proclaims once he comes back up.  “Besides, no one was really talking to her much, you can’t blame me for wanting to not be a stranger.  We’re supposed to be companions!  Traveling together across time and space!”

Four frowns at that.  “Mm… yeah, I kinda hung back today.  I wanted to get a better feel for her, I guess, but you’re right.  We’re stuck with each other anyway.  ’ll try to engage her more later then.”  

A banging against the bathroom door startles them all.  “Hurry up!” Twilight calls out.  “Dinner’s going to be ready soon!”

They get out and dressed awfully quick after that.

-

Link didn’t leave the house expecting to feed a small horde of heroes, but he’ll make do.  It’s lucky that he’s a bit of a hoarder; he might’ve gone overboard with the proportions, but travellers are always hungry, young warriors even more so.  “Give it 15, 20 more minutes to simmer,” he tells one of them (Cloud?  Sun?  Something to do with sky, he thinks) and goes to take his own bath.

Once he’s clean and in the water, he slumps, letting out a long groan.  Idiot.  He’s an absolute idiot.  Tried to kill his ancestors, past incarnations, however this hero spirit thing worked—who does that other than idiots?

At least it’s not unusual, he reminds himself.  The wolf pelt guy said Lore (Myth?  He really should remember actual names instead of vaguely remembering concepts) had also tried stabbing their group the first meeting, so Link’s not alone in this.

Oh goddesses.  Is he gonna have to get a weird nickname now?  Mushroom the Hylian champion? Century-old Failure?  Ser Shrine Dude?

The old tunic and leggings he slips on look decent enough.  Kachuu doesn’t spare him a glance, already used to the apparent presentation change.  “Oh, it’s you!” the smallest one exclaims mutedly at the sight of him.  His name’s a number or something, but Link has just been calling him Colors for his odd tunic.  “Sorry, miss, thought you were another traveller.”

Link pauses.  “Miss,” still?  That’s new; usually people stopped using feminine words for him once they saw him out of traditional women’s clothing.  Maybe he’s being considerate, not wanting Link to be seen as some sort of perverted imposter where they may be overheard.   

(Oh, how he’ll come to regret that moment.  Would’ve spared him a whole lot of trouble if he’d just corrected Four in the first place.)

“No need for ‘miss’, Link is fine,” is all he says, before he frowns.  “Ah.  This is where I get a nickname of some sort, isn’t it…”

The one watching the soup laughs.  Cloud or whatever, though Sun certainly seems like it’ll fit better with the easy way he smiles.  “No need to look so apprehensive!  It’s just taken from your hero name.  If you don’t already know yours, we can ask the sword.”

“We can settle that later,” Thyme (Time?  It’s one or the other) cuts in.  “Let’s eat before the soup burns.”

Much to Link’s delight, the creamy heart soup is a smash hit.  There’s excited chatter as they all dig in, more than a few compliments thrown his way.  It’s only because he ladled the portions ahead of time that he has enough to share with Kachuu and Shaillu.

“None of us are really good at cooking,” Hyrule (he remembers this one, because it’s pretty hard to mess up the name of the kingdom) says to him.  “We can get by, but, uh, well…”

“Hyrule’s the worst of us,” Four (Link got a proper introduction a few minutes ago) tells with a conspiratorial smile.  Hyrule’s ears turn red as he laughs guiltily.  “He could probably burn water if he tried.”

Lore-or-maybe-Myth scoffs.  “Bold words from someone who fed us all burnt rocks last week.”

“Hey!  I was distracted by the frogs you let Wind put in my bedroll!”

Hylia, may She ever watch over him, has sent Link comedians as ancestral spirits.  He can’t help but giggle at the thought of serious-looking Four burning dinner because he was too busy trying to catch frogs from his pack.

Dinner goes mostly along those lines, a few heroes talking to him at a time.  After he accidentally referred to Sky as Cloud, they’d all taken the chance to introduce themselves to him properly.  Wind is probably his favorite, first to reach out and eager to laugh.  He just about begs Link for a story, which soon is to Twilight’s consternation.

“How do you set a bear on fire and think riding it is a good idea?” he keeps asking.  Maybe this is a sign Link will fit right in, the funnyman to Twilight’s straightman in this comedy act.  The story was rocky to get out at first, mostly because Wind didn’t know what a bear was, but it’s fun seeing the boy light up with excitement.

It’s only after cleaning up that Sky approaches him again with intent in his expression, Master Sword in hand.  Shaillu had left ages ago, and Kachuu bid them goodnight as she retired for the night, entrusting Link to keep any damage away from the inn.  He keeps his tone soft, but there’s something welcoming in his direct gaze.  “I believe you may have some questions?”

Many.  He didn’t bother asking when they were on the road, travellers walking past at any given moment, but it’s quiet and secluded in the inn.  Most are content to camp outside where setting up shop is easiest, and Link knows after having spent many nights here that none of the Gerudo here are the type to pry.  First one: “Who is the spirit of the sword?”

That’s how the rest of the night goes.  Link learns of Fi, listens to the heroes’ retelling of their joined adventure thus far, laughs at the easy banter and jibbing made when dark memories become too heavy.  The longer he sits there, the more comfortable he feels.  

The Master Sword—Fi—she had spoken only the bare minimum, just enough for a frantic Link to calm down and extend some trust.  Incarnations of the same spirit, she’d said.  Comrades pulled from other worlds, lands past, by Hylia’s hand.  Have faith, champion.  

Something in his heart had tugged at him to believe her, but this… It’s almost unsettling how easily he falls in with them.  Already they feel like fast friends, a few still a little reserved but all quick to allow him into their circle.

“So,” Four says, drawing Link’s attention out of his thoughts.  He blinks and finds eight pairs of eyes on him.  “Do you know your hero title?”

At least he doesn’t have to go by Mushroom.  The alternative isn’t much better, though.  “I’m not sure, but the Sheikah monks called me the Hylian Champion.”

“‘Hyrule’ is already taken,” Legend muses.  “Champion?”

It’s a word commonly applied to him, but Link’s nose wrinkles all the same.  Champion, like Mipha, Daruk, Revali, Urbosa—no, it doesn’t sit well with him.  He may have been one, but it is a title of an age long dead.  There are few who refer to him as the Champion still, and they’re all old guard.  Anyone else who tries gets a gentle correction: he isn’t the champion, not any longer.  Just a traveller, or Zelda’s knight if the situation calls for it.

His distaste isn’t subtle enough to go unnoticed, but thankfully no one asks.  “I can ask Fi, just to check, and you can decide a different name if you want,” Sky reassures, sending him a rueful grin.  “I got called Chosen Hero, and I didn’t like it at all.  I was about to cry in relief when the others settled on Sky for me.”

“Chosen Hero!” repeats Link in disbelief.  “That’s a heavy title you bear.  Sky fits you much better, I’m glad.”

“The same goes for Hylian Champion.”  Hyrule speaks softly, as if to himself, and he flushes when the others turn to look at him.  “You seem more lively than where the burdens of a kingdom lie, is all.”

“Yeah!” Wind pipes up, saving him from the sudden attention.  He winks at Hyrule, and Link can’t help but feel endeared at the obvious care they hold for each other.  “Man, when we get back to my world, Tetra’s gonna love you!  She’s always a sucker for good stories, and you act them out and everything.  I’m pretty sure you’re older too, and she and Aryll wanted an older sister so it’ll be great!”

Older sister.  A nagging suspicion begins to bloom, but before he can even begin to consider examining it, Sky interrupts.

“Got it!”  He looks so pleased Link immediately forgets his thoughts.  “Hero of the Wild.  Wild, then.  Does that work for you?”

Wild.  Link rolls the name on his tongue.  Wild rolls the name on his tongue and nods.  Grins at the faces grinning right back.

It fits perfectly.

[chapter 2 - tumblr - ao3]

[blurbry]

I made kind of like a theory story for @reiblu based on their Starry!blue au. I'm not very good at writing so i hope it comes out okay

Blue was born, to a Venasian mother, and, a (possible) Demigod inventor. They weren't exactly what you call a happy family.

His mother..a strong, masculine woman could be hot headed at times. She and her husband fought often, physically and verbally. Their loving tie that created Blue was withered away.

Blue tended more to listen to his mother, and gently began to ween more to her arms. On his (guessed age) 16th -17th birthday, war broke out between Hylians and Venasians.

Generally these two breeds were often friends, but the Venasians started to back away with trading needed supplies. This cause unrest with Hylians, which fueled a war.

Day by day, hour by hour Venasians being hanged, disembowled, beheaded, accused of witch craft. The Hylian armies nearing Blue's comfortable home.

Blue's father stayed locked up in his workshop. He was making a weapon for his only son. A weapon with unimaginable properties. A weapon that only answered to his call.

While the Princess of Hyrule, and the Governor of the Venasians attempted to quell their armies into a calm, honestly not wanting to lose more people, the weapon came to Blue in his sleep.

She glowed with passive embers, that could slice through the enemies hand in large groups. It could eliminate several with one swoop. Blue opened his eyes and gazed at it. It spoke to him. "We must go...we must awaken, and protect your home, blood thirsty Hylians grow nearer."

Blue swallowed nervously, his mother taught him more about fist fighting, he'd never really weilded a true weapon. It settled into his hands and deteriorated. "Call me, when you require me most."

Blue could hear the treachurous marching, the screams of helpless Venasians. He growled and ran to his fathers room, snatching up the crisp blue fabric.

It fit loose but comfortable around him, simple to move in. He clipped the star belt around his torso and ran out with silence. His boot heel clicking on the tile floor.

He took a deep breath "Mama's still out there with her girlfriend..I need you. We need to find mama." The sythe appeared in his hands naturally.

Blue swallowed hard and kicked the front door open, army through army, he knocked them all down, only looking for two people in particular. Two people who meant the most to him.

He heard the cry of a crow in the air. He looked up breifly. Peep. He always followed Mama. Blue shoved, pushed, and sliced his way through Hylian soldiers

He found them, surrounded.

Adrenaline rushed through his veins as he slipped in front if them, holding a protective stance.

The soldiers backed up at the sight of the boy and his sythe. The menacing angered glare on his face, as sweat glistening in the bright street light showed.

His heart was pounding a million miles a second.

A soldier began to laugh, "this boy thinks he can challenge the royal family of hyrule, look at him, hes scrawny. I doubt he knows how to fight with that thing."

The soldier reached for the sythe, it sizzled in his hand, causing a agonized scream to erupt from him. He backed off in fear, "an..an enchanted weapon.."

Blue held his ground, "leave. Or I'll slice you all down."

The soldiers laughed again and kicked the footing out from under the tired boy. "The other two may go. But the boy...he's cheating, his weapon is enchanted, I say we hang him!"

"HERE HERE!!" the others cheered. They laughed with triumph. The sythe disappeared.

"No no come back, I need you" Blue paniked

'Master, with all due respect, you've already saved that which you commanded I appeared for. My work is finished.'

Blue gazed up at the soldiers, his heart catching in his throat. It seemed all his toughness washed away. He was in real danger. Two soldiers picked him up by the arms, dragging him strongly and roughly. He couldn't even struggle.

He was held down and tied, and thrown into the prison cart. A gag firmly placed between his lips, to keep him from tough talking. He struggled and wiggled as the door shut on him.

++++++

The morning air permiated the stale wooden cart, Blue awoke to the shouting of Hylian men, he knew he wasn't home. The cart door opened to reveal his exhausted figure.

But it was no guard, nor king who came to him. It was a beautiful girl. Her hair was long and wavey, it was evident she had it in braids or a pony tail at times. Her piercing magenta eyes gazed down at him.

She showed no hate, but rather..care. She untied Blue and began to ask him questions on why such a young Venasian, ended up in the death row.

Blue took a breath, "I tried to save..my parents..I found a really pretty weapon in my father's workshop...I stole it..oh princess zelda, I've killed so many of your people to save my mother. I hadn't known my weapon was enchanted, the guard touched it and it disappeared they threw me here to be hanged."

The last part, about the sythe, was a very good lie. The princess fell for it and thought for a good few minutes.

"I've met many tribes during this war..Samuris..Venasians, My own people, Faeries, Gerudo...never once did any of them ask my forgiveness. In fact, they thought I started this war. I helped as many as I could out of them..the samuri was killed, and the Gerudo attempted to stab me in the back. But, young..."

"B..Blue..my name is Blue."

"Young Blue. I can see that in a way, they all had a special tie to you. Something about them, that tells me. That you will meet eachother someday. Because all of you have a special team, a special power inside you. Though it pains me to have to hang you today...I know..you will not die from it."

So it wasnt just venasians losing people...

Blue swallowed back quickly. "Thank you.." He mumbled quietly. Little had he known, this day would awaken his deity hood. That is what the fair princess had meant.

Zelda gave a calm smile and lifted blue up with ease. Taking him to the gallows. Blue stared at his grave. His final resting place. He grimanced and let out a breath.

Something about the air felt off. Zelda put a finger to her lips, as the noose wrapped around his neck. Blue stared at her, judging by thr feeling, the knot was tied wrong.

The gallow master made a small speech against Blue, and kicked the stool from under his feet. Blue gasped as his only sense of footing was lost.

His air supply was cut momentarily, He passed out.

He had felt like he was up there for hours, his neck burned painfully where the rope held. The crowds dispersed and went back to their lives.

Blue felt hands on him, but he couldn't wake up. Part of him was afraid to open his eyes. He heard the whinneying of horses, and the sound of other voices.

"You can wake up now, no ones here to hurt you.." Zelda spoke

"Ew. That's a nasty burn, you couldn't have dropped him any gentler?" A cocky, firey, but sweet voice huffed

"Well pardon me if i lost my nerves a bit." The man, who's voice he recognized as the speech maker, said.

Blue groaned and opened his eyes "w..hat..? Who..are you?"

Zelda smiled gently, "good, I was beginning to think the process failed.."

Red tutted in annoyance, " Well if he wasn't such an idiot he wouldn't be in this situation. I'm Red by the way, don't firget it or I'll have to slap you around."

Vio backhanded Red, earning a very pissed souding growl in response. "Enough Red. I'm Vio. I'm not around much and I prefer to work alone."

There was a more silent person in the corner. His hands balled up in his lap, as he gazed at Blue. He had very soft looking ears. He wore a soft, minty green kimono, that was short and easy to move in. He looked away shyly when he caught Blue's gaze.

"That's Green." Zelda spoke softly. "He's mute, but he has his own way of communicating. Give him some time and he basically becomes the big brother to you."

Blue nodded quietly and looked away from him, figuring he was uncomfortable with being stared at. "Am I..dead?"

Red made an annoyed huff "Technically you are. But there was this big sparkly light that saved you. Not even being in a war has been remembered among the towns folk."

Blue looked at his hands, not a single cut..but the bridge of his nose stung, and his neck still burned.

Suddenly a crow cawed and swooped down. The bird with its mysterious blue eyes sat on Blue's shoulder. "Peep!" (Am i remembering his name right?) Blue smiled. "Hi buddy!!"

Red's lips pursed in amusement, "you're friends...with a bird...and you named him Peep?"

"Y..yeah? Whats wrong with it?" Blue felt protective over the little life.

Red started cackling, which turned into amused laughing. Blue began to growl, stood, his sythe materialized in his hands. He went to swing in anger, at the alerted fae.

His sythe met metal. Before him stood Green. A very very, angered, protective, and brotherly look clouding his sweet freckled face. The sword holding hard against the sythe's weight.

His look held discipline, as he stared into Blue's eyes. Blue let out a breath, and his sythe disappeared. Green's look softened and he sheathed the large blade.

"Sorry.." Blue mumbled quietly.

Vio kicked red gently. "Oof. Sorry I provoked you" Red huffed in annoyance.

And thus that day, a team was formed. One at eachothers throats of course. But as Zelda had said, they had that special bond.

+++++

Okay, no idea if I got Blue's Species or Peep's name right, but it was worth a try. I hope you like it, this took me about three hours to write...hah...

[loz-and-lu-fan-blog]

Death would be better ch.2

Yep next chapter, again past tags applies. Again ANGST! Also past warnings apply. 

-

When another portal opened for the Links they had no choice but to enter it. They had been in one of Hyrule’s dungeons for days, the musty smell of death and seemingly endless stream of monsters brought the links to their wits end. They all just decided to step through the portal without knowing what would happen next.

The Link's walked through the portal, confused on which world they were in now. It seemed like they were still in Hyrule’s world, the mustly smell of death and dark clouds agree with him.

"Does this look familiar to anyone?" Legend asked as they took at the dark sky. Even Hyrule nodded no, commenting that if it was his he’s never seen this part of his hyrule.

Time couldn't help a gut feeling he had as this hyrule looked so similar to his after his 7 year nap. But something in his mind was telling him it was much worse. It felt like the air was thick was death in a familiar way and the whole world seemingly warning him of the doom to come, the same feeling it gave him after his long nap.

“I….I think this is my hyrule” Time muttered out which causing the other links to quickly look at him.

“What the hell old man? This isn’t time for jokes, we’ve all seen your hyrule” Legend said pissed that the older hero thought now was the perfect time for games. “No, I'm being serious,” Time said, trying to swallow back some bile. “My hyrule became like this when I slept for seven years. Ganon gain control while I slept and the world suffered” “So you’re saying we appeared somewhere during the middle of your adventure?” Legend asked and Time gave him a nod in reply.

“Ok so what do we do now?” Sky asked.

“The best thing is to head to castle town, it will give me an idea of where exactly in my adventure this took place” Time offered to the group who nodded in acceptment.

The group of adventures began to head to what look like buildings in the distance, hoping that the answer they would get will help them get an idea of what’s going on.

‘Oh how wrong they were’

-

Apparently hitting his temple to the glass wasn’t enough to kill the hero. The young hero remembered coming to on the bed, hearing a voice above him. His head didn’t hurt and he couldn’t feel the rush of blood running down his face. He had survived of course. “Are you awake little one?” A voice said, making Link eyes shoot open with fear. Above him was the witch known as Twinrova, the mother of his ‘adopted father’, the stealer of his memories. “Come on little one, let me see you smile?” Twinrova said as she brought her hands up to his the side of Link’s head before his world went black again. ‘If anyone heard his screams they chose to ignore them’

When Link finally awoke again he could feel himself very drained, it didn’t help when he had tried to remember some faces only for them to come back blank. He couldn’t handle the sadness of knowing more of his memories were taken from him by those witches. The boy openly cried, cried for his lost memories, cried for the fact his suffering had yet to end.

“You’re awake” He heard a voice say and looked up to see Ganon setting down a bowl of soup. Link didn’t know why but he just started to scream at Ganon, he started to lay into every injustice the gerudo had done to him. However his rant was cut shut by Ganon grabbing his face, Link was sure Ganon was going to snap his neck however that sadly didn’t happen.

“Link we’re trying to help you, your my family” Ganon said calmly speaking like he was talking to a toddler “You’re grandmas are trying to get rid of your curse” “They’re stealing my memories” Link hissed out before realizing what he had done, he never told Ganon that he knew what the demon king was doing to him. “We’re taking the false memories. The one put their by the evil witch” Ganon said calmly “You need to eat, your skin and bones.

“I don’t believe you” Link grunted out through tears “I’ve seen who you really are, what you’ve done to hyrule, i know-”

“That witch really did fill your head” Ganon said finally realising the boy’s face and bringing his hand up to his hair “Link do you really believe that? The kingdom and it’s people are fine. In fact their doing better than ever, people aren’t straving anymore” 

Ganon stopped talking when he noticed that Link’s glare didn’t fade. Then he got an idea.

“How about a deal?” Ganon said making Link expression is interested. “If you drink all of your soup i’ll take you to the town square and let you see the truth.”

“And when i’m right” Link said not even doubting his world view.

“If your right I will stop the sessions you hate so much” Ganon said knowing full well that would never happen. Link seemed to smile at that “However if i win you have to keep eating and take your session, with no question”

Link frowned at this but never the less nodded in agreement. Ganon smiled as he went to talk to his mothers. Link just went with his part of the agreement and drank the bowl of soup.

Now all that was left to do was wait.

-

The Links slowly moved into castle town with the caution of a mouse being hunted by a hunger cat. The world felt like it was trying to strike them down. When they finally got to castle town it was definitely different from what Time was expecting. If he had to describe it, it was like a mix between when the hyrule royal family was in charge and when Ganon was in charge. The sky still had that horrible color and the air smelling vaguely of death. However there were citizens in the town, happily going about their day to day lives. Time did take note that there was a lot of gerudo warriors eyeing the men but other than that you would have thought everything was normal.

The Links decided to stay close to the edge of town, for a quick get away and so Time would less likely have to explain to the gerudo that he is married.

They were close to one group of gossiping townsfolk so with hushed tones the Links got closer to hear what they were saying.

“Can you believe the young prince and King are visiting today?” A woman said with a cheery voice. 

“It's a shame though?” A man said in a sad voice “What that evil princess did to him, warping his memories. I heard he was startle like a leaf when the king finally found him”

“I heard about that” another man said “They said the reason for the visit is to help shatter the spell that's making him like this”

The Links just stared at each other in shock and confusion having no idea what they were talking about. Time was definitely confused because the fact they just referred to a princess as evil and the fact that neither the king of Hyrule or Ganon ever had a son.

“Old man what should we do?” Legend hissed out as more people started to look towards the castle and more gerudo warriors were appearing.

Time thought for a minute before saying “We need to stay out of sight and observe what’s going on, we need answers”

The Link agreed with this and soon found one of the back alleys somewhere that could still see the road, and opted to hid behind some wood. However from their hiding spot they couldn’t see the castle town square.

Thankfully Wind offered to stay out and observe, hiding anything of value like his sword and necklace making him look like just another confused and interested hylian too scared to get close.

Wind stayed in sight trying to get a good view, acting like a confused and excited citizen. The rest of the Links hidden in a corner blocking any view of the the street.

Finally the loud sound of people cheering and getting closer made Wind look in a direction.

It was Ganon

-

Link shouldn't have been surprised when Ganon decided to carry him to the town square. His hunger strike had made him very weak so he doubt he really could stay and walk for so long. However something in his mind told him that it was to make sure he didn't escape.

As they started to walk into town they were greeted many happy town folks happy to see the King and young prince. Ganon lets out laughs and telling many stories as more town folks came up. Link found himself bearing his face into Ganon shoulder, knowing clearly he lost the bet.

'But this couldn't be real? Can it? I saw him attack the princess? I saw killed the great deku tree. I saw him kill Navi. That has to be true. He can't be good...………..Can he?' Link thoughts seemingly fought with each other.

Finally he lifted his head to see a young hyilan boy in blue.

The boy looked like your average hyilan, with the slight shocked expression of seeing the king. Link just started at the boy with big tear filled eyes.

He could see the boy talking however he was to far away to hear. However soon a man stepped out of the wood piled next to the boy.

He was tall, likely about as tall as Ganon with golden hair and silver armor. However it wasn't the armor or even the markings on his face that got his attention. It was the beautiful blue instrument that was hung on the strangers hip. An instrument given to him by Zelda, princess of Hyrule.

The Ocarina of Time.

That man staring back at him was him

Link began to struggle in Ganon not knowing it the many in armor was a omen of his ill fate future or hope of a brighter one, however ether way he wanted to get closer. He wanted to asked, to beg the man to tell him how to survive.

However his squirming was taken notice by Ganon who began to shift and the taller man moved to disappear from sight. As Ganon finally turned around to look, even Link twisting himself to look the only thing left in the stop was the boy in blue.

Link didn't know wether to be happy or not that the older man had vanished but he knew he felt bile come back up as Ganon walked close to the young boy.

As they got closer Link finally notice details of the boy, how despite his brightly color clothes, which normal mean someone's well off, they were torn and dusty slightly. How scars and other little imperfection graced the boys legs. How he held a slight glare that Link knew all to well.

"Well hello little one" Ganon said getting on one knee so that he and Link were looking the boy in the eye "What's your name?"

"Lineback"

"Lineback? well that's certainly an odd name" Ganon chuckled at the boys response, Link noticing how the young boy didn't even react. "Well young Lineback are you alone in this world?"

"No Sir" Lineback said and Link could see him swallow "I live with my grandmother and baby sister"

Ganon just seemed to smile at the boys answer "Are they here today?"

"No" the boy said sharply, making Link flinch at the harshness of his tone, he has seen people get whipped for less.

"Well then would you like to keep my son company while we bring your grandma and sister to the castle. Link could really use a playmate his age and he seems to like you" Ganon said with a smile, and Link casted his eyes down. He could easily be dragging someone else into his mess.

"No"

The word stunned both Ganon and Link into shock. No one had said no to the king beside Link having his 'tantrums'.

"Did you say no?" Ganon asked trying to keep his voice soft but you can feel the anger growing behind it.

"Yes I said no" Lineback said again as Link shock his head 'no' at the young boy. Ganon already had to deal with Link refusals, another one could see this boy to his death. Ganon seemed to close his eyes to take a deep breath to which the boy mouth 'looked away'. Link didn't know why but he trusted the boy.

"How about this, I bring you and your family to live in the castle? That way you can have all you want to eat and not have to worry about your grandmothers health?" Ganon said with the frustration starting to poke though.

"I said.... NO!" The boy whispers turned to screamed as he threw a handful fi sawdust into the king's eyes. The boy quickly ran during the chaos happen after as Ganon started to curse the child's name. Link took this opportunity to squirm kick and shove, finally one well place punch to Ganon's eye cause the gerudo king to drop him.

[blukrown]

Pride Amongst Siblings

WARNING! This fic contains: attempted roofying/drugging & attempted sexual assualt

If any of these upset you, please do not read!

Also available on AO3

This fic was commissioned by @mrneighbourlove, thank you so much for the support and giving me the chance to write about your character!

"Shit, come back here!" Leere called out to the small figure she was chasing down the busy market streets of Oshmel.

Five minutes after entering the town and she had already gotten lost as well as got her bag stolen. It was rather embarrassing. She might have the thought to shame herself for her naivety if she weren't pelting after the little thief.

Leere had been walking down the crowded streets, map in hand. She had been trying to find her accommodation for the coming evening when a young child had approached her. Clearly a local, the kid offered his help in leading Leere to her destination. She wasn't one to object to a kind offer, especially not when she secretly needed it, so she let the boy lead the way.

Leere had just started thinking about giving the youth a few rupees for his trouble when another kid jumped her. Snatching her rucksack with all of her things and running off, while the first boy vanished into the busy streets.

Although it did take her moment to realise just what had happened, she was soon in hot pursuit of the second child. She might not  be able to punish the bait but at the very least she could recover her things

For how much she was growing to hate the brat, she didn't want to endanger him or other civilians around him by using her magic. She would, unfortunately, have to do this the hard way.

The kid quickly turned out of the busy main streets and ducked into a quiet alleyway. Leere had thought this would give her an advantage with her long legs but the child seemed to have knowledge with the area and still kept a good distance between them.

"Stop! Thief!" Leere called, hoping she might grab anyone's attention. "Get back here dammit!"

The kid kept close to the left side of the alleyway, clearly ready to skid into a turn down a different laneway in the next few paces. But to Leere's great relief, a tall man poked his torso out from the corner, to see what all the commotion was about. And the kid crashed right into him.

Leere restrained a smile as she caught up to the rascal. Catching her breath, she made sure to first snatch her bag back before the little kid could scuttle off.

When Leere turned to thank her unexpected aid, she noticed the stranger seemed unfazed by the collision. He really was also very tall, with at least two heads more height than Leere. Unrecognizable, it wasn't until she looked to the man's face - marked with a wide, excited grin - that she realised who he was.

"Teb?" Leere asked, pleasantly surprised to see her youngest adoptive brother in a place like this.

"Leere!" Tebanam grinned widely, sweeping his older sister into a hug. "What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same thing!" Leere answered, welcoming the embrace.  

"So you were going up to Kahmel as well?" Tebanam said with surprise as he finished his meal. "Don't tell me, you were going after the rumoured treasure in the town's shrine."

Leere let out a chuckle, "I'm guessing you had the same idea?"

"Well yeah," Tebanama nonchalantly nodded. "But I was also going up there for research."

"Oh?" Leere said, pausing the forkful of food she was about to eat. "This is about that distant relative of the Gerudo, right?"

"Yeah, the Garai."

Oshmel, the city Leere and Tebanam currently occupied, was a border city. Just a few minutes by cart from the perimeter of Hyrule, this town was a mix of all cultures. It was a city filled with locals, travellers and full of people from nearly every race in the land. The settlement lived at the summit of a great mountain, one which hides within its craters an old, deserted tribal village, known as Kahmel. Some people believe the people who had occupied the village died by a plague, others by wild animals and others still believed they had been cursed. Either way, no one bothered going up the mountain. After all, nothing was up there accept the sad, abandoned ghost town.

For all the travelling the two of them did, this was their first time meeting on the road. Perhaps it was only a matter of time until Leere would run into Tebanam but it did come at a good time.

About half a year ago, Tebanam and Leere - as well as all their other siblings - had returned to Hyrule castle to celebrate the birth of Covarog's first two children. Leere loved being home with her family, she would stay there forever if she didn't feel the call of adventure.

It had been two years since Tebanam had lost Jazoh - a noble boy taken away from court for being caught having a sexual relationship with the young prince - and Leere and her fellow adopted sister Rinku had only meant to help Tebanam.

For being away from Hyrule for so long, the youngest son of Ganondorf had not seemed to recover from the loss of his partner. The sister's had sought to help Tebanam and comfort him. But at some point, they must've upset him.

Leere could not remember the exact reason but Tebanam had stood up - towering over his elder sisters - and looked Leere right into the eyes and spat, "You're only depressed simply because you want attention! My feelings aren't something I can easily turn off like yours, Leere!"

Rinku, furious at Tebanam's statement and intending to defend her sisters, had countered, "She's only trying to help you, Tebanam! You only travel because you lost your fuck toy! As if that's a good way to cope!"

Tebanam had looked furious, but the pain of hearing his eldest's sister's words cut him deep enough to shut his mouth. He only huffed and stormed out of the room, choosing to leave before he said or heard anything more he may regret.

Leere had left before confronting Tebanam about it. Although she didn't say those things, she still should've at least given him a positive farewell.

However, Tebanam happily talked about his travels, Leere could tell that he did not hold any sort of grudge against her.

"Remember that set of armour I gave papa?" Tebanam asked his pompous smirk wide. "He keeps it on display in his office, y'know." Leaning back in his chair, the half Gerudo man puffed out his chest in pride.

Leere let out a snort, "Not last time I was there. Yours was missing the greaves, remember? So it's an incomplete set." Leere loved teasing he brother and by the pitiful bummed out look on his face, she was looking forward to giving him worse. "Mama likes the golden fan I gave her."

Tebanam snorted, "Yeah but what's the point of a fan if you're not going to use it? Mama's not a shower like Papa either."

That shut Leere right up, not that she minded.

Hyrule castle held the largest collection of armour, antiques and artifacts in the land. All starting with King Ganondorf, the passion for treasure hunting had been passed down to many of his children. Both Leere and Tebanam were both proud competitors of a non-existent competition to see who could bring back the best discovery for their parents. As if her parents could love her any less for not finding a prettier treasure than Tebanam, Leere still could not quite let this immature contest go.

"I have a . . . question for you." Tebanam said, distracting Leere from her walk down memory lane. Leere gave an inquisitive look, which seemed enough for her brother to continue. "You know how you can transform, right?"

Leere frowned, she could almost see the gears in Tebanam's head whirring. "Yeah? What about it?"

"Would you be able to say . . . transform into a man?"

"Well yeah, it's a pretty easy spell actually. Even Mama can do it."

"Although the idea of our dear Mama as a man sounds really funny, that is a subject for a different conversation." Pausing to hear Leere let out a chuckle in bemusement, the brother than continued. "Do you still remember it? As in, can you still do it?"

"Yeah . . . I guess." Leere's eyes then squinted in suspicion. "Where are you going with this?"

"Well . . ."

Having found Tebanam's hotel, they had retreated to his room.

It was rather small, what with the large king-sized bed taking up a large amount of space. But Leere didn't have time to judge Tebanam's choice in accommodation when her brother was hurrying her along.

"Alright," Tebanam said, locking the door so no one could enter. "Now let's see what you can do."

Although still unaware of Tebanam's plan, Leere obeyed her little brother's wishes. With a string of non-Hyrulian words, it only took a few seconds before she disappeared behind smoke - an aftereffect of shape-shifting magic. Once the smoke cleared, Leere spoke.

"Did it - Woah!" Leere began before clutching at her throat. Her light and effeminate voice was now low and gravely. "My voice!"

"No way!" Tebanam said, his face covered with shock and awe. "It worked! I mean, you look exactly the same but . . . But a man!"

Going to the hotel room mirror, Leere was greeted by an adult man in her reflection. Her face was just as pale, eyes just as red and hair just as long. She even still had the beauty spot below the left side of his lip. But there was no mistaking it, she had become a man.

A tuft of brown facial hair covered her chin, a strong jawline and obvious Adam's apple made her look like a normal Hylian man.

"I'm honestly surprised," Leere said as she turned around in front of the mirror. "I haven’t used this spell in years. Not since I was a kid."

Then again, that was when she was young. Where there wasn't really a lot of difference between a prepubescent boy and girl. But looking at herself now, she would honestly not recognise herself.

She could already tell she was a bit taller but only a little, as she compared herself to her mixed-raced younger brother. Leere also felt stronger too, her arm muscles easily bulging out of the shirt she wore.

Now that she mentioned it, her clothes did seem rather tight. Especially around her crotch.

"What the heck?!" Leere shouted at the sight she saw under her pants and underwear.

Tebanam did not seem to feel any shame in joining in and sneaking a peek. And before Leere had the right mind to slap him silly, he was cackling.

"Bahahah!" Tebanam roared, holding his stomach. "I-It's like an acorn! Ahahaha!"

Leere glared at her brother, "Shut it! I'm not a giant Gerudian like you, OK?!"

But nothing seemed to reach Tebanam. He was in a fit of uncontrollable laughter, hunching over as he almost seemed to be in physical pain. Even with Leere - softly - punching him, it took Tebanam a good few minutes to recover.

Wiping his tearing eyes, the young prince sighed. Standing tall, he gave Leere another look over.

"Man, you really are a man, huh? I wouldn't even know it was you if I saw you."

Leere couldn't help but feel proud. Raising an arm and flexing her new muscles. "Are you doubting my magic, little brother?"

Tebanam chuckled, "As if, I know my place."

Leere huffed, "So you should."

"But I've gotta say," Tebanam said, walking a circle around Leere with a hand at his own chin. "You look like the sort of guy I would go after."

"Ew, gross." Leere frowned in disgust.

A look of excitement grew on Tebanam's face. "You know what?" He said excitedly, his eyes wide with excitement. "Let's go out!"

"What?" Leere blanched, "Why?"

"Why not!" His voice filled with enthusiasm. "Let's see how long your spell lasts!"

"How?"

"Let's go to a gay bar!"

"Wha-" Leere began but then shook her head. "No way! They'd definitely know."

"Trust me," Tebanam said, patting his, now, brother on the shoulder. "They won't notice a thing!"

"Wait a second," Leere said, stopping Tebanam in his tracks. Pointing a finger defiantly at her brother, "This was what you were planning from the start!"

"Nu-uh!" Tebanam objected, "I want to . . . test your magic and . . ." He was clearly fumbling for an excuse worthy of his plan but with no success.

Leere crossed her arms over her chest. "Come on, what's going on?"

Tebanam sighed, lifting an arm to ruffle his short, bright orange hair. "Well, I may have, kinda, sort of, got on the bad side of a bartender at the gay bar and got into a fight."

Leere let out a long sigh, shaking her head. "Should I ask?"

"Let's just say that you should never hit on a bartender's sidepiece."

Leere shook her head in disappointment. But this did sound a lot like what her brother would do.

"I'm not going, Teb." Leere said, not helping but sounding sympathetic despite Tebanam's stupidity. "I'm not going to be your bodyguard just so you don't get your ass beaten."

"C'mooooon," Her brother drawled, "Pleeaasee? Have you never wanted to experience what it's like to be a man? Better yet - a gay man? Besides, I'm sure it would be fun!"

Leere pursed her lips and tried to stand for her own convictions. But - for some unknown reason - seeing her fully-grown baby brother plead and implore her made her question her own decision.

Letting out a long exaggerated sigh, Leere rolled her eyes. "Fine! But I'm not the one who's going to save you if you get into any trouble."

On the other side of town, surrounded by brothels, bars and shifty-looking hotels, Oshmel's gay bar was alive with raucous laughter, chatter and music. Men of all ages and races gathered in and around the building. All seeming to be having a great night.

Leere shuffled where she stood at the entrance of the gay bar. She wore a spare pair of Tebanam's old clothes. A bit too big, Leere had made do and created an outfit that suited her new physique.

Leere felt nervous. And she didn't usually get nervous. In circumstances like these, Leere would be excited to go in and have a good time. But with her being under an enchantment, she had a fear that her magic could soon vanish and she knew the many patrons of this male exclusive bar wouldn't be welcome to a woman among them.

Besides, she didn't really know how men, more specifically gay me, flirted. She could use her feminine wiles to make men, and even more women, fall to their knees but she had doubts on her skills as a man.

Luckily, Tebanam - while holding back his clear excitement - comforted her. "You'll be fine, Leer. I promise, if anything happens, we're out."

Leere did not seem convinced, giving her brother a doubtful look.

"Alright, alright." Tebanam said, "I'll pay for your drinks too."

Leere was not one to ignore a free drink, so she grabbed onto Tebanam's wrist and lead the way inside the busy bar.

The gay bar was a nice establishment. With many tables filled with patrons, outside veranda and large dance floor, it was definitely a place Leere would happily go to. The building was dark apart from the candles or torches scattered about, making the mood of the building one of flirtation and mischief. A live band played cheerful yet slow music, a beat perfect to dance to as some patrons were demonstrating.

Going to the bar, Tebanam ordered two of the house's beer. The man behind the bar was quick and settled the two flasks on the bartop for the two siblings to take.

Leere took a hearty sip, welcoming the bitter taste like an old friend, watching over the joyful crowd.

"Hey, is Rukah here?" Tebanam asked the bartender, leaning over to see past the staff behind the bar.

The man shook his head. "No, it's his day off tonight."

Tebanam's said a quick thanks before looking to Leere with relief.

"Let me guess," Leere smiled with bemusement and took another healthy swallow of her drink. "He's the bully you're trying to avoid."

Tebanam nodded, "Trust me, I am not at all sad he isn't here."

Leere's brother then turned back to the bartender a telltale smirk on his lips. He's on the prowl , Leere thought. Not much caring, however.

Both of them finished their first drinks and quickly got a second. Whether that was on Tebanam's tab or the flattered bartender's, Leere didn't know but she was thankful nonetheless.

Just enjoying the amazing vocal acrobatics Tebanam did in flirting with the staff, Leere almost didn't notice a man take the spot on the other side of her at the bar.

"Hey, handsome," The good-looking Hyrulian said with a kind smile. Leaning onto the bartop and looking Leere over.

Tall and decently muscular, Leere would consider him as being a rather attractive man. He had short, blonde hair and soft blue eyes that crinkled when he smiled. Maybe it was just Leere's paranoia but the man looked shifty. Her suspicions didn't seem enough to think twice on it, however.

"Oh," Leere said outwardly, surprised someone would come up to her so soon after arriving. "Hey yourself." Giving her normal flirtatious smile.

It seemed to work a treat, the man only smiled wider. "I've never seen you around here before. Traveller?"

"Yeah," Leere answered with a nod, finishing the last drops of her beer. "Passing through to Kahmel."

"Kahmel?" The man repeated in surprise. His eyes not restraining from looking Leere over again. "By yourself? You must be stronger than you look."

Leere smiled, knowing well that the assumption was based on her still obvious height difference with the stranger. Only miniscule compared to that of her Gerudo siblings, clearly, it was something the man had to note.

"Trust me, I can handle myself." Leere countered, giving a wink for good measure.

The man let out a chuckle, "Oh? Can you handle another drink, then?"

"Easily."

The man got a bartender's attention, ordered and within a few minutes another pint of beer was in Leere's hand.

With already half of her third beer past her lips, she felt a hand go around her waist. The man only smiled, shuffling closer to where she stood at the bar.

"So tell me," The Hyrulian began, his voice low yet very audible over the throng of the bar. "What's your name?"

"Leere." She said, curious to see the man's reaction to her effeminate name.

He didn't seem to falter, only smiling further. "Well, Leere, I'm Rukah."

The name sounded familiar but Leere just took it to just be that it was a common Hyrulian name. Raising her glass she nodded to the man, "Nice to meet you, Rukah."

Finishing her drink in one final gulp, the hand at her waist tugged her ever closer to Rukah's side. "What are you doing after this?" His blue eyes seemed to glow in the dark lighting of the bar, making goosebumps rise on Leere's forearms.

"Well I'll probably go home with my-" She turned to point to her brother but found he was very clearly occupied. Leaning over the bartop, he had snagged a quick kiss from the bartender who seemed more than happy for another. " . . . Friend." She finished lamely, impressed yet annoyed by how distracted her brother had gotten in the mere minutes after arriving.

Rukah chuckled, clearly seeing why Leere paused, "Well it looks like your friend is preoccupied at the moment."

Just as Rukah spoke, the music in the tavern changed. Although the same upbeat tempo as the last hymn, this one was lead by a flute. Clearly a favourite of the patrons, the dancefloor was soon stuffed with new dancers.

Rukah seemed to have the same idea, turning to Leere after looking at the crowd. "Would you like to dance?"

Leere didn't need to look over to her brother to know he was still engrossed in seducing the staff so she shrugged. "Sure."

Joining the ever growing group of occupants on the dancefloor, Leere easily found her rhythm. Dancing and swaying to the beat of the song, she was a bit too inebriated to care if she was giving herself away by the rather erotic way she danced. Rukah seemed impressed and no one seemed to be planning to make a big deal out of it.

Leere had found her stride in regards to flirting as a man, easily knowing when to give Rukah or one of the customers a suggestive glance, when to graze her hand or rear against someone else's. Overall, she was having a good amount of fun.

Sadly, the song had to change and although many people still stayed to dance to the new tune, most opted to retreat back to their tables or the bar. Rukah was one of them, offering Leere another drink before leading the way out of the thinning crowd.

Leere could not see Tebanam at the bar, perhaps already having escorted that bartender back to his hotel room. Leere did feel hurt but seeing the newest pint in Rukah's hand, she easily pushed such thoughts aside.

Leere lifted the drink to her lips and gulped nearly half of the amber liquid down before realising something was off. There was this tang at the back of her throat, something that really should not be in a normal beer.

Looking to Rukah, the Hyrulian man seemed to be looking over cautiously, as if expecting something to happen.

Shit , Leere thought. Quickly trying to take a step towards the bathroom and away from the stranger. Intending to throw up the contents of that beer, Rukah grabbed onto her wrist as soon as she turned away from him.

"Hey now," He said, putting on a look of concern. "What's wrong? Where are you going?"

"B-Bathroom," Leere uttered.

The lights seemed to be going brighter as if someone put fuel to the flames. Her legs soon felt weak, her knees eventually feeling unbalance just by standing still. Something was wrong. Something was in that drink.

"C'mon," Rukah tried to soothe her, reaching out his other hand to take Leere's freed wrist. "Don't you wanna dance a bit more?"

"N-No," Leere weakily shook her head, trying but failing to pull out of the man's grip. "There was . . . There was something in my drink."

The world was beginning to spin, disorientating Leere with even the slightest turn of her head. Whatever was in her drink, it was spreading. Pumped into the bloodstream it made quick work with the alcohol. This wasn't an accident, this was done on purpose and Leere knew just who the culprit was.

Taking a step back again, Leere tried to escape from Rukah's clutches but instead lost her footing. Perhaps due to the sticky floor near the bar or just her now feeble legs, the ground came out from under her.

But two strong hands caught her before she landed on the ground. With what strength Leere had, she looked up.

Tebanam was back and he looked worried. Placing a hand on Leere's forehead, he checked her temperature. "Hey, you ok?"

"N-No," Leere said shakily. "Something was in my-"

"He's fine." Rukah interrupted, taking back Leere's wrist and giving it a soft tug. "We were just thinking about going back to my place."

Tebanam frowned, looking from his weakened sister to the stranger. "I don't think so." Easily grabbing onto the Hyrulian's wrist, he squeezed the shorter man hard enough to recoil from his grapple on Leere, who welcomed the protective arm of her brother around her.

"W-We were having fun!" Rukah stuttered, trying to defend himself out desperation. "He'll be fine, I'll look after him. Why don't you go back to chatting with Tirill?" Nodding to the bar, clearly speaking about the man Tebanam had been flirting with. "You two were getting pretty familiar, it'd be a shame if-"

Rukah paused his rambling to scowl. Looking up, he squinted at Tebanam's face as if recognising him. "Wait just a moment . . . Do I know you?"

Even Leere could feel Tebanam stiffen. His arms squeezing ever so tighter around her shoulders as if to keep her from slipping away.

"No you don’t," Tebanam obviously lied. "I'm just a-"

"Yeah . . ." Rukah interrupted, raising a hand to point at the tall man. "Yeah, I know you alright! You're that prick who went after Rilon!"

"Y-You're wrong, I don't know a Rilon." Tebanam continued, taking a cautious step back.

"Don't you bullshit me!" Rukah angrily shouted, catching bystander's attention. "You were here before! Going after him when you knew he was mine!"

"Well, m-maybe I did," Tebanam admitted, "But I didn't know he was yours."

Leere, perhaps too out of it to truly understand the context of this fight, could not help but spare a thought of bemusement. Seeing her tall half-Gerudo brother almost cowering from the puny Hyrulian that stood in front of him.

"Shut it!" Rukah said, clearly intoxicated and visibly angry. Reaching out he grabbed onto Leere's wrist. So tight that is it made her grunt in discomfort. "Imma take your boyfriend and we'll pretend like this never happened."

"Boyfriend?!" Tebanam said, tone heavy with shock and disgust. "He's my sis-brother!" Leere could feel her younger sibling take a step backwards, trying to make space between them and the Hyrulian. "Now let go of him!"

"No way," Rukah said, shaking his head as he closed the space between them again. "I work here, remember? So you better play nice."

With one strong yank, Leere had slipped from Tebanam's safe embrace into the stranger’s arms. Holding both of her arms behind her back and with Leere's symptoms only worsening, there was no way she would have the strength to free herself.

"I'll repeat myself only one more time." Rukah said, a half-crazed smirk curling his face. "You get out of my club and leave your . . . brother with me."

With all the strength she had left, Leere crouched in her assailant's grip. And before either her brother or her attacker could say a thing, she jumped upwards and slamming the back of her head into Rukah's chin and nose.

Leere felt the arms that had been restraining her loosen and took the needed steps to get back to Tebanam's side. Rukah was on the floor, falling onto his ass from the force of the hit. He let out a pathetic groan, clutching at his face as he wriggled to get back up to his feet.

To Leere's dismay, three men separated from the onlooking crowd to join Rukah by his side. Clearly not there to negotiate.

Leere swore under her breath. Knowing her condition, she would only be able to fight off one of the newcomers. But Leere then felt the hand that held her close squeeze her. Tebanam was still with her and clearly, he'd be able to handle the rest of the rabble.

The newcomers were the first to move in. All at once, all three lept to separate the siblings. Leere kicked one in the shin, causing the man to topple. Tebanam used his large forearms to careen across and smack the other two away.

In the ensuing chaos, Leere quickly had her opponent groaning from a broken bone and Tebanam had left the other two men unconscious.

Thankfully, that seemed to be the only people who were planning to side with the now bleeding Rukah. So before any more people got any ideas, the siblings quickly pushed through the onlooking crowd and left the bar in a run.

The night sky outside of Oshmel was beautiful. Without the lights of the city brightening the heavens, the navy blue was dotted by bright stars. It was also silent apart from the soft running of the nearby river flowing through the grasslands and the soft chirping of local insects.

Too bad that was ruined by Leere heaving up the inside of her stomach into the river. Trying as best she could to get rid of any last remnants of whatever Rukah had slipped into her drink. The only comfort being the soft, comforting pat of her little brother against her hunched back.

With her stomach feeling empty and throat sore from choking, Leere laid down in the grass to rest and to stop her head from spinning.

"You feeling better?" Tebanam inquired, sitting next to her and looking over the meadow-covered scape.

"Not a lot," Leere muttered and lifted her had to squeeze it into a fist. "But my energy is coming back."

"Good," Tebanam sighed in relief. "I'm sorry, by the way. I really should've kept an eye on you."

"Yeah, you should've." Leere said dryly but then nudging Tebanam from where she lay to tell him she was joking. "But it's not your fault. It's that son of a bitch Rukah who should by saying sorry."

Tebanam let out an understanding grunt but didn't seem to quite like he had understood that he had been forgiven. Guilt still twinkled in his orange eyes as a frown played at his brow.

"Listen . . . I'm sorry for what I had said. The last time we saw each other, I mean." Tebanam muttered, pulling a blade of grass from the stem to fiddle with it in his fingers. "It was uncalled for."

Leere shrugged, sitting up to watch her little brother twist and tug at the leaf. "It's fine. Me and Rinku weren't really helping things. I don't really know where it all came from but . . . we really shouldn't have ended it like that."

Tebanam nodded, the blade of grass now tatters in his lap. "Yeah . . . me neither."

Nudging her baby brother again, Leere smiled to him. "As if I could ever hold a grudge against you, Teb."

Tebanam could only smile, reassurance being all he needed to let him relax where he sat. "We better get going then." The brother said before getting to his feet. "You can stay in my room tonight."

Leere stood up on her feet but soon felt her knees shake under the pressure of holding herself upwards. Tebanam seemed to see her dilemma and smiled.

"C'mon," He said, crouching and offering his back for her to climb onto. "I'll carry you."

Leere restrained a smile and obeyed, quickly getting into Tebanam's back. She was having a strong sense of nostalgia. They had used to do this when they were kids, only it had been the other way around. Tebanam sobbing from a grazed knee and Leere telling him off for not being careful.

"Goddesses, you're heavy." Tebanam groaned as he steadied himself.

Leere playfully hit her brother, "That's no way to talk to a girl." "But your not a girl," Tebanam retorted, smirking at Leere's still transformed appearance.

"Oh yeah!" The sister gasped, quickly muttering the needed incantation under her breath. She soon felt lighter, her clothes loosening and her chest quickly weighing her down. "Better?"

"Much so," Tebanam answered mid-chuckle.

For that one night, the town of Oshwel was treated to the sound of adult siblings laughter as the two of them, with only one trail of footsteps, ran down the empty streets.

This fic is based on the Zelgan au (and Rinku) by @figmentforms Tebanam is created by @s-kinnaly Leere is created by @mrneighbourlove Towns and other minor characters are by me I highly recommend you look at their content on this to have a better understanding of the story

[sellyoursoulforagoodfic]

The Outsider Chapter 8

Good Ganondorf x reader

Word Count: 1016

Summary: Timeskip, and all is not alright in the palace …

A few months after the wedding, it was all you could do to get out of bed in the morning. Bed had the promise of safety from the scathing remarks that came from the mouths of your own people to which you’d done nothing but serve to improve their lives. Once you got up, that safety blanket was essentially set ablaze by the ravenous mob that had been camping outside the castle, protesting you since the moment the headpiece that marked you as queen touched your hair. And with Ganondorf’s advisors questioning your every move … It was a lot to deal with, but you were doing it with as much poise as you could muster. Of course, that didn’t mean you enjoyed leaving your bedroom by any stretch of the imagination.

Which led you to where you were presently, trying to burrow into the pillow in order to escape your husband’s gentle shakes as he tried to wake you. “Noooo …” you whined quietly.

His responding chuckle was quiet. “I’ve already stalled them as much as I can, my love; they need you.”

That, you didn’t doubt. You’d woken up some questionable amount of time earlier when your body registered the feeling of your pillow becoming sentient and sneaking out of bed. You pushed back the sheet enough for you to shoot him a one-eyed glare. “Somehow, I doubt that.”

Large hands were raised in surrender. “Don’t look at me. They want you to delegate between some shops about rations; apparently I didn’t handle it well last time.”

Your eyes narrowed. “Why do I feel like you just told them to shove it?”

Now, Ganondorf had the decency to look sheepish while he scratched the back of his head. “Because you know me so well, my darling wife?” When your gaze didn’t waver, he sighed and dropped the uncomfortable smile that’d grown on his face when he spoke. “Alright fine; I did. But they were being unreasonable! Two different restaurants wanted to double their supplies when we weren’t in the harvest season. I told them we’d increase them slightly, but they’d have to figure out how to divide it.”

You rolled your eyes. “And now I get to be the bad guy and tell them that’s all they're getting,” you muttered. “Because people need more reasons to hate me.”

“You’re great at handling people!” he tried, taking your hand in one of his. “I’m sure everyone will be pleased by the end.”

Your body was completely limp as he gently pulled you up, limbs and head flopping around like a child’s favorite doll. “Have I mentioned that I only ever wanted to be a warrior?”

A small smile tugged at his lips right before he hauled you over his shoulder like a rug, causing you to yelp in surprise. “Ah, but then you’d be off having grand adventures while I’m stuck here with some woman that only wants me for my body, dealing with the bureaucrats alone.”

A hand placed on his shoulder was all the extra help you needed to sit a little more upright and see his face, the side of it anyway, as he carried you to the royal bathhouse. “Who says I want you for more than your body?” You made sure to put on a face of pure confusion to add to the charade.

To that, he just scoffed. “Please. You loved me even when I had arms like a moblin.”

That made you laugh heartily. It’d been hilarious, back in those days, when his arms were too long and skinny to fit his growing body with any kind of proportions that made sense. “Fair enough,” you snickered. “You grew into them pretty well, though,” your voice dropped to something more fit for private conversations. “Now everything matches in size.”

Whatever he would have said in response was cut off by the sounds of feet pounding on the hard palace floors. In an instant, Ganondorf had placed you back on your feet so you could fight back without difficulty if necessary. His alarm was slightly soothed when it was the palace guard that rounded the corner into his view. 

“What is it?” he demanded, all trace of teasing gone from his tone.

“The baths have been compromised, sir,” one replied stiffly, discomfort clear in her body. You recognized her face, but didn’t know her name, so she must have been one of the new recruits Nixa had been training not too long ago.

“What happened?” came your sharp question, your eyes focused on your personal guard, Emati, knowing she would give you a real answer.

“Someone broke in about ten minutes ago. We think they were looking for you, and you weren’t there, so they trashed the face. Left a pretty nasty message on the mirror.”

Your heart stuttered in what could only be pure terror. If Ganondorf hadn’t stalled the advisors to buy you more time in peace, you would have been in the baths ten minutes ago. Whoever broke in knew your schedule. Which was something that couldn’t be said of the people protesting outside the palace walls. That could only mean that the faction of the Gerudo that wanted you dead had someone inside the palace.

“Oh, no.”

“All meetings have been cancelled today on my authority,” Emati announced, level-headed as always. “For both of you. We can’t continue the normal routine until we find out who the traitor is.”

Ganondorf shook his head. “We can’t continue that routine at all anymore. We have no way of knowing who else knows of the day-to-day activities.”

“Have my mother start combing through suspects,” you ordered, voice thankfully much calmer than you felt. “Ganondorf and I will make ourselves unpredictably scarce for the day so you two have the freedom to work and not worry about us.”

“As you wish,” Emati bowed respectfully. The other guards present quickly followed her example and saluted the two of you before leaving to report to Nixa.

You, on the other hand, quickly found yourself being dragged away by your worried-looking husband to destinations unknown.

[mrneighbourlove]

Evil’s Bane: Ch 6. Yield to Damnation

The village had a little more excitement as the sun set. Outsiders were a commodity here, and another Mortuus from outside who wasn’t mad was a treat. Kenshi sat with Black and Leere, recounting a tale of woe. “My daughter loved to wear a red coat, exploring the forest outside the village. There used to be no real danger. She knew what to do when she saw an animal, so I assumed we’d always be safe, if not imprisoned here. I still don’t know if she’s dead or not.”

Bonegrinder had opted to avoid the villagers for the most part. He had told Black and Leere in very clear tones that the Mortuus were not happy about an Echidnan being here. So, he had chosen a comfy tree to rest for the evening until hell break loose. Black, on the other hand, had been instructed not to leave Leere's side. He listened to Kenshi's story but had no words of comfort.

Leere nodded, as her brain was trying to figure out if she liked the villages ale or not. “That’s terrible Kenshi. Maybe we can find her?” Outside, Bi-Hanzo stomped up to the tree with a group a robed Mortuus. “We request your presence.”

When Bi-Hanzo approached with other Mortuus, Black stood as well as Leere. He still said nothing, just ready to follow the princess. Though, he was still apprehensive in this place. He felt the danger, sensed it.

Leere looked to the window, curious what the Mortuus wanted with Bonegrinder.

"Why?" Bonegrinder did not budge from his tree. "This Anagari figured you would not wish for a 'cowardly' Echidnan to grace your presence."

“You are cowardly, God of Life.”

Leere tensed next to Black. Bi-Hanzo’s tone wasn’t friendly. This could easily turn into a powder keg.

"God of Life?" Bonegrinder actually snickered. "Try again. Let's see, the Lorleidians know him as 'Ba'puu' and his counterpart as 'Zarazu'... what do you call him?"

“We call you Proxamus, Creator to the brother Destroyer.”

"What makes you so sure this snake is who you believe him to be?" Bonegrinder snorted. "After all, an Echidnan couldn't possibly be the host of your beloved deity."

“We are certain. Now you will join us for council. Or we can take you by force.”

"Oh?" Bonegrinder turned to face the group with a leering smile of jagged teeth. "You can try. Please do so. Give him a reason to rip your kind to shreds. He will revel in it."

"Don't tempt him." Black finally spoke, standing in front of Bi-Hanzo. "You do not know what he's capable of."

“You do not know what I am capable of.”

Leere ran out, hating how quick Black almost teleported he was so sneaky. “We don’t want to fight.”

“We don’t want a god who has failed their duties.”

"Failed?" Black repeated, casting a glance at Bonegrinder and then Leere. "What do they mean?"

"Oh yes, do so elaborate." Bonegrinder flicked his tail. "Let this snake guess... Prama did not bow to your every little request so you're pissed at him."

“There has only been one request Prama. To liberate us from our hell.”

Leere stood her ground, not wanting a god to break Bonegrinder’s mind because the snake couldn’t hold it together. “Bi-Hanzo. I’m certain that the one you call Destroyah is the architect of your most recent suffering. Why target Proxamus, even if the god were here?”

"They're looking for someone to blame, tiny princess, so they point their fingers at the monster." Bonegrinder was growing so very tired of this prattle. "Go away. You know nothing."

“We know a god lies trapped in a snake.” Bi-Hanzo ordered the town cultists to surround the tree. With necromantic energy, they focused a pentagram around the tree. “Don’t move. Release the god in you willingly, or suffer.”

"... you think you can take on old Bonegrinder with that pitiful magic?" Bonegrinder... laughed. And Black knew when the snake had that mocking laugh that shit was about to go down. Placing his hand on Leere's shoulder, he morphed them away from the tree, reappearing in the shadows in the clearing. "Don't you know that while he may host Prama, that doesn't mean his magic is limited to just light. Oh, no, no, disgraceful ones, you see, Bonegrinder is a shaman. And where he hails from, a shaman studies all forms of magic." He raised his hands with palms upturned then slammed them down on the tree. "Mother of the Monsters abhors necromancy, but you think Bonegrinder didn't take the chance to learn his enemy's magic to use it against them? So yes, yes, he learned... even this one."

The undead rose from the earth, much like what Leere had summoned before, except more so... malicious. Pieces of the undead stitched together from creatures and people ceased a thousand years ago. The Anagari was enraged at their accusations. These fools knew nothing of his torment and suffering. They knew nothing of Prama's shattered memories and his broken mind. No, they deserved to suffer. "He'll ask once again... do you really want to challenge him?"

"... fuck." Black rarely cursed and was rather eloquent with his words at time, but this was alarming. "He's snapped."

“I do.” Bi-Hanzo raised his hand. With a squeeze of his fist, he pulled back his arm. Every undead’s head popped like a balloon as the air was sucked into their ears and mouth, an explosion of icicles pultruding from its neck. Leere was amazed how much mastery he had over necromancy; that even if one couldn’t control undead, they knew how to quickly dismantle them. What surprised her most, however, was a different magic. When one undead drew too close, Bi-Hanzo held a hand out to grab its head, and the moment his palm made contact, the undead turned sizzled, steam burning the monster into a mushy mess of flesh.

"Childish trick, for sure. You think this is all Bonegrinder knows? Hrm... well, he did give you a warning." The Anagari used his finger to cut through the space and suddenly disappeared into a portal. It was several moments before he reappeared, this time, behind Bi-Hanzo. Holding the man up by his throat, he dug his claws into the man's skin. "Let's see how long this snake has to squeeze before your head goes 'pop'."

Bi-Hanzo took a breath and his body turned into mist, escaping Bonegrinder’s grasp. Solidifying again, he threw a hand forward, freezing Bonegrinder’s lower half to the ground. “Paralyze him.”

As other cultists readied a spell again, Leere lashed out, using shadows to trip them up. “Enough! I agreed to help you! You’re attacking the wrong side.”

“We know that the god hides within.” Lady Jackalen hobbled down on a walking stick. “I will speak to my god! Not a wretched snake.”

The spell was a nuisance he could easily wave away with his magic. Yet, if he used too much, the Anagari would risk drawing attention. Before he traveled here, Prama had warned him against using his full power. It could draw more creatures, or worse, if Destroyer was here, he might appear before them. Lifting the spell, Bonegrinder pivoted on his upper half and slammed his tail into the ring of cultists by spinning. True, he knew magic, but also how to fight dirty. Squeezing his coils around the old hag, he threatened, "Tell them to piss off or you're mush."

“Bonegrinder, holy Din, stop! Listen, you aren’t going to kill any of them. And none of you are going to get to talk to your god. Least not here.”

Bi-Hanzo raised his brow. “Here?”

“I can give you another promise. You can learn the truth in Hyrule, outside of Malus.”

"None will speak to him if Bonegrinder has anything to say about it." The Anagari hissed. "This was a mistake, Leere. He warned you of what resided here and now look. These fools want to speak to Prama, to a god they claimed failed them. And for what purpose? Prama barely recalls creating this earth. He had to relearn; he even knew not of the damn prophecy. Worst of all, he's trapped in this snake!" Bonegrinder was severely agitated and it was really starting to show. "His soul, Bonegrinder's soul, two minds, one body, this is torment!!! And these filthy, child murdering cultists want to speak to him?! Beg them to save him?! Let them all fucking rot! They slaughtered Echidnans and we did nothing to them!!!"

"Master, let's just go back to the underground." Black had to do something or the snake was going to have another episode like he did in Omisha. He had heard all the details from Blue and White. The last thing he wanted was for Bonegrinder to sleep for days on end in this hellish place. "We'll go back through the portal and forget about this day."

Leere felt her heart race with adrenaline at trying to get through the snake’s dense skull. “Bonegrinder. Not every one of these people deserve to die. You can’t paint one colour for an entire race of people!” The sun set, with the sound of an owl muttering in the distance.

"Oh, he cannot, can he?" Bonegrinder sneered. "Isn't that what they have done to his race? Hypocritical, tiny princess, is what he says. Shall he slaughter the adults and save the children? Perhaps he should just have them throw at his tail the ones responsible for hurting his people. Tell him, Leere, tell him, for he'd really like to know just how he is supposed to act when this race is responsible for the death of so many."

"Don't make him target you," Black whispered to Leere under his breath. "He's starting to grow unstable."

“You’re an egomaniac drug kingpin who profits off the suffering of others, don’t you dare think yourself any better. You’re overly sarcastic and rude to everyone you meet. It’s like you enjoy scaring people. Having met other Echidnans I know you’re one of the few, no, the only one who acts upon negative impulses on a whim.” Leere ignored Black, pointing to the houses people stared out at. “Look at their faces. Look at them! You inspire fear! They’re just people Bonegrinder! The Gerudo have just people. The Echidnans have just people. And the Mortuus can be just people.”

"... did he scare you, tiny princess? All those years ago when he found you wandering his tunnels?" Bonegrinder grinded his teeth together, dropping the old hag. "He was kind to you because he could smell it on you. You are innocent of the crimes which were thrust upon you. The magic engraved into your very skin could call forth Chaos itself and he knew that you should have died but he wanted you alive and well because you deserved a chance. You were a child. These people would have wanted you dead." The Anagari snarled. "He likes to scare people, Leere. He wants those who would use drugs, hurt others, or even dare to sell their own kin to a brothel to suffer. He lurks in the darkness to inspire fear and it has served him so very well." He had almost a maniacal laugh. "Would you like to know why Prama didn't stop him? Why he has continued all these years to persist after you and your family? Perhaps he should even tell you of your little niece's upcoming fate if she is to be the host of Kaksa? Hrm? Or will you listen to him for once and not seek out such heartbreaking answers? No? You never listened to him when he warned you not to seek answers from this country. It's in the prophecy, tiny princess." He spoke, "Don't ever laugh as death passes you by, for you might be the next to die. The grim reaper walks beside of thee, she comes for all, for you and me. Darkness and shadows bring nothing but dread, two can keep a secret if one is dead."

“Fear. You wield it like a drug. It consumes you. I should have never met you if that’s how you really think you can change the world.”

"If he was a true 'monster' like these bastards believe, then he would have scared you before he ate---"

Before the air could be still with tension, it exploded with the arrival of a new danger. Something had risen from the lake, running with a sprint. Sixty tiny eyes of vision lead it through the forest, past bushes, scaring a group of fairies, down a path, and into the clearing of the village. A giant bipedal creature broke the argument, grabbing a cultist by the head, and running back into the darkness of the forest. More ran out of the dark, drooling pincers cackling together as they ran towards more prey. Leere immediately drew a scythe, slashing ones head off. Bi-Hanzo blasted a body away, encasing it in ice. “Something new! Villagers, disperse and hide!”

The argument was interrupted by the sudden appearance of the creatures. Bonegrinder groaned aloud, and looked more so annoyed than he did disturbed. "Black. Keep an eye on the bratty princess." The Anagari used his long body to crush, squeeze, and maim several of the fiends. He was an efficient fighter despite being so large.

What made the creatures unique was what their bodies did after being crushed or dismenbered. Oozing slime, they instantly started to regenerate.

"... Bonegrinder? What are these things?" Black had already taken down as many as his master, but was not expecting the enemy to rise once more.

"Creations of Destroyer or Chaos one, he cannot remember." Bonegrinder then summoned a searing hot flame in the palm of his hand. "Burn them."

Bi-Hanzo froze one whole, shattering it into fragments with a kick. “No! They might still form again from ash. Freeze their movements to a stand still.”

Leere didn’t have any ice to use, and it didn’t seem any other Mortuus did either. A scream next to her rang out, and from the corner of her eye she saw Lady Jackalen being swooped up by a bug with wings. It had a straw like appendage on its face, and quickly jabbed it into her head. Leere winced as she watched the woman be drained into a husk. One of the fly creatures came silently for Black from behind. Throwing her knife, she hit it right in the eye, causing it to veer off course.

"Good eye, princess." Black commented as he spun her around and used her feet to whack another demon away from him.

"For the love of Mother..." Bonegrinder cursed under his breath. This situation was not good. There were only a handful of these useless bastards that could use magic. Maybe if he used it, just this once to keep Black and Leere safe... then he'd teleport them out of this hell. Hades was still alive. He could feel it with the magic in his scale that the Lynel consumed. The Anagari could seek him out later. "Don't move." The snake instructed as he placed his hands on the ground. Slowly, the dirt started to turn to quicksand around those fiends, trapping them. One by one, the demons were frozen... and stopped. For now. Turning his attention to Leere and Black, he stated, holding no room for objection. "We are leaving."

“Not without the rest of these people.” Leere didn’t falter, still looking around for more threats ready to spring from the darkness. Worse case was they were still surrounded, and she always prepared for the worst case.

"Either you come willingly or he will drag you with him, princess, don't make him act on it." Black warned Leere. "Besides, he cannot transport all these people through a portal. That kind of magic would drain him. He'd be lucky to take a few at most."

“Then he can use my reserve as well to tap into. I won’t doom these people to damnation.”

"You do recall what happened the last time you gave Bonegrinder some of your magic." Black quirked an eyebrow at the girl. "He was drunk off his scaled tail for a full day."

"These people are already damned." Bonegrinder snorted as the rest of the village went quiet. "They want Prama to come and save them. Don't they realize that their deity can hardly remember who he was? Who Kaksa was? His own brother? He could barely recall some of his creations. He cannot hear prayers or whispers while he is trapped. And yet, they have the gall to call him a coward when he's suffered so." He growled. "This old snake may not like his predicament with Prama, but he does know that this hell isn't Prama's fault."

“Then be the bigger person and help then regardless of what wrongs they did to you! That’s what a hero would do!”

"Hero? Hero?!?! You want to know what being a hero for these bastards all those years ago earned him, Leere?!" Bonegrinder's voice was so loud, it pierced throughout the entire village. "Mother went soft! She asked us to try to save a few of the 'good' Mortuus, just like you want to do! It was a mistake! One that was erased from the history books so we would never again try something so foolish!!!" He slithered closer. Then closer, towering over Leere. "So, good Modoc, wanting to please Mother, be honorable, and try to set an example for our future generations went to save who he could. He opened up his home, kept them safe, kept them warm... and when the monsters came after them?" He hissed. "Ask him, Leere. Ask him what those bastards did."

"Bonegrinder, now is not the time---"

"Shut. Up. Black."

“Your family was killed.” Leere wasn’t even phased. “Because you were tricked. Because your enemies were clever to disguise themselves, right? That why you don’t like letting people you can’t outright control close anymore, right?”

"They had a choice whether to fight with the enemy to slaughter us, or die with us." The Anagari scoffed. "So those who were 'good' turned on the very Echidnans who saved them. And they... they were... slaughtered, Leere. And they were innocents. Much like you."

As the argument was boiling, Jang was checking on the body of Lady Jackalen. Many didn’t like the churches leader when it came to killing those she deemed ‘doomed to sin’, but her wisdom had kept them whole for generations. As he sighed at the loss of life, he glanced down at a movement. Was she alive? How with that ghastly wound?

Peering closer to listen to a heartbeat, Jang’s head exploded with the old woman’s chest when a giant tree stalk of flesh shot upwards into the air. A snarling new version of Lady Jackalen snarled downwards at them. With the mimicry of a pained human scream, leeches shot outwards from its body towards hungry prey to feast on.

Leere couldn’t believe the anomaly she saw as she backed away from the flesh eaters.

Bonegrinder took notice of the infection of demonic energy on the old hag's body. It seemed Destroyer or Chaos one had been busy. This was rather new design. Perhaps he was changing his fiends. Usually, he was more concerned with ripping something apart entirely, not causing slow torment. It hardly bothered the snake. "Fleshlings."

Kenshi ran forward and hacked at every leech that lunged at him, furious his best friend was slain. “JANG!!!”

Bi-Hanzo was ready to freeze the monstrosity apart, when the flesh creature uprooted itself from its just host body. Sickening slender spider legs allowed it to move about. It’s first direction was to flee the village. The village protector scowled behind his mask, his eyes visible with fury, “After it! It must not be allowed to escape this realm alive!”

Following Bi-Hanzo and Kenshi, Leere sliced another leech in half with her scythe, running into the dark forest with them.

"... why does she always run headfirst into danger?" Bonegrinder groaned, watching as Black chased after her. He started to do so himself when he felt it. Sensed it. Every scale on his body twitched. Destroyer... his brother... was very, very close.

The group ran through the dark scenery. Finally, they reached the lake they first met Kenshi and Jang. There, the fleshy abomination was trying to submerge itself in the water. Bi-Hanzo dipped his hand in, freezing the water around it. “Kill it!”

The mimicry of Jackalen bloated it’s flesh up. At a critical mass it barfed a putrid acid, attempting to burn its attackers.

Black managed to yank Kenshi back before the acid burned the fool. Decapitating the creature, Black then resumed his place beside of Leere. He shook the guts off his sword before sheathing it. The Wraith looked unnerved. "I stand by Bonegrinder. We need to go---"

"LEERE!!!!" The Anagari had zoomed through the woods at top speed, and he wore an absolute panicked expression. "KALAKUTA!!!"

Now that got Black's attention. Bonegrinder hardly ever used his given name. This was serious. "What is he yelling about---"

"HE'S HERE!!!"

As Black hopped up to slice the head off, Leere used her blade to cut the body in half, causing it to crash backwards like a falling tree. The husk of Jackalen melted in a smelly goop of flesh into the lake. Leere turned to Bonegrinder, he adrenaline still running from the fight. “Who’s here?!”

This quest would only bring one nightmare after the other. From the lake, the water erupted in a fierce explosion, splashing everywhere. A black shape kept moving upwards, upwards and upwards. Finally, the shape arched forward. The body of a massive serpent shook its titanic head. With sunken eye holes, it looked down at the group of five. Kenshi dropped his sword, put into shock by the sight. “What in oblivion.”

"GET DOWN!!!" Bonegrinder saw the serpent looming over the group, the jaws wide. He could make it, just a little more! He had to be faster. Stretching out his long body, he managed to wrap around Black and Leere... before the serpent striked.

The son of the Destroyer opened wider. Suddenly, the air downwards started to inhale inwards. A second later, every body, leaf and living person was being sucked upwards into its mouth with the force of a tornado. Leere reached out to Bonegrinder, light as a feather as they were reaching their destination of doom. “Bonegrinder!!!”

Black flailed as he was nearly ripped away from his master, but held on tightly to his coils with one arm. He managed to sling his belt around the huge snake as a way to increase his grip. Leere, however, was barely holding on by her finger tips. The Anagari managed to grab her, slamming her into his chest and then coiled in on himself, covering Black and Leere with his body.

Bi-Hanzo and Kenshi flew up with them. When they reached the throat, all three Mortuus screamed as the jaws of the serpent closed. With that, darkness enveloped them, swallowing them whole.

________________________________________________________________

Previous Ch. https://mrneighbourlove.tumblr.com/post/626093697379008512/evils-bane-ch-5-belief-scattered

Next Ch. https://mrneighbourlove.tumblr.com/post/626094887593443328/evils-bane-ch-7-entering-the-tower

[drabbledragon]

Anon ideas again! I loved the last thing you wrote!! It was so cool!! I love it! Oh I have another thing if you want to think about it! Ok so they all shift from world to world in the LU AU right? Maybe making one were Wild shifted BEFORE meeting them and he is alone trying to survive in a place that he do not remember and is almost like getting out from the shrine every time, only that right know he remembers

Glad to hear that you liked the last prompt! This one took a bit longer to write and twice the size of the previous prompt but rest assured, it was fun to write! This one falls heavily onto the angsty side but it does have its brief moment of fluff.

Anomaly

Summary: Wild struggles through constant changes in environments and yet, he is still able to find times of solace.

Warnings: A moderate amount of violence, near character death, as well as temporary character death.

In the midst of a sea of sand and large rock outcroppings, Link ran for dear life. His breaths came out in shallow pants as he sprinted across the unstable ground of the desert, letting out frustrated whines every time his long hair would fall into his face and stick to his sweaty skin. What he would give to still have his Desert Voe or Gerudo Vai outfits right now; too bad they were both torn to shreds a few shifts ago. He briefly glanced behind him, eyes widening in both disbelief and exasperation as he saw five large birds still pursuing him. 

Link let out a curse. How long has he been running for? Five minutes? He’s had Bokoblins and Moblins chase him for a few seconds at a time but this was ridiculous. All he did was walk by the green birds’ nests and that alone seemed to send them into a spiraling rampage. He winced as their angry screeches only seemed to grow louder overtime, most likely an attempt to discourage him and slow him down. Enemies in this desert - ‘ Gerudo Desert with Bird Statues’, he deemed it - appeared to have the shortest of tempers and would attack at the slightest of provocations.

This had all started a few weeks ago. He wasn’t sure what caused it in the first place but the familiar feeling of being transported by the Sheikah Slate - or what he assumed to be the Sheikah Slate - brought him to a neatly - cut field teeming with wildlife. At first, Link thought he had shifted to Hyrule Field by accident but upon taking a closer look, he noticed that there was something … off about it: the field was surrounded by tall overhangs, the weeds and overgrown trees were kept to a minimum, and he could even see a few travellers directing a friendly smile his way. It was all very bizzare - like nothing he’s ever seen before and for a second, he believed he was in a completely different Hyrule. A check of the slate revealed nothing but text reading ‘no signal’ and a static screen, indicating that he was out of the Sheikah Towers’ range. Despite how confused he was, he waved it off as a simple malfunction and went on his way. As soon as he grew accustomed to his surroundings, he felt the feeling of weightlessness again and in the blink of an eye, he was transported to a dark cave filled with tall, orange reptile - like creatures hissing for his blood. Then just a day later, he was on a coastal island, and then a dense forest a few days after, and then only a few hours later, he was dropped into a village that resided in the sky with strange people that looked oddly like him. 

The shifts happened randomly and constantly and it was disconcerting that no matter how many times he checked his Sheikah Slate, its screen would always show the same message. He tried to live off what little of the land he knew but he would rarely find edible food or durable weapons and the amount of unfamiliar monsters he encountered made him think the Goddess up there really hated him. It was chaos, plain and simple, and he was stuck in a never - ending loop of hostile monsters and dwindling supplies.

Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of one of the birds swooping down towards him. It’s getting ready to attack, he noticed, and without a moment’s hesitation, Link hastily pulled the sword from his back and moved it about in a messy arc, smirking as the enemy let out a strangled cry before collapsing in the sand. Even with only one weapon left, he still put up a pretty good fight. 

The chorus of screeches suddenly grew in pitch and Link looked up just in time to see one of the remaining enemies getting awfully close to him. He moved his arm to attack again but was caught by surprise when the large bird hastily ripped its claws through his skin instead before choosing to tug madly at his tunic. It was clearly enraged at the stunt he just pulled off and judging by how the other three birds seemed to follow its lead, there was no chance he would be shown a shrivel of mercy. In a matter of seconds, all four enemies surrounded him like hungry vultures, claws catching onto his hair, skin, and clothes and leaving deep angry gashes in their wake. His blade was ripped from his hand before he had the chance to use it again and all Link could do now was hope that he could outrun them.

However, he came to an abrupt stop when he felt the claws and feathers disappear from around him. He glanced back to see the four enemies flying away from him, one bird in particular clutching his sword. His eyebrows furrowed in silent confusion. They … they weren’t chasing him just for the sword, right?

Realization suddenly dawned on him as he felt the sand start to envelop his worn boots. He had ran directly into quicksand without noticing … and the birds had left him to die.

Link could feel the panic start to overtake him. There would be no problem if he completely sunk into the sand - Mipha’s Grace would easily bring him back to life - but the real problem lay with how he was going to make it out once he was revived; he would still be stuck underground with his limbs barely able to move and would be forced to die again once he ran out of air. The cycle would repeat again and again and again until Mipha couldn’t provide for him anymore, leading him to his final death.

He forced the thoughts away with a shake of his head and instead focused on finding the nearest sturdy surface. Yes! There was a bird statue not too far from him that he could grab onto and pull himself out with; it was a few meters away and judging by the rate at which he was sinking, he wouldn’t make it, but he still needed to try - he was never the one to turn away from danger anyways.

Each step brought him agonizingly closer to his goal. The sand was impeding him and each movement was met with startling resistance that only furthered his dread. No matter how little he moved, he was only drawn in closer to the ground. His legs, his waist, his chest - Hylia, he was barely a meter away from the bird statue and even he was starting to doubt the legitimacy of his plan. He reached a hand out in a desperate attempt to grasp onto any part of the statue but he was only met with empty air. He took one deep breath before his head inevitably sunk into the ground, eyes squeezed shut as he waited for death to take him.

Then as if the Goddess herself had heard his silent pleas, the familiar weightless sensation filled his body. In a matter of seconds, the hot desert sand surrounding him was suddenly replaced by freezing - cold water.

Link couldn’t help the gasp that escaped his lips. Within the brief moment that he had been plunged into the water, his enter body had already grown numb due to the temperature and he was already beginning to feel weighed down by the water seeping into his tunic. 

He started to quickly kick his legs in a feeble attempt to swim. The rippling image of the moon taunted him above the water, meaning he couldn’t be too far away from the surface. Despite how dark his vision was getting or how much his body begged him to rest, he still swam with all his might, knowing that his only chance of survival would immediately disappear the moment he stopped.  

Air stung his lungs as soon as he broke through the surface and each gulp of breath sent him further into a state of hysterical euphoria. He caught sight of a sandbank not too far ahead and his arms immediately started to pull him forward with newfound energy. Once on land, he collapsed onto the ground in a shuddering heap and he couldn’t stop himself from heaving up mouthfuls of dirty water that dribbled back into the river like little snakes. He’s okay, he told himself between each shuddering gasp, he made it out alive. He curled in on himself once the adrenaline subsided into a bone - deep chill, his harsh coughs piercing the night air. 

Link stared at the moon through half - lidded eyes. It was well into the night wherever he was, and it would certainly be smart to find shelter before any monsters could find him. His tunic was thoroughly soaked and barely provided him with any warmth too, so he would definitely need to take that off before he could fall sick.

He weakly pushed himself onto shaking arms and knees and was able to catch a glimpse of a dimly - lit village not too far away from him. Perfect, he would be given a chance to find a warm home with a hopefully decent meal; maybe get some directions after he took a long nap, too. Slowly but surely, he brought himself to his feet and sluggishly made his way over to the small town.

Link couldn’t believe how much of a crowd there was. Yes, the amount of people made him anxious but he couldn’t help but smile at the families ambling around with small children or the cheerful salesmen wildly waving around their product. Lantern light lit up the air and illuminated the street and despite how cold Link was, he felt himself ease up as the warmth of the light embraced him. It was a quaint village that he had never been to before but the bustling street seemed to invite him in like an old friend.

He quietly followed the flow of the crowd, eyeing the small stands and little shops lining the street: they seemed to sell everything from an assortment of fruits and vegetables to different styles of clothing and weaponry. He could stock up while he’s here; he only has a day’s worth of apples left in his Sheikah Slate anyway. Maybe he would get the chance to make a meal for the night and a few more in case he gets stranded on his journey again - Cream of Mushroom Soup sounded really good right now and his stomach seemed to grumble in agreement. He should hopefully have enough Rupees to buy him all the ingredients and if not, he could always ask if he could do any extra work as pay -

“Did you hear that the Hero of Legend has returned from his adventure?”

Link came to a sudden stop and discreetly tilted his head towards two men who stood at a table outside a bar. ‘Hero of Legend’, huh? That was certainly a title he’s never heard before. He’s heard things like ‘Hero of Time’, ‘Hero of Hyrule’, and ‘Hero of Twilight’ but ‘Hero of Legend’ was something brand new to him. Now, he wasn’t sure where exactly those titles were derived from or if they’re somehow connected to him at all but that was a problem for a later time; right now, he wanted to know what these men knew. He quietly shuffled to a nearby fruit stand, mindlessly inspecting an apple as he eagerly waited for the conversation to continue.

“Ah, Link’s back already? His last trip lasted two months so I’m surprised he came back this early.”

“Yeah, well, rumor has it that he fell sick again; he’s even worse off now than he was when he returned from sea. I heard from one of the soldiers that he fainted as soon as he stepped foot into Hyrule Castle and he’s been holed up in his home ever since. The Princess even sent out a message to all of Hyrule saying that no one’s to go in or around his house except for a select few. I’m not exactly sure what he’s been up to but it looks like he pushed himself too far this time.”

“The poor kid. Who’s taking care of him now?”

“Not really sure. A friend of mine saw a few soldiers posted outside his door courtesy of the Princess but there was also this weird guy with a purple rabbit hood leaving and entering the house at will. I’ve seen that boy stop by for food and potions here, too, so I guess he’s the one out shopping for Link while he’s out of commission. Still, it’s a little weird that the Princess would send someone like that of all people to take care of Hyrule’s hero.”

Link frowned when the conversation dissolved into quiet murmurs. So there is another Link here - and he might be able to speak with him. He’s gathered from murmured stories and dedicated monuments that when there was a ‘Hero of Something’, there was a Link, but the problem of never being able to find said hero always arose. Yet now was his chance: the resident Link was home and he could finally get some answers. He would ask what was happening with the various titles that have been floating around, ask for access to Zelda, and hopefully resolve the problem with his Sheikah Slate once and for all.

He nodded a quick farewell to the salesmen before hastily striding towards the two men, hands already poised to sign; however, a shriek shattered the lively atmosphere and Link couldn’t help but turn towards the sound. 

Just a few blocks away stood a petrified woman, arms gripped deathly around her bag of groceries as a large Hinox towered over her. 

Link’s instincts automatically kicked in. With an annoyed ‘tch’, he snatched a bow and a handful of arrows from a nearby vendor before breaking into a mad dash towards the scene. Of course this had to happen now of all times - he was so close to having his life returned to normal but despite how strongly he felt about the matter, his morals deemed that the life of one person weighed more than a lifetime of peace for him. He drew back the bow with trained precision and let the arrow loose from his grip where it directly pierced the beast’s eye in a matter of seconds.

It was a perfect shot.

The ground shook as the Hinox let out a guttural roar of pain as it stumbled back into a group of buildings. The houses crumbled under the sudden weight and inevitably became a mess of stones and plaster that spilled onto the crowded streets. Flames were starting to trickle from the fallen lanterns and villagers were in a state of disarray as they pushed and toppled over each other trying to get away but Link stood his ground, already notching a few more arrows and lining up his shot. 

Despite how chaotic the battlefield was, Link was in his element. He was used to fighting among rubble and open spaces against monsters that were way too big to take on alone; he felt at home again and he couldn’t help but smirk with the utmost confidence as each arrow wedged itself into the Hinox. The enemy was undeniably strong - probably stronger than any he’s ever encountered before - but that didn’t discourage him; it just meant he couldn’t be as reckless as he usually was. He supposed he could attack closer with a sword or use some of his Champion abilities but despite how many people have fled, there was still a substantial amount left cowering behind stones and nestled into corners; he didn’t want to hurt anybody in case they happened to fall in his line of fire. The risks far outweighed the benefits so attacking from afar it was, giving him the advantage of longer reaction time and more supplies at his disposal.

Just as he readied another arrow, his eyes widened when he saw the creature suddenly crouch down to eye a trembling boy beside it. That entire monologue of being careful and planning ahead was thrown out the window as soon as Link broke into a sprint. That boy was seconds away from death and it fueled him to run faster despite how much his legs ached or how much the smoke burned his lungs; he couldn’t let any more people suffer because of him. As the Hinox raised his hand to swipe at the child, he lunged forward, successfully pushing the boy to the side and taking the full force of the hit. His body flew lifelessly through the air and finally smacked into a concrete building, his head making a sickening crack before his vision faded to black. 

There was nothing after that: there were no sights, sounds, sensations - anything to tell Link that he was still alive. In short, he had simply died.

That is, until a sudden bright green light filled the empty void. Within the green wisps of air that filled his vision stood a beautiful Zora princess, eyes filled with so much fondness and love that it made his heart flutter. She gently moved to place her hands on either side of his face before leaning her forehead onto his, eyes closed as a quiet “ it was my pleasure” escaped her lips

Whatever pain he felt instantly vanished along with the light and he could feel days’ worth of wounds slowly heal. He opened his eyes to destroyed buildings and blazing fires surrounding him with a particularly large creature facing away from him - a Hinox - and before he was able to register it, Revali’s Gale had took him into the sky. 

He wasn’t sure how he got into this situation; the high of being revived from Mipha combined with the adrenaline coursing through him made his body lithe and agile and his mind hyperfocus  on the enemy, unable to recall any recent events that took place. To him, nothing in this world existed but the Hinox and himself and once he caught sight of the enemy, he had the overwhelming urge to kill it. Just moments away from the ground, he let his fingers snap and numbly watched how lightning seemed to pour from the sky directly to the lone enemy on the field; it was burnt to a crisp within seconds and Link could have sworn he heard Urbosa’s haughty laughter ring faintly in the distance.

As soon as his boots touched the ground, he felt the surge of euphoria slip away into an eerie calmness and he was suddenly aware of the creature’s lifeless body falling towards him. He quickly sidestepped and watched the burnt form roughly hit the ground before silently disappearing in a puff of black smoke.

“H - How…” 

Link curiously looked over his shoulder to see an old man shakily pointing a finger towards him, his face unnaturally pale.

“I saw it…” He stuttered. “ I - I saw you die with my own two eyes and yet you - … You were brought back to life within mere seconds… l - like one of Ganon’s monsters.” His expression suddenly hardened and his eyes were filled with a blazing rage. “ … You’re a monster.”

Link stilled at the statement. Terrified gasps sounded from all around him and small murmurs of “monster” and “death” seemed to float through the air like dying leaves. They thought he was a … monster? He frantically brought his hands up in a feeble attempt to explain himself but was abruptly silenced by another woman.

“Get out!” She shouted as she waved around a steel hammer. The crowd seemed to agree with her, joining in with threats of their own and raising their respective weapons.

“Leave us alone!”

“Get lost!”

“Monster!”

He felt like a cornered animal. They were all screaming at him with harsh voices and every person he looked at seemed to glare back with a mix of horror and disgust like he was some sort of abomination. He shrunk back under their gazes and any attempt to argue back was lost to panicked thoughts. They thought he was a monster - they thought he was a monster. He let these people down, he let this whole village down, he let Hyrule down, he let Zelda down - he let everyone down.

Link suddenly bolted, leaving an outraged crowd in his wake. His feet pounded heavily against cobblestone pathways and no matter how far away he got from those villagers, their taunts always seemed to echo right behind him. He heard everything from the aggressive shouts of older men to the despairing wails of small children; everyone was against him, no matter who they were, and he needed to get away from them - he needed to be anywhere but here. 

His legs carried him through rock solid ground and small puddles of water to overgrown grass and soft dirt floors. He didn’t know where he was going but Hylia, he needed to get as far away from that village as he could. It wasn’t until he felt his breaths coming out in short gasps did he finally stop to lean himself against a tree and vainly tried to suppress his overwhelming emotions. He was known as one of the strongest and courageous knights in all of Hyrule so why was he letting a few insults get under his skin? It was clearly a misunderstanding among the village but why did their scorn and hatred hurt him so much? He let his legs give out from beneath him and buried his head into his knees. Was he that much of a failure?

He sat curled in on himself for an indeterminate amount of time, unsuccessfully trying to banish the mocking voices from his head. None of the cricket chirps or owl hoots seemed to alleviate the loneliness like they usually did and no matter how much he tried to calm himself, echoes of “monster” would always come back and haunt him. He felt hopeless, pathetic, and alone among the dense forest. That is until a sudden tune caught his attention.

His ears perked up at the sound that seemed to drift with the wind, its notes faintly distinguishable but definitely recognizable. The song was the one the Koroks would sing from time to time whenever he visited the Great Deku Tree; it was a happy tune and their voices were always filled with joy and cheer whenever they sang. He couldn’t recall the name of it but he knew it was one of the Seven Sages’ songs - ‘Sophia’s Song’ or something like that? Regardless, it was a tune he was familiar with and maybe if he followed it, he could find a few Koroks to comfort him. 

Link easily wove his way through the trees, turning his head every which way to find the source of the song. He was getting closer with each step and he could feel a sense of longing bubbling inside his chest.

However, his hopes were dashed when he found the source of the song to not be coming from a forest full of virtue and life, but instead a makeshift campsite comprised of a few travellers. There seemed to be three of them: a young man wrapped in a blue scarf sound asleep on his side, a snoring young boy wearing a blue tunic sprawled haphazardly across the dirt, and an older - looking man propped against a tree, eyes closed in peaceful bliss as he let his fingers glide effortlessly across a blue instrument. The eldest played the song he’d been hearing without hesitation, almost as if the tune was ingrained in his mind.

Although not exactly what Link was hoping for, he couldn’t help but watch and relax. It wasn’t home, but it was the closest to home he’s gotten to in a few weeks and Hyrule be damned if it thought he was going to let this opportunity slip. Content, he decided to settle towards a hollow tree trunk but quickly froze as twig snapped beneath his feet.

The older man immediately stopped playing and peered into the dense foliage. The hero held his breath as the stranger moved closer to investigate, trading the blue instrument for a rather large - looking sword that was nearly the size of Link himself; and despite the immediate danger he was in, he couldn’t help but notice how similar the man looked to him - even with the bizarre markings on his face and the scar over his eye. It was strange to say the least but for all he knew, the other could be an enemy and he didn’t want to be thrown into combat after all that’s happened tonight. What did Link have left to defend himself with anyways? Daruk’s Protection?

He was more than grateful when an owl suddenly flew into the clearing and perched on one of the long branches, drawing in the man’s gaze. The animal and Hylian stared at each other for a long few seconds before the latter lightly shook his head and smiled fondly at the creature; that seemed to ease the tension in his shoulders. He soon after walked back to his spot, letting the sword rest against the tree and bringing the instrument back to his lips to play the same soft tune again; in fact, the owl seemed to chime in with soft hoots here and there as if singing along. 

Link was alright for now. He was somewhere off in a strange forest, exhausted and hungry, a small village not too far away demanding for his death, and probably moments away from being transported to yet another strange part of Hyrule, and yet, he was able to find a small semblance of home anyways among a group of strangers, a soft tune unknowingly being the start of their inevitable meeting. 

[ashleyswrittenwords]

How To Be A Queen [Part 12]

Summary: Princess Zelda is at a loss. Her handed royal responsibilities have begun to weigh heavily on her and she is eventually backed into a corner. Live a life she loathes or run away from everything she’s ever known? Navigating life is hard, and Link forces her to learn that she doesn’t have to do it alone.

Warning: Blood. Slight scary like stuff. Lmk if you think I should add more.

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Part 1 Here

How To Be A Queen

No, it wasn’t Link.

A shout was already in my throat, but it quickly died to the sight of a horse’s snout staring straight at me. My eyes drifted up to the rider and my breath froze in my lungs. The man from the festival. The older gentlemen, except his eyes weren’t as soft; instead he looked like he had just heard a joke.

“It’s her alright,” he was grinning wryly, exposing his teeth.

I needed to run.

Link was too far; I couldn’t scream and hope he’d hear. It had to be me to save myself.

I turned to do just that. Adrenaline coursed through me, making my fear more intense. The only sound I could hear was of hooves on dirt. More than one? I can’t outrun a horse. I can barely outrun a tortoise. He was toying with me. Right over left and for the love of Hylia don’t trip.

My mind raced with what they could possibly want to do with me. Ransom was what first came to my mind. Father had many enemies that masqueraded as allies; I wasn’t blind to see truth in that. My family had volumes of meaningless bloodshed commanded by their hand. If anything, it could just be a group that hated the monarchy and simply wanted to see me hanged from a tree. My eyes flickered to the forest. It was dense, not exactly too dense for a horse, but I didn’t have a choice. I was going to be run down. I put all my weight onto my left foot and took a sharp left into the woods. Twigs snapped past me and I heard a female shouting not far behind. The air felt like sharp knives in my lungs. It hurt and I wanted desperately to stop. I couldn’t, I wouldn’t.

The snow was thicker here and my boots felt like weights. I was panicking. Goddesses, no. The horses behind me didn’t seem to be hindered much. There was a steady stream of shouts and clickings that guided them. New tears pricked my eyes. With every fiber of my being I felt pure fear resonating. In this moment, I understood what it felt to be a fox being chased by hunting dogs. Branches raced past and I knew I was being scraped to pieces. Somehow, I couldn’t feel anything. My throat felt numb and my muscles struggled to get the oxygen they needed. A pasture opened before me and I didn’t stop.

A sharp sound flew through the air and I felt sudden pressure around my arms and neck. Then, I couldn’t breathe and I saw the stars above. Their beauty felt mocking. My head hit the ground before the rest of my body and I couldn’t move. My arms were paralyzed to my sides.

“Nerissa!” The man screamed, “Don’t kill her!”

I can’t breathe.

“She’s fine.”

Crunching snow.

A woman came into view above me, replacing the stars. My mouth gaped like a fish for air. She was glaring at me but crouched to released the tight knot. My breath came it small gasps, but it didn’t last long. Her foot hit my stomach and the little breath I had left once more. I turned to my side, squeezing my eyes shut and waited for another blow. I was yanked upward and hit the ground again. My backpack was cut off at the straps.

Then, she took to binding my arms and legs.

“Who are you?” My voice wasn’t my own.

She snickered. “Oh, you don’t recognize me?” Her face came into view fully now. The woman from the fire. The same woman from the bridge. I didn’t say anything, but the shock showed on my face by the looks of her satisfied smile. I shouldn’t be surprised at this point.

I was thrown over her shoulder rather roughly and then over a horse’s back. Thick tears were caught in my eyelashes. The horses began moving back to the path.

“What if she screams?”

Nerissa made a noise akin to a chuckle, “She won’t.”

I felt every bit of movement and I was jostled around quite a bit. Every now and again one of them would ask if I was still breathing. Which was pointless, I refused to talk to them. It had gotten to the point where she had pushed me off the horse and listened to my pained grunts as I hit the cold dirt.

“Leave me alone,” he mocked with a squeaky voice, “Go away, Link.” My brow creased and I felt my throat close painfully. I choked on my sob.

“Don’t say that name,” Nerissa hissed.

“Can’t you at least agree how pathetic that is? We surprised her on horses. The princess-”

“Shut up! The job isn’t done,” she sounded pissed, “Don’t get cocky.”

The rest of the ride was spent in an uncomfortable silence. My restraints hurt terribly and by the time we reached the destination my skin was rubbed raw. I stayed silent as the man pulled me off the horse. A large Goron man stood in front of the house’s door, shock flickering on his face. Several other odd people stood around, staring at me as if I were a piece of meat and they were starving wolves. I tried keeping my head high retaining what bit of dignity I had left. That was hard to do when you’ve been tossed to the ground like rubbish.

Nerissa wasn’t afraid to drag me inside without another word being said to our audience. She was taller than most of them and by the looks of it was regarded with respect as well. I was taken past the main room and into a side room. It was windowless and I assumed they were using the abandoned house as a temporary headquarters. The house was stripped other than the bare furniture, trash that littered the floor, and the windows boarded up. A bright lantern offered some light and I was able to finally make out the state I was in. As she untied my wrists, bloody rashes lined my skin. The glimpse didn’t last long because she pulled my arms behind the chair and retied them. I cried out, one of my wrists flared with pain. She also made sure to gag me with a long piece of cloth as if now I would think this is the optimal time to start screaming. The coat was ripped, and my pants weren’t in any better shape – probably worse. My face was wet with tears and mud. I felt disgusting.

Nerissa didn’t say anything as she rummaged through my bag. I thought she had to at least be partially Gerudo. Her skin was pale, but her stature was not anything Hylian. A man, not the older one from before, walked in. He had stark black hair and his eyes just as dark. I hoped I didn’t react, but his gaze made me freeze. He was smiling.

“Well,” he started, “I’m pleasantly surprised, Nerissa.” He sounded as such. I decided that I despised him.

“You shouldn’t be,” she responded lamely, throwing my pouch of gold coins on the table.

“Princess,” the man addressed me now. His voice disturbed me. It was silky and deceptive.  He strode closer. “We are so humbled to have you under this roof.”

He expected me to reply because he removed that cloth in my mouth. His rough fingers grazed my skin. When I did not speak, he knelt and looked at me with falsely kind eyes. His hand traced my jaw gently like he was savoring the moment. “Don’t fret, Highness. We’re heading to a nicer quarters soon enough.” I gathered the saliva in my mouth and spit in his face. The smile wavered, if not a little and it gave me a sick satisfaction. He stood, turned away from me and towards Nerissa who was staring hatred at me. So much so, that I looked away.

“Crow told me it went smoothly, yes?”

She looked bored, “Like you asked, sir. He wasn’t necessary.”

He made a gesture, glancing back at me, and they both left the room. Whether it was the pain that brought me to tears again or the suddenness of being alone, I broke down. My body heaved with sobs and even that hurt. Each tug at the ropes was pointless, it did more damage than good. I felt a deep pit of regret growing. I should never have left Hateno like that. I shouldn’t have left Anju nor her family. Most of all, I shouldn’t have left Link. If I was already useless on my own, how was I supposed to trek across Hyrule alone? I sat in solitude with my thoughts for a long while. Whatever they stepped out to talk about must have been heated because I could vaguely hear shouts reverberate into the room. The dry wall was cracked and decaying and I shivered at the thought of bugs creeping beyond the lantern’s flame.

The door opened again, revealing Nerissa. She looked agitated, even more so when her eyes laid on me. Regardless she pulled up a chair with the small side table along with it. “You looked like a snot nosed, brat.”

I swallowed another sob that threatened to surface and met her gaze. It was full of distain and I wondered what I did to deserve it. She opened her mouth, “I knew it was you when you got to that stable.” The woman flipped a switchblade in her hand and smacked the hilt on the table. I winced at the sudden clank. She reached over and yanked the gag from my mouth and over my chin, letting it hang uselessly like a necklace.

“I knew beforehand too. I was going to try to take you that night if you were alone,” she twisted my hair in her finger. “Would have,” she pulled at it, forcing my head forward and I yelped, “yanked you by your pretty yellow hair all the way here and we would have been done with it.” She hummed, “And if I had it my way, scalped it off you as a trophy. But no.”

Nerissa let go, letting the lock fall back in front of my eyes. “Of course not. You had to bring someone with you. Had to… make everything more difficult for me, huh Zelda?” She said my name as if it were a hot knife.

I sounded scratchy, “Why do you hate me?”

There was a pause and she laughed boisterously. I breathed inward, suddenly hit with the alarm of how afraid I was of this woman. “What don’t I hate you for? Your entire family has given my people and I nothing but anguish,” Nerissa flat-lined, “I hate you because of who you’re destined to become. Don’t take it personally, puppet. It’s a professional hatred.”

“Besides!” She waved off her last comment, “I love hunting you Hylians for sport. Makes it much more exciting when I’m being paid by these idiots to hunt down a princess. You made it fun, too. Gave a chase. Albeit not a very long one, but a chase nonetheless.” She unknotted the rope to my hands, freeing one, and laid my injured wrist onto the table. The woman acknowledged my pained whimpers and spread my fingers out delicately, surely not to relieve the pain but to prolong whatever she planned. My hand was shaking.

“However, you’re not the one I want. The Yiga love you for other reasons. I want another,” she took her time and made sure each digit was equally apart. My wrist throbbed. “I want you to tell me about everything you know about him. His family, his lovers, his friends. Everything you know. And while you keep that information from me, we will play a little game I call the Knife Game.” Nerissa smiled to herself as she picked up the knife already laying on the table and looked at me expectantly. “You may begin.”

I stared dumbly at her, “Who are you talking about?”

The knife’s sharp blade embedded itself into the wood between my thumb and point finger. I had screamed, thinking she was going to take a stab at my hand.

“Wrong question. You shouldn’t ask things you know that answer to,” she finally looked down at where the blade landed, “Oh, you got lucky. Worse luck next time. Surely.”

“I-I don’t,” I started hyperventilating as she yanked the knife from the wood again, “The King? Why would-“

“I don’t give a shit about your dad. Stop playing stupid.”

The knife nicked the skin of my middle finger’s knuckled and I cried out. It wasn’t a deep pain, but it was sharp. She wouldn’t let that man say Link’s name. Is that who she’s talking about?

“Link?” I asked it more as a question to myself, but the name made her look up sharply. Her knife stayed imbedded in the wood. She offered a thin-lipped smile, “So, I wasn’t wrong. Such delicate little fingers, not a callous mars them. I bet you’ve never seen a day of work in your life. It would be a shame if you lost one for careless reasons. Come on, puppet, explain who he is to you.”

I didn’t want to. Whoever she was, this Nerissa was filled with malice. A deep seeded hatred that shook me. I couldn’t expose the people I had come to love to her, right? Whatever she was doing to me in this moment, I didn’t want them to go through. They did nothing to deserve that. Link didn’t deserve that.

“I don’t know anything about him,” I squeaked. My heart leapt as the stab missed again.

“We can do this all night,” Nerissa growled.

“He’s a captain in the Royal Guard,” I cried out and there was another slash to my pinky. I prayed it wasn’t bad. The new wound seered. “That’s all I know! That’s it!”

“Bullshit!” She was livid, her voice screeching. “You know more than that. Stop playing stupid. I’m not blind, Princess. I’ve seen you galivanting across Hyrule with that monster from the start! Tell my where,” She started puncturing backwards now without waiting for me to talk, “he is.” She kept going like the ticking of a clock.

“I don’t know,” I stared in horror as my fingers reddened with my own blood. I pleaded and begged but it didn’t matter. She wouldn’t stop. But I wasn’t going to tell her that his family lived in the town they were just at. It would be too easy for them. What if Link had already left for the capital? There would be no one in that house except Aryll and her aunt.

“God damn it, Nerissa!” The dark-haired Hylian man shouted as he burst into the room, “You said you weren’t followed!” The door smacked against the wall behind it.

He growled a curse and Nerissa scowled. I almost cried in relief when she paused her stabbing. The aftermath bled onto the table and I couldn’t look away.

“I wasn’t. You know I should at least be able to manage that. What are you on about?” She set down the switchblade and stood from her chair, annoyed that our exchange was interrupted. As an afterthought, she roughly yanked the gag back into place.

“Crow just told me the fucking mercenary was found behind a tree half alive. Of course, you were followed. You had to have been.”

She looked bewildered and spared a glare at me. “He’s a Goron. Probably just drunk himself under the table.”

“Yeah, with a dented skull.” He flung his hands behind his head and paced the floor. “Makes sense. We only kidnapped the high fucking princess of Hyrule, Nerissa,” he shoved a dagger into a scabbard hidden in his boot. “It’s fine,” she said, “Probably just a straggler that saw us.”

The man looked me up and down. I squirmed under his gaze and tried shouting a curse at him through my restraints. “Or it’s her fuckin’ guard dog.”

Laura shook her head, “Impossible. They split at the last village. I saw it.”

“Maybe you should reevaluate. No one else would be able to take down that meat head without us hearing. I’m surprised you of all people could overlook that.” He shouted orders outside the door, hearing muffled voices back.

The man shook his head, stepping from the doorway. “They found another one. Tie her back to the chair. We can’t have her try to leave.” She did, ignoring my muffled cries.

“We’ll search the perimeter then, station someone at every angle in pairs,” Nerissa was interrupted by her counterpart.

“I’m the one making order here. Not you.” He looked at her hard, then they left.

The door was left ajar and I with my bleeding hand. I tried listening in on their conversations to get a gauge on what was happening, but they were too far away at this point. I tried tugging at the ropes again, but my wrist was in too much pain. My hand, as well, for that matter. It was still bleeding, and I could feel it drip onto the left as I attempted to add pressure to the cuts.

There was a weird smell. Smoke?

My heart raced. They were coming back for me, right? Something crashed loudly outside, splintering. Then, I heard it. Flames licking up walls. There was a lot of yelling and then nothing. I yelled out, forgetting the cloth in my mouth and hoped desperately for help.

“Hello?” It came out smudged and I felt frantic, squirming in my chair. I tried anything to make me mobile again. The chair tilted and eventually I toppled over. The smell was more intense now, distinctly smoke. I screamed, praying someone will hear me. Anyone. There was no chance now to get out of this chair.

My throat felt raw and it hurt with each scream.

The door flew open and a pair of boots stepped into my vision almost soundlessly. An arrow was pointed in my general direction but was loosened. Smoke billowed in and I kept yelling. My feet kept kicking.

I stopped my flailing at the movement of the ties being cut. First my wrists and then my ankles. I watched as the ropes at my feet were being pulled. I almost didn’t recognize him. His hair was matted and he moved with a measure of preciseness and purpose. Link’s face scared me. He didn’t look like himself. I yelled his name through the gag. He kept mumbling and finally untangled them from my feet. There was a lot of smoke now that came into the room and the sound of fire was outside the door. Link looked at the wall behind us and went to it, tugging on the boards harshly. I tried to come to my feet and gasped at the added pressure on my injured hand. My knees didn’t feel normal either. He pulled the boards off the open window and tossed them to the side.

Link came back to me and untied the gag. “Can you walk?”

My legs were shaking, and I had to grab onto him in case they gave out. Either he got the message or I took too long to answer, because he held onto me and carefully picked me up. We went threw the window and immediately in the forest. He kept looking back every now and again. Link took long strides. Anything to get as far as we could from that house or what was left of it. He looked at me occasionally, taking small assessments and his eyes reminded me of blue fire. Link was guarded and it was hard to read him, not that it was easy before – but now it was somehow different. Blood was soaked into his shirt and he gripped me as if I’d slip through his fingers.

Eventually, he seemed to be comfortable putting me down. There was a large rock he sat me on and knealt in front of me, giving me a hard look. Link was angry. He studied my face and his brows creased in concentration. “I’m sorry,” he said.

I felt a deep sense of anguish hit me. Tears welled up in my eyes and I cradled my hand in my coat. The bruises marred my skin in more places than I could see. Because if I couldn’t see them, I could feel them and I felt broken. I felt utterly and truly broken.

“I’m sorry,” he said again. Then another time. He went to apologize once more, but I interrupted by saying his name. He looked at me in shock at the sound of my voice. It sounded like I went through Hell and back. Link looked worried; his eyes softer than what I had seen at the house. As if finally out of energy, his forehead touched my knees and he leaned forward into me. The tenseness in his body slipped away.

“I thought I lost you,” Link spoke.

The bow and quiver came into view. I brought a hand to his blond locks. He became rigid to the touch for a moment but eased as I combed through his hair. Despite my aching body, I felt suddenly at peace. The fear and anxiety of but an hour earlier dissipated slowly. Link was warm and familiar.

“I’m sorry,” I said softly, echoing his earlier sentiments. His eyes met mine. I wasn’t sure exactly what I was apologizing for. Everything from leaving without telling him to simply dragging him from his place in the castle filled me with regret.

“I left you,” he was touching my side of my calf now with a hand. Even in the state I was in, his touch sent a light flush to my cheeks. “I,” Link faltered, seeming to search for words, “I thought that you’d be okay if I left you for a little bit. I went to grab some things and see if you’d understand.” He looked frantic as he thought it through. The hand on my leg tightened its grip. “It didn’t matter how far I ran to catch up. You weren’t there.”

He shook his head and let out a shaky breath.

“…but I’m here now,” I voiced. A faint ghost of a smile crossed his face and he only nodded, then drew his eyes to my right hand. He held his own out, gesturing me to release it from my side. I swallowed and gingerly put it in his hand. As he took it, he watched my pained reaction at the movement. The cuts had stopped bleeding, but it was an ugly sight. My wrist was blue and bruising up. His face was hard. “Who did this?”

“The woman from the stable.” The semblance of a sob bubbled in my throat. Looking back at it made the cuts more sore as if they were still fresh. “She wanted me to… to talk about you.”

Link’s brow furrowed, “About me? They were Yiga weren’t they?”

Were? I frowned, “She didn’t seem to be. I think she was hired.”

“Mercenary,” he mumbled, annoyed. Link seemed to want to ask more, but relented by noticing the tears in my eyes. Instead, he dropped my hand in my lap for a moment and shuffled over to behind the rock. Our bag was there. Apparently, this stop wasn’t as coincidental as I thought it was.

He came back with white bandages. “I think your wrist is broken. Did she do that too?”

I shrugged, “Probably when she threw me off the horse.”

His brows creased. “She threw you off a-!” Link was yelling but stopped himself and closed his eyes. He took a moment to collect himself, “Okay! We’ll have to see someone for that.”

I tilted my head to the side as he started wrapping a bandage around my index finger. The cuts bled slightly at the added pressure. A realization hit me, “Wait, you’re not taking me back to the castle?”

He looked up, confused. “Do you want to go back to the castle?”

“No. I just. I thought that-” One of my shoulders shrugged and hope caught aflame in my chest.

“If you want to we can. It might be safer,” he said, paying my attention to the bandages.

“Safer?” I would think it would be the safest. Link sighed as he secured the finger and examined the nest, “I don’t suppose that they’ll let me be your personal guard anymore if we went back. I think that you’d be safest with me.”

A smile played on my lips, “Is that an ego, I hear?”

He scoffed, “No, I’m just saying I’ve never lost in a dual and I’m not planning on starting that streak anytime soon. Plus, it’s not like we’re heading to any rebel territory.”

“Well, I was going to Gerudo Town,” I said and his eyes darted to mine. “Do you really want to go there?” His fingers stopped rolling the bandages.

I shrugged, “If I’m going to be queen one day, I want to understand different cultures. Father has a difficult enough time talking to the Gerudo. It seems like a good opportunity to learn.”

“You know they don’t let men inside the city walls, right?”

“Oh, yes, that was a big motivator actually.”

He grew quiet for a moment and ran a hand through his hair.

“I want you to know that I do want to be here. With you and following you and being here with you,” Link paused to read my expression. My heart felt like it stopped and my lips clumsily communicated that, “What about… what about what you said to-”

He looked down at our hands and shook his head, “I-I don’t know! I was tired of the questions, I guess.”

“Listen,” he breathed in deeply, “I don’t know what I think of you, Zelda!”

My brow creased and I went to voice my question, but he continued with exasperation in his words. “When I first saw you it was in a portrait when I was 15. It was at the castle right after I enlisted. You weren’t smiling or anything so my first thought was, ‘Wow she looks stuck up.’ And then before we deployed, the King did his speech during a military parade and you were there. I had never seen you in person until then. You looked calm and even and you didn’t look as stuck up as in the portrait.

“Then during my knighting, you looked just every bit of a princess. Everything everyone said about you was in front of me. I didn’t believe them and, goddesses, I hoped you didn’t see right through me in that moment. I thought you were holy. Like you had just stopped by from heaven and for some reason decided to give me the time of day.” He took a breath, his eyes flickering to mine for a moment and his cheeks reddened in embarrassment. “And two years ago after when I was promoted, I didn’t know what to expect. A part of me told me to turn down the offer. But when I met you and you smiled at me. And when you tried to get me to laugh or when you tried scaring me. When you laughed at your own jokes instead and when you looked disappointed at my lack of fear… everything I had ever thought of you was turned upside down again.”

Link’s hand gripped my own just enough that I noticed. “The night that we first stepped into Castle Town and you stopped to see everything,” he smiled, “It was like seeing that town for the first time all over again. It was when I knew I had made the right choice not only with joining you but with this whole personal guard thing. Even if I don’t know, you make me want to know. I want to keep seeing the world through your eyes, so wherever you decide to go I’ll come with you.”

He focused his eyes on me again and I felt my heart beating fast at his closeness. Link wanted to be with me. “So,” I started, my face feeling redder by the second, “So, you’re not doing it for the money?”

“Zel,” he laughed lightly, “I haven’t seen one rupee since the day I enlisted. The majority goes straight to my aunt and sister. No, I’m not doing this for the money.”

“I’m not a job to you?”

“If you were, I wouldn’t have let you out of your room that first night.”

I smiled widely and he smiled back.

“Gerudo Town, right?” He asked, starting again at my injuries. I nodded, feeling happier than I’ve been in a long time.

[dreadlock-detective]

PREPARE FOR THE ASK ANSWER OMNIBUS!

I'm clearing out my ask box, so here's a rapid fire bunch of answers to the 43 questions in there! A lot of these I wanted to draw a comic or do a little animation for but just never got the time or energy, and others I didn't know what to say, but I think that some response is better than no response, so while these are all going to be either text or doodles, I wanted them all to actually get answers.

Below the cut because this’ll be a hella long one~ Plenty of Zelda doodles in there though so if you just wanna see doofy drawings click too!

@definitely-darcy​ - Ahhh I'm sorry I wanted to make an animated gif of this for a long time now and just never got around to it T_T. But thank you for the kind words!

@hfbdhhjsbnjdknfsjkbnfkjbgsm… I feel like this is some kind of internet talk that I totally missed the memo on

@sgo-j - Buliara definitely needs some art! She'll actually show up in my AU comic if I get far enough… probably another 3 sets of pages away or more at this point though.

@jackiithedevil - !!!!!!!! <3

@sparkybananaboi - no wolf Link but it’s somethin ;D

@scythfi-writer - Ahhhhh pressure! Eheheh, but glad I could entertain! Hope I haven’t disappointed so far ;D

@draceempressa - …wait there's a sidequest about that!? I saw the sign on the cliff but never saw a sidequest about it lol. Dangit even though I got this ask a while ago I forgot all about it lol. WHELP something else to do when I get back into the game for the DLC!

@rabbitmagic - Even a messenger of the heavens needs a hobby, right? :D

@nathanswallofopinion - They only think that because they haven't been seduced by his amazing puns yet~

Bucket has since died~ using my Windows PC now. Which drives me insane, but at least it's way more powerful than my old iMac. (Still hate Windows though - it's user interface is just so horribly inefficient…)

We're all wonderful band of seally fools here! Glad to have ya!

Teba's been in my AU comic stuff so far, and his family will probably show up in the next set if I get around to it. Unfortunately his personality doesn't lend itself too well to my stupid jokes so he's only been in my more serious stuff so far~

@verlinktbeichris

@sparkybananaboi

Is this still a problem? I haven’t got a way to check lol. I need to update it anyway to be more informative so I guess I’ll check it out then!

JUST AS SOON AS I CAN GET THE WORLD DOMINATION APP TO INSTALL ON THIS DANG THING!

I have no idea what you're talking about, Anon~ Just a bunch of potassium lovers here that's all~!

@redventure - That's Bob~ he's super supportive~ Kind of an enabler really…

@angeliquenoir1912

Ahhh!! thanks!!

Hm. Uh. Not that I've seen, but I'm not exactly diving into their collection~...

Once while he was relaxing out of uniform he ran into a nervous Shiekah girl. They got into a pretty heated argument over who’s face tattoo was upside down. Does that count?

I think this was before my Mipha comic, so at least I’ve drawn her a bit more, but yeah no Link x Mipha stuff directly yet~ I might get around to it! No silly ideas are coming to me to doodle out right now though, sorry!

OH MY GOD BE PREPARED IS ONE OF MY FAVORITE SONGS EVER AND AFTER READING THIS I WANTED TO DO A WHOLE ANIMATIC OF GANNY DOING THE SONG BUT THAT WAS EXACTLY WHEN MY COMPUTER DIED AND I LOST ALL MOTIVATION T_T

But I needed to at least do my favorite bit

Fun Fact: apparently the Hyrule Warriors website lists Dragmire as his last name again. Not that that game is canon but still. But yeah high five for old school Zelda lore!

*cries because I don’t have photoshop on my PC to edit Kamina’s shades onto loads of Sidon screenshots for this reply*

@purrple--kat - Well I sure have done a lot of art of them from commissions now haven't I? lol. I think they're a cute couple~ From my own relationship I can say that having the same sense of humor is vital for me, and those two are definitely on the same level!

*strikes a Kamina pose with Kamina shades to make other Anon happy too~*

@asfcruppy + @talk-shit-you-get-hit - I have a little comic half drawn for this but it's on my Surface instead of my PC.. need to get that moved over to finish it up~!

…why did I never think to do this? Of all the dumb things I've done, this was not one of them! I am ashamed!

YA HA HAA! YOU FOUND ME!... what you were looking for an answer from someone?

All 900 Koroks end up in group therapy because they get so confused by Mr. Hero’s behavior they legit cannot deal and are tired of him handing them self help books~

Bonus: They don’t have a digestive system, so logically you can just feed them the same apple over and over! (Need to go make another stal-horse friend sometime~)

@fluxed-touko​ - Ssshhhhh! Spoilers maybe ;)

@kirchuuuu (this one wont tag for some reason?)- I did one drawing of her being a bit older, but still wasn't an adult~ I like to imagine she'd actually still be super short though, mostly because it keeps her distinct from the others (speaking of, what the heck happens to Gerudo when they're older? the old gerudo are all so much shorter! And then there's the Twinrova witches from Ocarina… Gerudo spines must be all sorts of weird, start tiny, get huge, shrink down super small….)

@capnbanana - Usually 8.5x11 (standard US letter size), 300dpi. 350dpi for commissions, and commissions and comics are more likely to end up a different size (though never smaller for commissions)

Considering the lack of any sort of reference to a Gerudo king in BotW, I personally feel like the Gerudo abandoned that tradition after Ganny went evil. Not against him being actually Gerudo though!

@legoofallthemes22505 (this one wont take either...)- SOON!

@jcummins151 - Ahh thanks <3 I'm glad random strangers on the internet are enjoying my silly stuff! And I don't really mind that people want me to draw NSFW stuff - it's kind of flattering to know people find my art good enough to.. uh… wanna.. *cough* *Mighty Banana jokes*

Ahahahaha, I love that this was the next one to come in after that last one! Nothing in the works but maybe some day :P

@bearlycute - He’d freaking LOVE it if they’d be content to just watch or snuggle...

HOLY CRUD THAT’S ALL OF THEM! GEEZUM!

Thank you to everyone! Love hearing from ya’ll, and sorry if it takes me forever to reply to asks sometimes! Can’t guarantee I always will but I’ll always try to and DEFINITELY read every one! Love ya! 

[punishandenslavesuckers]

She has no throne. Girls without thrones should not have knights, but hers won’t go. Princess Zelda – the girl who killed Calamity – would love to fade into legend, but Link’s bought a house, he’s fighting off monsters, and he’s selling giant horses to strangely familiar Gerudo men. She’ll never have any peace now. (ao3)  

(chapter one) (chapter two) (chapter three) (chapter four) (chapter five)

(chapter six) (chapter seven)

She catches up with Link at Tabantha Bridge.

It’s a little surprising he’d come out here, given the events of last night, but she finds him sitting cross-legged at the halfway point of the bridge, arms draped over one of the lower barrier ropes, chin resting on his forearms. Before and below him: Tanagar Canyon, empty now of dragons but hazy with morning mist. And as the sun begins to rise, she gets the impression this is where Link once came to watch Dinraal pass. She longs for a world where she might stand here on this bridge and never cross it. Where she could stand invisible and watch his silhouette, framed there, looking away until the sun burns the mist away.

But that time is over and the Calamity is dead, so she crosses the bridge and takes a seat next to him. He glances at her. Eyes tracking her sidelong and neutrally as she dusts off her pant legs and watches the horizon. Eventually, he stops watching her and turns his pale gaze to the sky as well.

“Did I do that wrong?” Zelda says quietly, after a while. “With Draga I mean.”

Link immediately looks back at her, eyes a little wide. Then the look softens and he shakes his head. A bit of a smile touches his mouth and that brush of reassurance… she feels a tension unwind like a wire in her breast, threaded through her jaw and her shoulders. She nods and sits forward. Her feet dangle over the edge of the old wood planks.

“Thank goodness. I wasn’t sure.”

Link turns forward again, the lower half of his face hidden behind his folded arms.

“Can you talk to me?”

He raises a hand, signs one-handed, ‘More or less.’

“It’s okay. I’m not in a rush to talk about it really. Despite all evidence to the contrary, I don’t really like discussing the things that are most important. It’s much, much easier to talk about pumpkin soup, or the next destination to which we’re headed and why the Divine Beasts might wake again. That sort of thing.” She folds her hands in her lap. “That sort of thing is very easy to talk about. I like talking about that.” She thumbs a bit of fabric on her knee. “I think it’s my fault we’ve been together so long and still are strangers in some ways.”

Link looks at her without raising his chin from his arms, expression… almost blank.

“I don’t know you very well, do I?”

He doesn’t react exactly. His gaze flickers, just for a second.

“It’s strange isn’t it? I feel like I’m supposed to know you.” She folds and refold her hands in her lap. “Then at the same time I feel like I’m guessing about absolute everything, but that can’t be right. We killed Calamity together. Surely, our bond must be innate. Of course, we know each other. We’d know each other across time and space. I would recognize you through eternity. In every dimension and reality, I would know your face and find you.” She smirks, a little bitter. “Because that’s how this Chosen One horseshit works right?”

Link doesn’t laugh, but he smiles and kind of breathes out a bit too fast.

She smiles too, but only for a moment.

“But that’s not how it works, is it?”

They look out over the canyon again, where the sun is beginning to rise in the east.

“I don’t know what’s going on with you. Draga had to bait you before you admitted that you think, and have thought for years, that you’re going crazy? You’ll fight gods and demons with me but you won’t tell me when something scares you? Even if it could kill you? Is that where we are after all this time?” Her nails are digging into her knee. “It makes me feel like we haven’t moved an inch since I met you, like a century was nothing. Everything up until now was for… I hate that feeling.”

Link says nothing. His eyes are averted.

Zelda swallows.

 “Link tell me right now: Are you here because you want to be or because you feel obligated to be?”

He looks at her. Eyes wide.

“I need to know.”

He signs, ‘I want to be.’

“Why?”

He stares. Confused.

“Why do you want to be here? Because it’s your duty? Because I’m the only one left? Because you’re trapped by the facts of our history. What is it?” And when he doesn’t speak or sign, she adds, “You know I love you, right?”

Link stops. He’s not being expressive right now. But even so, what he’s feeling must be powerful because she detects it – there and gone – a look of fear. Not wonder or relief. Just… fear.

It’s like a knife wound, of course, but she presses on. Calmly. Like she hadn’t seen that exact thing in her nightmares.

“Don’t misunderstand. I’m not demanding anything of you.”

Link’s face is unreadable again. She wrings her hands in her lap, maintains her even speaking.

“Please, honestly, that’s the last thing I want to do, but you should know. And I know it’s not fair to do that and I… I haven’t said it because what kind of person, princess or not, thinks that about someone who can’t…?” Who can’t say no to you, selfish girl. About a subordinate. Why not order him to stay? You know he would… “About someone pledged to her by others? Someone bound to you by circumstance and… terrible things shared? That’s no basis for anything. You don’t owe me anything. I want to be very clear about that: You don’t owe me. I would hate that.”

 Zelda doesn’t know she’s supposed to go on. She closes her eyes.

“So, now that I’ve been selfish, tell me what you think. Please. Tell me ‘no’. Tell me you don’t feel that way and I’ll know and we can just go on. Or you could walk away, you know, if you wanted. Go live in your house at Hateno. Go put the sword back in its pedestal. Throw it into the sea. Whatever is enough.” Her voice hitches, just a little. “I don’t want you play a role for me anymore I just want you to do what you want. I don’t want to be the reason you’re out here. I want to see you – oh.”

Link’s hands cup her head, fingers dug into her scalp where her braids are starting to come undone. His mouth against hers is warm but insistent, a little clumsy with the urgency that drove him to interrupt her. He smells a little like camp smoke and a little like dragon fire and the pepper powder he cut into the soup. Hearth stone, battle, and heat. He draws her in a little further, gently, tilting his head so they fit more easily. His thumb smooths a warm path from her jaw to her ear and he breathes in, slowly, against her mouth. Then he pulls back just enough so he can look her in the eyes.

She’s surprised to find, he still looks terrified.

“I’m in love with you,” he says.

So softly she almost doesn’t hear it.

She can’t bring her words over a whisper. “You are?”

He nods.

“For how long?”

“Since you burned breakfast.”

She almost cries hearing that.

“Really?”

He nods and she kisses him.

“I’ve loved you for a hundred years,” she says, pulse rabbiting in her breast. “I love you so much. Do you really love me too?”

He laughs. “Yeah.”

She hooks two hands beneath his jaw and feels him smiling against her lips. So she kisses him harder, then again, even harder than before – enamored with her freedom to do so. Until her lips ache from kissing him, feel bruised from the effort but she doesn’t care at all because, if she could drink the way he tastes, she’d swallow a sea. But here, sitting on a bridge in Tabantha, she has to catch her breath. So they sit for a moment, so close she can feel him breathing. She can feel a shiver in his shoulders and a tremor on his tongue, transmitting electric when she, in a thoughtless instinct, brushes his lips with the pad of her thumb.

Link looks up at her.

He’s breathless. Not with violence (Has she ever seen him breathless in any other context?), eyes unfocused and dark and if she does not stop him right now then he’ll do whatever she wants and she can’t explain the twofold fear and longing that arouses in her. So, she carefully frames his face with both hands and dips her forehead against his.

She breathes slowly until he does too.

“Should we tell Draga to leave?”

He doesn’t pull away from her. He doesn’t even tense at the question, content to sit here breathing with her and knowing.

She shivers. “We’re so dangerous, Link. I didn’t want to think it, but we are. Can we let him stay?”

She opens her eyes, finds him looking at her.

“Do you want him to go?” she asks.

He hesitates. Then shakes his head.

“Are you okay with what he did?”

He turns a little red, then, signs, ‘Sort of.’

“Sort of?” Zelda says, worried.

‘I hate it when people try to touch me when I’m arguing with them.’

She blinks. “I didn’t know that.”

Link shrugs and signs ‘You never try to touch me when I’m mad.’ He grins. It’s not a nice grin exactly. ‘I’m pretty angry with him, actually.’

Zelda laughs. “Are you going to fight him when we get back?”

‘Maybe.’ He eyes her, then aloud, he says, “Do you want him to go?”

“No,” she says. “But I’m scared of why. I’m scared… all the time. Like I’m scared of you, Link, the way I think about you. It feels like a trick sometimes. Like it’s just a spell and I’m acting out the pieces of it.” She swallows. “It feels like that with Draga sometimes. I’m terrified I’ll wake up and the spell will be broken and it was never real at all.”

“I think it’s real,” Link murmurs.  

“That doesn’t bother you? The possibility all of this is some… pre-determined alignment? The gods, or – or –”

“No.” He’s utterly flat. “And it doesn’t bother Draga either.”

“How do you know that?”

“I asked him, Zelda.”

“Oh.” She studies the way his eyebrows tick up. “What else have you asked him about?”

He tilts his head. “You make him nervous, you know.”

She scoffs. “What?”

“Draga. You make him nervous. He asked me not to tell you, but I’m cross with him, so I will.”

“Why wouldn’t he tell me that?” Zelda demands, annoyed.

“Because he likes you, stupid.”

“Oh.”

Link’s giving her the flattest look she’s ever seen before going on. “He can sense how powerful you are, all the time, and it actually drives him crazy, but he never says so because, I think, he knows it would make you self-conscious. Draga doesn’t care what we are. He doesn’t care about danger. He doesn’t care about magic or destiny. He’s been fighting a losing battle since he was a kid so the odds don’t faze him, Zelda. If we let him, I think he’ll stay with us forever.”

A shiver runs across her body when he says that – a formless excitement and dread.

“What do you think of that?”

“I –” He hesitates. “Is this too quick?”

“Draga nearly died last night fighting dragons for us, I think we need to figure this out.”

“Not that.” He touches her cheek, gently. “This. And Draga.”

“I don’t know. I don’t know what he wants. What do you want?”

Link turns a little red and looks away. “I… I don’t know.” 

 The longer Link talks, the more apparent his accent becomes – that rare cross of Lanayrian hit sideways by grammar learned in reverse – and Zelda thinks, quietly, that same inflection might be dead now one-hundred years later – linguistic drift making his voice an anachronism. A piece of history so minute it’s barely there but she gets to hear it and the notion, for some reason, fills her with a warm affection. Not precisely for him in this moment, but for the idea of him growing up reckless and a little strange somewhere in the mountains around Zora’s Domain.

Zelda leans forward and kisses him.

She says, “We don’t have to decide anything right now.”

Link closes his eyes, turning his face against the palm of her hand so her fingers slide into his hair. Part of her, still in awe that she can do this now, warms again. Joy is strange and incandescent, behind her cheeks and in her fingers, glowing in her belly and breast. She can’t stop looking at his eyes, at his mouth. Like she’s never seen them before somehow, not properly. He lets her kiss him again, carefully, easing her lips open against, his tongue warm and bitter in her mouth as his breathing quickens and a faint, shaky breath catches in the back of his throat.

She pulls away and he looks drunk, looking at her. He says something, but his voice isn’t behind it.

“What?”

“Please…”

An immediate clench of heat knots slick in her belly. Her breath hitches.

“Please what?”

He leans forward, one hand sliding up along her ribs, just below her breast. “Can I touch you?”

Zelda shivers. “Where?”

His hand slides down her ribs, her belly, lower, his fingers pressing a slow line of pressure against her skin through her clothes until she’s leaning back a little, easing her knees apart, until his hand is between her legs and his mouth against her ear when he says, “Here?”

And drags the pad of his index finger up from beneath her body, along the aching seam of her, pressing a slow circle until her hips flinch a little and her breath catches high in her throat. He cups her neck in his other hand and she leans back a little, so she can see when he removes the hand between her legs, brings his knuckles to his mouth, and uses his teeth to pull the worn leather glove from his hand. His eyes never leave hers as he does it.

Before he’s even finished she’s saying, “Yes.”

Link uses one hand to pull her belt open and unfasten the clasp on her pants. She lets him. She slides her legs apart, drawing one knee up a little, her other leg still hanging off the edge of the bridge. She lies back, hands running restless along the wood over her head, into her hair as Link slide his hand down the front of her pants.

Like he’s done this a hundred times. A thousand times, moving blind on muscle memory alone and something about that – the notion that he’s looking at her like a battlefield, like there are a hundred moves in mind – it makes her ache. His fingers slide south, exploratory, slow. Finding her where she’s hot, where she’s wet, where she whimpers when he touches her. Zelda breathes fast, shaky, a little anxious. Link goes slow. A single finger easing her open, touching her where she parts at the pressure, sliding slowly in. He minds her small breathy noises, how her walls tighten and clench at the penetration and she moans a little and says, “Keep going.”

Link doesn’t try for more. Just rocks into her, lazily, to the knuckle, then out. Over and over, until her body is rolling into the slow friction, hips canting forward against his hand, the first notch of his knuckle at the top of his palm where it slides against her clit. And when she does that, suddenly, his fingers – wet now with her own arousal – press a slow circle around that aching notch in her. She jerks, gasping, hips bucking up and a bloom of sensation spreads warm, painful lines of pleasure through her belly, coiling in her guts like a hand closing inside her.

She says, “Like that. Right there. Oh, goddess, harder…”

And he does it.

She tilts her hips up. Her hand finds his neck. “Don’t stop.”

He doesn’t.

And Zelda is panting, shaky, saying, “Like that, just like that, Link… I… oh.” She runs her hand along the back of his head, closes her fist in his hair. “Oh.” She sighs. She loses her voice, her body curling as the orgasm runs its path from her clit to the top of her spine, slaving every nerve briefly, mindlessly, to the pleasure and her toes go numb. Her nails dig into her knight’s scalp until she’s shivery and glowing, and smiling breathless, her mouth against his ear. “Well done.”

She feels Link shiver when she says it.

“Do it again?”

The sun is visible over the horizon by the time they get back.

The stable owners wave as they come in. The ranch hands are cooking breakfast. Soft, morning chatter rising in the little establishment. Link stops at the water pump outside to wash his hands, but then the two would-be-heroes of Hyrule just go straight upstairs. Link keeps paying for the two-bed suites at every stable they sleep at. Zelda knows it’s expensive but she also knows Link’s been too long on the road doing impossible things to mind. A week ago, she caught him remove a ruby the size of a fist from his travel pack.

Killing talus on Death Mountain, he’d informed her, is extremely lucrative.  

The room smells faintly of smoke and burnt leather when they open the door. Draga’s travel gear is on the floor against the wall where it’s clear he started scrubbing dragon ash from the light armor, gave it up as a bad job, and left it. Draga is asleep. He’s lying belly-down on the bed at the far side of room, one arm hanging off the mattress, face buried in the crook of his opposite elbow. As usual, he has to sleep diagonally on it because it’s not long enough for a Gerudo to sleep in normally, much less one of his size. He didn’t finish undressing so it looks rather like he just fell into bed and didn’t get up.

When Zelda closes the door behind them they find three large glass bottles on the table near the door. Link picks one up, snorts. Hands it to her. It takes her a minute to realize he bottled all the soup they left behind in their sudden departure. Zelda uncorks one and the smell is mouthwatering and still just a little warm. A slight tingle in her palm suggests there’s a small enchantment in the glass, insulating it.

“That’s a good idea,” she says, sipping the bottled soup. “We could give up on heroics and sell bottled soup, you know.”

Link isn’t listening through.

He’s looking at the Master Sword, laying on their bed.

He left it with Zelda when he ran off and Zelda in turn left it with Draga. She’s not sure what he’s thinking, why there’s a faint edge in his expression. Then he moves to crouch by Draga’s bed. He does so casually, but without a single sound which suggest to Zelda he’s moving with some intention. He kneels and carefully take’s Draga’s hand, the one hanging off the bed, and turns it over to examine his bare palm, carefully unfurling his fingers so he can see.

“I didn’t know it had teeth,” Draga murmurs.

Link, not surprised that Draga is awake apparently, says, “I should have warned you.”

Draga’s hand is blistered, badly. Dark red wounds raised along his fingers and the creases of his palm. And not just blistered but… blackened along the capillaries and veins. The wound feels hot to Zelda, aching with sorcery. It takes Zelda a moment to realize what happened. Draga must have grabbed the sword by the hilt. Perhaps to pull it from the scabbard and look at it, or test its weight, or just to move it from where Link abandoned it by the cookfire. Link examines the injury with a practiced eye, not saying anything for a while. Draga watches him, waiting.

“It’s bound to me,” Link murmurs.

“Aggressively so,” Draga says, a little quieter than usual.

“It doesn’t mean anything,” Link clarifies. “That it burned you, I mean. It did the same to me when I found it again.”

“I thought it was bound to you.”

“I wasn’t myself.”

Draga turns his hand over. “And this? What does this mean?”

Link runs two careful fingertips across the strange three-sided mark, just dark enough to stand out in Draga’s skin and even with his face half-tucked behind the crook of his arm, Zelda can tell he’s had enough time alone to think to think up some fears. His pale green stare is carefully neutral, trained on the mark burned into him by nothing less than some form of dragon fire, and she has a sense that his heart is racing, that his calm is manufactured, that he’s much closer now – Link holding his hand in a quiet room – to panic than he was fighting a demi-god the night before.

Link looks up at Draga, meeting his gaze. “It’s the mark of the ancient gods for the heart of the world. It has many meanings but I don’t know what it means for us.”

Draga’s face in unreadable when he rejoins, “I feel different.”

“How so?”

“It’s hard to explain. It’s like the borders that define me are much farther away now. Does that make sense?”

“I’m not sure.”

Draga breathes out, slowly. “This mark. You’ve seen it in your past lives.”

“Yes.”

“Where?”

“On my own hand. On Zelda’s hand. On the hand of a third person.”

“Your enemies.”

Link’s expression is serene, utterly matter of fact. He says, “My enemy is dead.”

Then he takes Draga’s wrist carefully in his hand because his palm is too burned to touch. Burned by the Master Sword. Branded by dragons. Afflicted in all sides by unfathomable things and Zelda thinks, perhaps, the persistent and relentless cycle of strange events is finally catching up to him. It may say something about Draga’s indominable and peculiar nature that nothing – not dragons, not ancient weaponry, not monsters, demons, or battle – frightened him like losing the limits of himself in a moment of solitude.

Zelda moves forward. “Let me see that,” she says, kneeling so she can see his hand. His palm smells like mint and fairy tonic. He must have tried to heal it, but the wounds seem impervious to medicinal affects. She sucks air between her teeth. “Does it hurt?”

“No.” He flexes his fingers to demonstrate. “It feels dead.”

Gingerly, Zelda touches the middle of Draga’s palm with her fingers, leaving a ripple of cool gold light like water droplets diffusing into the surface of a pond. She goes slowly. Running two fingers tipped in light from his wrist to the end of his middle and index fingers. She does this once, then twice, sets a pace. Red skin smooths where the gold radiates out, dead flesh laying back down, blood-flow returning to blistered layers and gradually the black necrosis left by the blade begins to recede. Eventually, there’s no sign of the burn. Just warm skin, slightly hot to the touch, and slick still with the now pointless healing ointment.

“How’s that?” she murmurs.

Draga flexes his hand, furling and unfurling long fingers. “Good. A bit raw.”

“Sensitive?” she asks.

“Yes. But thank you. I –”

Zelda cups the knuckles of his hand in hers and bends down to kiss his palm. She feels Draga freeze, hears him draw then hold a breath. Her lips leave a warm luminous moue in the creases of his hand when she breaks contact. Her lips taste like mint, tingle a little with fairy dust. Link’s still holding Draga’s wrist, not with any pressure, but his fingers around the Gerudo’s arm could be iron by the way he stills. So Zelda uses her fingers, guides his hand open so she can kiss the base of his thumb, his fingertips, her lips counting out the bend of his knuckles. And when she looks up, finally, his skin pressed with fading gold marks, Draga seems to finally let go the breath he first held.

He says, “What are you doing?”

Zelda leans up and fits her hand to the back of his neck.

When she pulls away, her tongue tastes like mint and the strange slightly bitter flavor of another person’s mouth. Draga stares, lips faintly wet with tonic and smelling of peppermint and something about that make her smile.

At least at first. A yawn follows shortly after. Draga blinks.

“I’m really tired,” she admits, climbing onto the mattress, kicking her boots off as she clambers over his legs.

Draga watches her do this, confused, while Link gets up and crosses the room. He closes the windows, pulling off his gloves, then unbuckles his belt, drawing it off and coiling it around his knuckles. Zelda picks clips from her hair, pulling elastic from her braids and unraveling them with her fingers as Link puts his things on the table, then pragmatically pushes the empty bed across the room. He stops when it’s flush against the bed they’re occupying. Then he grabs the Master Sword by the scabbard and slings it over the bed post, hanging by the baldric.

Draga eyes him warily, then Zelda, who is shaking her hair out, kinked with the braiding.

“What’s happening?” he says, finally.

“We’re going to sleep,” she says.

“What?”

Link takes a seat on the edge of the mattress. He pulls his tunic over his head, kicks his boots off and rolls over, grabbing a pillow.

“Move,” Zelda says, pushing Draga’s shoulder. “You’re too tall. We have to sleep across.”

He stares at her for a moment longer, then slowly rolls over to lay across the middle of both beds, Link on one side, Zelda on the other. Both have claimed a pillow each while he was distracted. Link gestures, indicating he’ll give his to Draga but Draga, baffled still, shakes his head. Link shrugs. He tucks his arm under it and promptly lies down and gets comfortable. He sleeps on his stomach when there’s a bed, but usually kicks over onto his back in the night so Zelda doesn’t envy Draga the thrashing.

“No. What is happening?” Draga demands after laying on his back, staring at the ceiling for about twenty seconds.

“Sleeping, if you’ll be quiet,” Zelda murmurs.

“Don’t be obtuse.”

“We don’t feel like making any decisions right now.”

Draga gestures at the ceiling. “You can’t just –”

Link punches Draga in the shoulder without opening his eyes.

Zelda says, “Shh.”

Draga fumes silently. It’s about two minutes of this, just as Draga’s starting to settle, that Link sits up suddenly. Like he just remembered something. He levers himself up on one arm so he can lean over and stare directly down into Draga’s frowning face.

“Don’t,” he says, “try to kiss me when I’m angry. I hate that.”

Draga blinks, eyes a little wide. “I… won’t.”

“I’m serious,” Link says quietly.

“I swear it then.”

“Good.” Then the Hero of Hyrule bends down and kisses him, easily. Casually. Like it’s the most obvious thing in the world. Then he pulls back, wipes the peppermint from his mouth with the back of his hand. He lies back down. “Night,” he says.

Zelda hears Draga say, softly, “Oh…”

She just smiles and closes her eyes.

  She’s standing on a beach.

The tide rushes in over her feet, then pulls out, sucking the sand from around her heels before rolling back in, foaming gently around her ankles. The smell of the sea is like home as she lifts her arms and runs her fingers through her hair, shaking rain water from pale gold layers. Drops of shimmering light fall into the waves, floating, suspended like oil in water, before dissolving like dye. The waves keep rolling in, faster, impossibly so, until the water is around her knees, then her thighs, and the sea around her shimmers from contact with her. Her skin bleeding light into the waves.

She hears someone speaking behind her.

She turns.

Draga is standing on the beach.

The beach, she realizes, lies at the edge of a vast desert. Draga faces this desert, his back to her, and in the barren expanses beyond the shore she can see rolling dunes interrupted by broken spires. The skeletons of ancient cities. Vast monoliths, crumbling like sand castles in the distance as the desert rolls like the sea – uncovering the wreckage of what she knows to be mass graves, ten thousand-year-old battlefields fused by heat and pressure into a twisted foundation of steel and rotted iron. Then the sands roll in again. A tidal wave, ten stories tall. It slides over the horrific cenotaph, filling it in until the sands lay flat beneath the sickle moon.

Draga is speaking with what looks like a shrine statue.

It’s hard to say because it’s wreathed in shadow. Darkness so thick, she can only just make out the shape of the thing beneath the smoking blackness – a golem carved in stone. It stands a head and shoulders taller than Draga who stands a familiar figure to her. She knows his clothes. Leathers, Highland linen, the dark travel cloak she met him in. The outfit she always imagines when she’s thinking of Draga as a concept in passing – in her mind, he will always be like that day in Highland Stable: looking sidelong at her, his hood half-way down, a little surprised with her.

The tide is drawing her from the shore.

Zelda fights it, wading back toward the shallows. She tries to call out, but her voice is lost on the hot, stinking wind that blows from the desert. Draga can’t hear her and continues to speak to the statue. Or maybe he’s praying? No. He’s not. He’s rebuking it. Cursing dark shrine with the same reverence that someone would pay tithe at the foot of the Goddess. Zelda can see from the path in the sand behind the statue: that it was not always here on her beach. It walked here from the desert. It’s footprints smoking obsidian and glassy behind it.

The water is at her waist. She’s no longer making progress to the shore.

She has to reach the shore.

She’s saying Draga’s name, but it feels strange on her lips. The wrong shape.

Draga seems to hear her because he turns, looks over his shoulder toward her, and even from this great distance she has a sense of his face – surprised, looking at her, like the moment when she greeted him in his mother tongue on the side of the corral. He recognizes her. Starts to move toward her and when he does the waters recede from her breast, the pull of the tide losing its power and she knows. She knows it will be okay. She smiles. It will be –

The golem moves.

It snaps forward. There. Then suddenly directly at Draga’s back. It grabs him by his right arm. Draga staggers, surprised, yanked around by the reversed momentum. And then he’s facing the beast with its fist closed around elbow, a hand so massive it nearly engulfs his whole forearm. Slowly, the golem’s head turns to look down at him. Eyes burning within the darkness. Draga withstands its ancient gaze for just a second before he draws his sword and brings it down on the golem’s skull with a mighty one-handed swing.

The sword shatters instantly.

When Draga slams the broken stump of metal into its belly, the steel turns aside. Only then does he start thrashing. He bucks and throws his body back, but the thing is stone again. Black granite around his arm. He pries at it, pulling and twisting. He can’t get out of it. He can’t come to her. He can’t –

The golem moves again.

It jerks back two meters, like a chess piece sliding back two squares on a board, taking Draga with it. Indifferent to the way he panics, digging his heels in and wrenching like a trapped animal in a snare until she’s sure he’s dislocated his right arm, that his elbow is broken in the three places, that he’s still fighting despite that. He’d cut off his arm from the elbow down if that would get him loose. He slams his boot over and over into the pillar of shadow that composes the golem’s body but it doesn’t relent.

He keeps looking, panicked, past the golem.

To the desert.

To the dunes which are now yawning wide again behind them, a heat-rippled valley opening in the sands to that road paved in bone and melted armor, bristling with the spears and banners of dead civilizations – Gerudo, Sheikah, Twilit, and older. Much older. Primordial corpses twisted toward a dark core. Draga sees it and moans. A low primal noise of fear. Of denial. Ragged with terror. He tries to pull free again, but the golem drags him another agonizing step forward, inch by relentless inch, until Draga is slamming his fist bloody against the grip on his arm, until he’s broken every bone in his hand. And still… the golem pulls him toward the desert. 

Draga’s looking at her now.

The bow is in her hands.

She has a clear shot. She draws the string to her cheek and looses the –

  Zelda wrenches awake.

Her body is pressed against the twin headboards, her skin laved in sea water – no, stop, it’s over – in sweat. She sobs, once, panting, panicked, into her clenched fists and for a moment lives childishly in her head saying over and over: It wasn’t real. It wasn’t real. It wasn’t real. So effectively does she do this that she briefly misses it: That someone is moving beside her. She rolls over, rubbing her face, vaguely occupied with the notion she’s disturbed her bedmates.

It takes her a moment to register what she’s looking at.

Link is still asleep, rolled over to the far side of the beds.

But Draga is having a nightmare. Not violently. Quietly. His spine curls up but falls back – like something is pinning his body down. Like he’d be thrashing if he could get free, but instead lies panting, eyes closed, head thrown back, arms digging into the mattress beneath him. In Gerudo, he’s saying something, but she can’t make it out – half done conjugations broken by hyperventilation. He can’t seem to come out of it. He… Zelda stops. There’s blood on the bedsheets. Draga’s right cheek is split, high along the zygomatic arch beneath his eyes.

(Exactly where the demon split it open that night in the Rito Village.)

When Draga groans and twists onto his side, she loops an arm around his flank, lays her other hand against the side of his head and says, “Wake up. Draga.” She keeps her voice warm and calm. “Hey. Wake up, okay?”

He opens his eyes.

Zelda feels him register her hands on him. Feels him tense instinctively but stop. He lies there, breathing hard. He says nothing to her. Draga gets up, swinging long legs to the floor, disturbing Link in his haste to stand up and go to the windows, throwing them open in rapid succession. He puts daylight into the room. Like something is going to be in there with them, sitting in the corners where the shadows are too deep to see through. He’s hot with magic. Immediate. Defensive and dirty with the smell of iron. It burns in his skin so thick her eyes water.

Link, who woke groggy, rouses fast at Draga’s magic – a smell linked irrevocably now to a fight. He grabs the Master Sword from the bed post and pulls the steel half way from the scabbard.

The blade is burning silver.

Link watches, expressionless, eyes reflecting the light, as the glow fades from the metal. Once it’s dark, he sheathes it and looks at Draga.

“Was it here?”

Draga doesn’t say anything. He keeps his back to the window, to the sunshine coming through it, laying warm yellow light over his back and shoulders. Making him impervious, surely, to the approach of shadowy things, crawling on their bellies through black deserts. Surely. He uses his sleeve to staunch the flow of blood from his bleeding cheek. Casual. Like the wound signifies nothing at all. Like he’s done this before.

“This happens after a bad fight sometimes.”

Link sets the sword aside. “Are you alright?”

“I’ll be fine. I had to reset my old wards. I just missed a few so it… tried me.”

His hands are shaking. Zelda knows Link sees it, but he’s pretending not to. She catches his eye, briefly, as he stands up and crosses the room, stretching a little and rotating his wrist in one hand. Draga watches his approach with a wary, feigned disinterest. Like their morning might go on as normal. Like you can recover the day from such a thing. Link pats himself in front of Draga and stares unabashedly up at him, like he’s searching his face for something past the scowl. 

Eventually, he says, “Dinraal changed something, didn’t she?”

Draga says nothing for a moment, then, “How can you possibly know that?”

Link shrugs.

“Yes, but I’ll be fine. I’ll adapt.”

“Adapt to what?” Zelda says warily. And when no one answers, she repeats, “Adapt to what, Draga?”

He hisses in frustration. “Remember when I told you that I had long since reached the limits of my power?”

“Yes.”

“Since the dragon came… I’ve lost those limits. They’re gone. There’s just... an eternal void where those boundaries once were. Like building your house on a plot of land, then waking up in a labyrinth.” He shakes his head, a tense, barely controlled movement. “I was not prepared for that. It’s like guarding a house, Zelda. If I know the layout, then I see when something is trying to break in. If the house is too big, I cannot guard all the doors and things get in.” He never looks away from her. There’s sun on his neck, putting threads of bright copper in his hair, warm tones in the dark of his skin. He says, “There is at least one in me that is always left open.”

“Why didn’t you say anything?”

Draga looks away.

Zelda feels Link’s tense, feels her own heart stutter in her chest and without thinking or even means to ensure it, she says, “You’re safe with us though.” She crosses the space between them, reaching up to touch his arm. “Draga, listen to me. I think you’re Goddess-touched. The way you described your magic just now…… is how I’ve felt since my power awakened one-hundred years ago… like an ocean had opened up within me. Too big to comprehend, but a part of me.”

“This isn’t part of me,” Draga murmurs.

“No, but you can learn to handle it. I know you can. Just… don’t let scare you.” She squeezes his arm gently. “I can help.”

He pulls away. “Stop trying to do that.”

“What?”

“Stop trying to protect me. You can’t.”

She stops, bewildered, a little hurt. “We did once before.”

“I was only in danger because I put myself there. For you.”

“Then let us do the same.”

The look he gives her is colder than any he’s ever offered before. “I was fine protecting myself until I met you two.”

Which is, of course, a terrible thing to say. Something you say either when you mean it or you want to hurt someone for the sake of driving them off and Zelda cannot say with any confidence that she knows which way Draga might feel in this moment. He looks more afraid than she can remember him ever being. She’s not sure what he’s like when he’s afraid with no enemy to fight. Nothing physical to react against. She gives him a full five seconds to really listen to what he just said to her before she asks, softly, genuinely:

“Do you really believe that?”

She sees the regret cross Draga’s face before he can hide it. A strain of desperation.

He starts to say something. To tell her that is exactly what he believes. That none of this would have happened if they’d just gone their separate ways. That they’re all too dangerous for one another. That he made a mistake.  

But Link's too close and he's fast. He moves – that dangerous speed, never there until the killing blow – closing the space between then and hooking two hands in Draga’s collar. Then, with more force than would seem possible, he holds him there. Yanking him back. Draga grabs his shoulders and pushes him, but Link is (as always) infinitely more solid than he looks. He just braces his weight back, stubbornly, glaring at the bigger swordsman, yanking a little to maintain their present distance. He refuses to let go.

"Don't," Draga says quietly. 

Zelda can smell copper, taste it, like a coin on her tongue. Defensive and warm.

“Don’t what?” Link says.

“I don’t want your heroics.”

Link maintains his neutral tone. “You fought a dragon for us.”

“I don’t care.”

 “Bullshit,” Link says, fingers tightening, lines in his wrists visible from the force of it.

"If you don’t let go of me, Hero, I’m going to –”

Zelda interrupts him by reaching up and hooking her fingers into the front of Draga’s shirt and in tandem with Link – with more force than would seem possible or even necessary – she yanks the larger man down to her. And in the same moment, Zelda moves to fit her mouth against the split in Draga’s cheekbone. Gold in her lips. Light on her tongue. It diffuses gently into the wound and it’s gone when she withdraws. She draws her fingers gently across the new skin, leaving her hand pressed against his cheek. He’s looking at her – a terrible look – hopeful and horrified.

“Let us protect you,” she says.

Draga shivers and conductive static rushes across her palm.

“Let us protect you,” Zelda says again. She moves her hand across his cheek, smoothing her thumb alone the high curve of his cheekbone – a gesture she’s never shared with him, but natural as if she’s done it a hundred times. “Please. If you want. If you’re with us…?”

He breathes out, shakily. She sees it before he says it.

“This feels like…”

“We’re not a fucking spell,” Zelda whispers, cutting her teeth on the words. She slides her hand back beyond his temple into his hair – red as rust between her fingers, sticking up where it’s too short.  “We’re not a shadow on a wall. We’re the ones who killed the Calamity. What do you want, Draga?”

He starts to say, “I want –” but she pulls him down to her.

He shivers again when she does it, the vibration on her tongue.

“Stay with us,” she says. “Stay with us, okay?”

He’s shaking and that’s remarkable, like reaching her fingers into the roots of the world and causing mountain ranges to tremble and the thought puts an indescribable knot of desperation in her. A mad notion that translates ineffectively to yet another kiss, a series of kisses, each one a poor translation for the desire in her – not to just be with him, but be part of him, to inhabit the same space as him simultaneously, impossibly – and Draga seems to bend. Like metal drawn into an impossible magnetism, breaking under every touch.

“I can’t rely on you,” he says raggedly.

“Yes, you can.”

His breath is shallow, mouth drawn as if in pain. “You can’t say that, Zelda. You won’t always be here.”

“We’ll be here as long as you need us.”

“I don’t want you to stay with me “– he struggles to admit it “—just because you think I’m in danger.”

And Zelda laughs. But her eyes sting as she does it.

“You’re confused. You’ll always be in danger with us, Draga.” She bites her lip, shakes her head, fingers running a restless path through his hair. “I’m so sorry. If I was acting because out of nobility, I would tell you to run from us. To go back to the road and never look back because I think you’re strong enough to bear your curse without us. I do. I know it. But I’m selfish and I’m so tired of losing things and I want you. I want you to stay.” She laughs again, shrugging, helpless. “Maybe we’ll get you killed. Maybe we can protect you. I don’t know, Draga, I really don’t know but I know things feel right when you’re with us. I know that it… hurts when I think about walking away and if you feel the same then –”

He lays his fingers over her mouth.

His eyes study hers, so near she can make out every detail in their composition.

“Stop explaining,” he says gently.

He looks at Link.

Link doesn’t say anything.

He loops a hand around the nape of Draga’s neck and pulls him down too. Until he’s not pulling Draga in anymore. The second time around, they fit together more easily despite Zelda caught between them (or maybe, because of Zelda caught between them). Nothing changes. Dragons don’t pull the sky open. No golden violence befalls them. Nothing moves in the shadows. They’re just standing there, the three of them in a band of sunshine coming through the window. Skin warming in the light. Listening closely, finally, to the strange racing in their blood and the machinery of their hearts.

After a while, Draga says, “I’ll stay.”

.

.

go to chapter 9

[mrneighbourlove]

The Rising Sun: Ch 4. Uncertain Future

A month had passed and Malik’s town was finally in its final phase. Elite guards had been trained to protect the city, and a trading system with men had been set up. If you weren’t a Gerudo male, you needed a special pass to come into the town walls. Trading tents were set outside to have trade to those who couldn’t afford a pass.

Asakonigei was growing rather tired of the constant trips back and forth to the Gerudo town. She did not want to get behind in her work for Queen Zarazu and wanted to keep her family home upkept. Yet, at the same time, she wanted to be a good wife and honor Malik's request for some new weapons for the elite guards in the newly restored city. So, it was difficult, trying to manage the two lives. She felt exhausted, too tired to even eat the food in front of it... and not to mention, it smelled absolutely vile. The roasted chicken and spices had a rancid scent. The vegetables were too bland. Strawberry cake with whipped cream was her favorite dessert and she could not bring herself to take a bite. Pushing her plate away, Asakonigei wondered if she had worked herself into a state of sickness.

Malik finished addressing safety protocols with Gali to the Gerudo people on safe trade when he returned to his chambers with his wife. Seeing she didn’t even touch the bowl of soup, he frowned. “Don’t even like my own simple cooking? I’m worried about you.”

"It's nothing against you, Malik, I think maybe I'm just too tired to function." Asakonigei admitted to her husband. "There has been a lot of work lately and perhaps, my body is just telling me I need a break. Even my magic feels a little off." She held up the fork, watching it twist and contort into a various shape before returning to normal.

“Then rest. Zarazu and your cousins can sustain themselves for now, and you’ve done enough marvellous work for me in the time being.”

"Are you going to join me?" Asakonigei took the cozy spot on the bedding. "You've been working a lot as well lately."

“I can spare some time.” Malik took off his armour, setting it on a Manikin. Settling beside his wife, he rested a hand on her hand. “You eat anything off?”

"Not that I can think of." Asakonigei thought of the meals of the previous few days. "Maybe it's just the heat of the desert and the combination of working in the forge. It's possible that I'm dehydrated."

“You don’t seem to have any signs, but I can look into it. Would you like to see a doctor here?”

"Perhaps I should... but later, I'd like to rest a little first. I'm tired." Asakonigei sighed as she snuggled into Malik. "Just hold me and keep me company."

Malik held her closer, breathing slowly. “You think Revan is still mad at us? Donoma didn’t paint a bright picture.”

"I think Revan knows we're proud of him, but I do wish we could have been there to support him." Asakonigei tried to imagine her son in the arena. Knowing him, he would be too stubborn and get hurt a few times. Not to mention, he'd do something stupid just to prove a point. That was how he had always been. "We'll make it up to him and celebrate his new position when we are both home."

“I think how he fought is doing wonders for his reputation.”

"Doing wonders for his ego you mean." Asakonigei chuckled. "Just like his father."

“No offence to you or Zarazu, but a warrior is much grander than a wizard. Besides a letter from Tulilad wanting me to chip in his children’s medical fee, I see no downsides from Revan’s experience. He can’t have us around to coddle him for every ceremony he attends.”

"That has nothing to do with ego. Even you liked to show off during your younger days and even before that." Asakonigei had to tease her husband, just a little. "Then again, you still do show off."

“Alright. Maybe I can admit it’s in our blood.” Malik rested a hand on his wife’s stomach.

"In your blood, you mean." Asakonigei closed her eyes. "Just... wake me up in a little bit." She yawned, getting comfortable.

“It’s the middle of the day Asa.” Malik squeezed her hand lightly. “I’m worried about you. Why are you so tired?”

"I'm not sure, but it's nothing serious." Asakonigei mumbled, already dozing. "I'd tell you if I felt sick."

Malik let her settle into his chest as a pillow while he silently thought about the possible situations. When his mind went to sicknesses shared by women, his heart skipped a beat. Without moving, he recollected his thoughts. He had unprotected sex with his wife to rejuvenate their relationship and fill her needs. Did Asakonigei stop using the leaf? Did she feel that it was no longer necessary? With tension rising, he remembered how sick she could get before. Worse, how she her body nearly killed her after the last pregnancy. Not wanting to wake her, he let seeds of fear plant themselves within his mind.

Asakonigei slept for nearly three full hours. She was disoriented when she fully roused from slumber. The Kovina was certainly surprised to see her husband still at her side. This was odd. Usually, he was the one up and about, making sure everything was ready and perfect. She figured he had work to do. It seemed there was still a little daylight left. Maybe now she could try eating something... but what? Something plain... salty maybe? No, she was dehydrated, salt might make it worse. Maybe a rice cake would be tasty... but she hated rice cakes. When was the last time she ate one? Goodness, was too much work making her system shot?

Malik spooned her close, one hand tenderly playing with a lock of her hair. “Need water my flower?”

"Water would be nice." Asakonigei blinked sleepily, then slowly sat up on the bedding. "And maybe a rice cake. Do we have any of those?"

“I can get you one.” Malik cupped his hands around her after reaching over to grab a glass of readied water.

Sipping on the water, Asakonigei downed the glass slowly to make sure she did not feel too out of sorts. "Don't know why I want one of those, I detest the taste. Maybe because they're sort of bland to me."

“It’s because you’re pregnant.”

"...? What?" Asakonigei gave her husband an incredulous look. "Malik, I can't be pregnant. I'm five years away from fifty!" The Kovina shook her head. "Besides, Doctor Boveir told me it was probably near impossible for me to get pregnant again after Donoma."

“No. He said it was not recommended or that you might die. He never said that it wasn’t possible.”

"... you're being serious, aren't you?" Asakonigei kept telling herself it just... could not be. She had hoped that her body would be strong enough after Donoma. How many nights had she prayed for more children? Malik deserved a big family, she wanted to give him many sons and daughters. Appointment after appointment with Doctor Boveir said it just was not so.

“I am.” Malik’s hands flexed around her, the tension cutting the air.

"... I..." Asakonigei was too stunned to formulate a proper response. "But... I..."

Malik turned her around, kissing her lightly. “We’ll get through this. I’ll figure something out. I won’t let you die from this Asa.”

Asakonigei felt excited... and absolutely terrified at the same time. A child was a blessing, but... in this case, was it her death sentence? With Revan, she tore. With Donoma, she hemorrhaged. With this baby... a shudder ran throughout her body, the panic evident in her eyes. She was not ready to die yet, she did not want to leave her family. "Oh spirits..." Asakonigei trembled slightly, "I... I don't even know if I can... if I can give birth safely."

“What do you want to do with... it.” Malik was unsure if he should be referring to the baby as an it, but he wanted to reassure his wife.

"I can't... I don't want to get rid of the baby." Asakonigei shook her head. "It's part of me, part of you. I always wanted to have more children, to give you the big family you deserved but..." She held tightly to his hand. "I'm scared..."

“I...” Malik lowered his head, taking slow and deep breaths. He needed to assure his wife’s safety. “Stay here. No more jobs. No more working for Zarazu. No more traveling. You will stay where it is safe under my watchful eye. If anyone can help me find the power to deliver our third child safely it will be in a city full of women.” To ease his own worries, Malik carrressed a cheek of Asakonigei. “I’ll find any power I need to keep you safe. I promise.”

"I believe you..." Asakonigei took a shaky breath. While she was afraid, the Kovina had to take moment to calm her nerves. It would do her nor the baby good if she was too stressed. She had to be very careful, even more so than with Revan and Donoma. "I'll have a message delivered to the queen. Muso has been my apprentice for a long while and I'm sure he can handle things for now. We'll... we'll need a few things from home if you wish for me to stay here."

“My people and I will take care of you. If you need anything, don’t feel afraid to call for me, Gali, or anyone else.” Malik slowly left the embrace of his wife. It pained him, but he too had duties to attend to still. “I’ll make a prayer to the goddesses. Perhaps Zelda’s soul will bless you.”

"We need to let Donoma and Revan know too." Asakonigei was tempted to pull him back, but she knew there were other responsibilities for her husband besides her well being. "I'll... pray to Kovina."

“Yes. I’ll ask them to come here with Ganondorf... It’s time they all see what I’ve built here.” Malik spoke last sentence softly to himself as he looked up at the setting summer sun.

~

Five months had passed, and Asakonigei was now showing a bit of a belly. She mainly stayed on bedrest to lessen the stress on her body. Yet, she still insisted on short daily walks to stretch her legs and for healthy exercise. The morning sickness was not as severe as it was with Revan and Donoma, but she still could not stand the smell of meat. To cure herself of boredom, Asakonigei took on small projects, like fixing jewelry or cracked weapons, jobs that did not take much magic at all. She was grateful for any visitors, yet still worried about the impending birth of her child. Hopefully, Doctor Boveir could visit soon and at least tell her if a C-section was an option. Supposedly, there were more dependable tests and methods nowadays. That, and she really, really wanted to know if the baby was a boy or girl. He could deliver a Lorleidian test to tell her the gender of her little one.

The Gerudo around Taiyo Town seemed to be hospitable around Asakonigei, though she did hear soft whispers behind her back. She couldn’t tell if they were comments of sympathy or pity. One day, however, she was interrupted by Gali when the Lorliedian was on a walk from the market. “Dear me. Should you be carrying that water melon by yourself?”

"The one in my belly or the one in my arms?" Asakonigei asked with a tone of humor. "Either way, the weight is pressing."

“Will you allow me to relieve some of that weight?”

"You can take the actual melon." Asakonigei was a touch surprised and then carefully handed Gail the large fruit. "I figured you'd be helping my husband."

“I have more jobs then helping Lord Malik. Studies for the uneducated and helping the townsfolk personally come to mind.” Gali graciously took the water melon and lugged it to Asakonigei’s kitchen back at the small palace. “Tell me, your daughter has returned, but your son has yet to visit. He too busy with his new job as a babysitter to see his momma? Perhaps you should exaggerate your condition in your next letter.”

"Donoma has more of a flexible schedule than Revan." Asakonigei had to admit to Gail. "I do understand why he has not come to visit. Protecting the future queen is an honorable job, but a demanding one as well. My husband used to guard Queen Zarazu herself, so I'm not surprised that he has not come here yet." The Kovina did not sound too upset about the fact that her son had not visited. Keeping Luimaya safe was difficult and he did not need the added stress of worrying about his mother being pregnant in her forties. "Perhaps when the future queen decides to come here, I will see him then."

“I heard the Royal family has not arrived here yet because the Old One himself wishes for all his children to be present before coming to see Malik’s grand creation of Taiyo Town.”

"If that is true, then I wish Ganondorf all the luck in the world." Asakonigei tried not to laugh. "King Covarog and Queen have five children, Prince Ralnor and his wife have three, Princess Orana and her husband have three, Princess Kanisa and her husband have two, and Prince Tebanam and his husband only have one."

“Well. We await their arrival in anticipation. Tell me Asakonigei, what do you hope for next? A boy? Or a girl?”

"If I'm being honest, Donoma was a lot easier to take care of as a baby. She didn't cry too much unless she was hungry or wet. She only caught my hair on fire once when she burped." Asakonigei recalled when her children were little. "Revan peed everywhere. He was always getting into something. I just about had a heart attack when he used his magical abilities to move some sharp weapons, to juggle them. Not to mention, he's is very stubborn like his father."

“So indeed, another girl.” Gali chuckled as she reached their destination. Setting the water melon down, she took a breath to relax. “Asa? Can I call you Asa? How’d you like to relax at a spot that even Lord Malik won’t step in?”

"Girls are so much easier because boys piss like a hose. Yet, either way, I just want the child to be healthy, regardless of whether it is a boy or a girl." Asakonigei ran a hand back through her hair. "Asa is fine, though I am curious about this spot that my husband avoids."

“Women’s only Hot Spring. You interested?”

"That... sounds absolutely delightful." Asakonigei thought about the heat melting into her back muscles. The pressure of pregnancy would hopefully fade away after a little bit of relaxation.

“Then please, follow me.” Gali smiled tenderly as lead the Lorliedian to the East side of the village. Giant walls to divide sections for privacy were made out of stone and wood. Gali paid a front desk receptionist and headed to the the left hallway. “We have a women’s, men’s, and a small mixed side. So far, our biggest side, and only used at the moment, is women’s. Towel?”

Along the way, Asakonigei had to stop and take several small breaks. It was difficult for her to keep up with the added weight of the pregnancy. Once at the hot springs, Asakonigei was impressed by the outlay and the design. It was beautiful and private. "Yes, please." Asakonigei took the fluffy towel. "This is going to do wonders for my back."

“Hope you’re not modest.” When Gali opened the doors to the hot spring, every woman was buck naked. The inside of the springs was made of natural resources and mechanical engineering. Pools of water pouring into one another, single person sized pots to melt into, and a room the shape of a dragon egg. When a Gerudo walked out, thick steam poured out before the door sealed it back in as it swung close. This particular woman headed to a clear pool of cold water to cool off. There was one or two women who weren’t Gerudo, but most were filled with the red headed giant women. Behind Asa, Gali finished folding all her clothes. “You feeling ready to go in?”

"Um..." Asakonigei turned slightly red in the cheeks. "Not around my husband, but... uh..." There were a lot of women in there. She did not mind other women seeing her naked, but these were buff, strong, extremely ripped women. She felt rather... small.

“Shy?” Gali laughed lightly. “Don’t worry about the nerves. Take a few deep breaths.”

"Not... exactly. You're just all..." Asakonigei gestured to one extremely tall Gerudo lady walking by with a shredded eight pack. "That."

“Hahaha!” That really got a laugh out of Gali. She walked in front of Asa, fairly comfortable with being naked and her chest so close to the woman. “Asa, most of us might be built a little mightier than what you’re used to seeing, but we are still people. But if it makes your ego more at ease, Gerudo come in all sizes. Koyta over there is as thin as a Deku, all because she insists on a fruit only diet. Holly is as mighty as Goron because she eats whatever she desires.” Both of the Gerudo mentioned waved as Gali pointed them out. “What I’m saying is we come in all shapes and sizes, yet we are a tribe non the less. Besides, we aren’t going to crush you.”

"Aren't going to crush me? That I don't believe, you could sit on me and crush me if you wanted to." Asakonigei said in good humor. "Though, I think I'm just a bit intimidated. My family always joke that they don't know how my own husband didn't break me."

“Then become as naked and vulnerable as we are Asakonigei. Become a sister with us.”

"... I..." Asakonigei was not sure exactly how she felt being naked in front of all the women. The scar from the lightning, the stretch marks from her pregnancies, and a few scars over the years... it did make her feel self-conscious. Yet, there were women here who shared similar marks. "All right." She carefully removed the towel and took slow steps into the hot springs.

“You look wonderful Asa. That’s it. Make yourself comfortable.” Gali sat beside her, sighing in content as she felt the heat of the water seek into her pours.

"Oooooh.... this feels so good..." Asakonigei sunk into the water with a heavy, contented sigh. "I need Malik to build me one of these right outside our home."

“You don’t consider the town yet a home?”

"It's a second home. I hope you understand," Asakonigei told Gail. "I can't just up and leave my uncles, cousins, and their children back in Hyrule. I really miss them. They're all I have besides Malik, Revan, and Donoma."

“And your unborn child.” Gali slowly pointed a finger towards Asa, trailing a finger over the water to the Kovani’s stomach.

"Yes..." Asakonigei rested her hands on her ever-growing belly. "I've been thinking of names, but... Malik seems more so worried than excited. Not saying I'm not concerned either, just... I don't want him to have contempt for the child if..." She took a small inhale. "If I don't make it."

“We’d do our best to help look after the child. In the mean time, we will do our best to look after you.”

"... I do appreciate it. I really do." Asakonigei smiled softly. "Either way... my baby will be in good hands." She then shifted slightly, "I know the kid will be strong. Already kicking my bladder."

“Asa. Do I sense worry in your tone that your words do not match? Every turn you seem to have worry.” Gali carefully lifted a single leg out of the water, watching the droplets fall and drip off her skin.

"I do have worries, some about the baby, mainly about Malik." Asakonigei had no reason to lie. "Though I have made my peace with the possibility that I may not live through this birth. I nearly died with Donoma, lost too much blood. Malik... I don't think he has."

“No. He told me of his contingency plan, but he has more fear than hope.” Gali swam a little closer to Asa, taking deep breaths due to the heat. “Tell me Asa. Do you fear your husband in any way?”

"Fear Malik?" Asakonigei shook her head. "I have no reason to fear him. I do, however, think he's very stubborn, impatient, and has a horrible habit of thinking he knows better when sometimes he doesn't... but no, I don't fear him. I've never feared him."

Good.... he asked me to kill him if that after he becomes King, if he might someday turn fall down the path of a Tyrant he be taken out.” Gali let the words hang in the air, sighing deeply.

"...!!!" This was news to Asakonigei. Malik said nothing of becoming king. Nothing of Gail making a promise to kill him if he became like Ganondorf was in the past. "I... I see..."

“There’s been so many Gerudo who have taken a dark path. Twinrova, Adda, Ganondorf... he wishes to not end up a part of that toxic history.”

"I understand that, I just don't understand why he wouldn't..." Asakonigei furrowed her brow, angry but too tired to care at the moment. "Wouldn't tell me."

“Perhaps he didn’t want to burden you Asa. Strife like that need not be shared by his worried lips during such a delicate time for you right now.” Gali turned to Asa, her eyes heavy with knowledge. “I can relate to his worry of becoming another Ganon due to his blood connection with the Old One.”

"I'm his wife, I want to support him, despite whatever else is going on." Asakonigei sounded more frustrated than actually upset. "Malik isn't Ganon but... I know there have been times in his past that holds regret for him."

“He told me that long ago he might have been Ganon. That both he and the Gerudo who would become that era’s Ganon were born at the same time. You think he was robbed of that destiny, or spared?”

"I think destiny can kiss my ass. Any soul can make their own or change their fate." Asakonigei had absolute faith. "My husband was not, and will never be Ganon. While he held onto hate in his past, he is human now. He loves me, his family, and wants to do the best he can."

“But it’s funny how fate sometimes lulls us along a path. Temptation is funny that way.” Gali stood up, stretching out close to Asa. “Care to follow me to the cooling pool?”

"Yes... if I can get up." Asakonigei had to heft her weight forward a few times. The belly always got in the way.

Gali gently lifted Asa out of the water, letting her body be a crutch. “You ever have bad apples in your family?”

"Not that I know of." Asakonigei groaned softly, standing still for a moment. "Still kicking me. You'd think the kid would have some manners, but no, has to kick Mama whenever."

Gali winced as she tapped a toe in the cold water. “I’m going to carefully place you in the water.”

"Sure we can't find a cool one of these for my husband? Might help with his hot-headness." Asakonigei joked as the cold water immersed her. "Though enough about my husband. Tell me of you."

“Well, how about-AHH!” Gali gasped as the cold water made her body harden to the touch. Soon though, she relaxed after a few gasps. “Can’t stand the cold.”

Asakonigei tried to hold back a few giggles. "Well, it seems that no matter where, all Gerudos do not like cold."

“True. Where was I? Oh yes. Myself.” Gali played with the water, a sad smile on her lips. “I probably haven’t shared that the infamous Captain Adda is my half-sister.”

"...?! You're related to that bitch---sorry." Asakonigei could not contain the surprise on her face. "I... don't imagine that's been easy for you."

“Truth is, I don’t know much about her. We’ve only met a handful of times. My mother made a deal with her. Any Gerudo that didn’t want to live the life of the Caravans would go live with Adda.”

"I see. I never met her personally but I heard all the stories." Asakonigei frowned, thinking of all the times that the women caused her friends grief. "She killed one of Admiral Corsaire's crew. Young man by the name of Bogdan Toma Vali. His nickname was Bomba." She then paused and said. "Well, technically, her dragon did... but still..."

“I heard. The last we spoke in person I visited her in prison. She told me much about how her life crumbled around her. She even told me the identity of two nieces I have.”

"Yes, Alexandria and Elizabeth." Asakonigei knew the two young girls from their encounters over the years. "I think they're both married now with kids."

“I’ve sent out invitations before hoping to meet them, but they’ve proven allusive.”

"I'm sorry the twins haven't reached out. Perhaps you need a mediator between you and them?" Asakonigei suggested to Gail. "I'm sure that they have their reasons, and are probably very hurt still by their mother. Though, I do think they should at least give you a chance. To prove you're not Adda."

“That’d be nice. But trying to convince two mid thirties women just travel across the world is difficult task. Stubborn like their mother.” Gali sighed as she relaxed further into the cool water.

"You could go to them? I'd ask Orana if you could have passage on one ship of her husbands?"

“Can’t. Too much to do here. Practically Chieftain here if Malik wasn’t concerned.”

"Well, you know, you can always have an assistant. Muso is mine; he helps me watch after things when I'm gone form the forge."

“For now, I’m Malik’s assistant. Can’t have an assistant to an assistant. Could take care of your needs to you know? You’re only going to get bigger and bigger.”

"... unfortunately, you do have a point." Asakonigei did have to admit that Gail was right. Soon enough, she'd have to be on strict bedrest. No more moving unless absolutely necessary. "I... won't lie. I am afraid."

“Good. Fear makes you human. I’d be weary of you if you weren’t afraid.”

"The only person I've ever met that never shows her fear is Zolori, the queen's sister. That woman is made of steel, I tell you." Asakonigei then jolted in the water, gasping, "Oh wow!!! That was a big kick!!! Here, feel." She took Gail's hand and placed it on her belly. "Really moving today. That makes me feel a little better. The baby's healthy."

“I never had children. Too afraid of bringing them into the world. But you.” Gali placed a hand on the mother to be’s stomach. “You feel strong Asa.”

"I have to be strong. Look who I put up with." Asakonigei said dryly, indicting her husband. "I was raised by my uncles who each had a son. I grew up around all men. When you have to avoid your cousins who like to wrestle and put you in headlocks, you learn a thing or two. Besides," She patted her belly. "Childbirth wasn't necessarily the hardest thing I ever had to do. Learning to be patient, learning to love, learning to let go... that's harder."

“For the sake of your child and safety, you might have to let go of much.” Gali kissed Asa lightly on the forehead in a kind gesture. “I don’t say this as a home wrecker, hopefully as a friend, but if anything did happen to you, we’d look after Malik, but more importantly your children. However, we are determined to not have that happen. You’re going to be one of us Asakonigei.”

"It's going to be nice to have some sisters when I grew up with all boys." Asakonigei appreciated the heartfelt words. "I know my family will be in good hands if I do not survive the birth. My Revan and Donoma are strong, and I know this child will be as well. I just... want to be here."

“That is the beauty of motherhood and life.” Gali closely hugged Asa close, feeling no shame. “You’ll be alive to enjoy those moments, I swear it.”

Asakonigei turned a little red when her face was that close to Gail's cleavage. "I need you to promise me something though, Gail..."

Gali moved away, nodding down towards her. “Yes?”

"There... might come a choice when it's either me or the baby." Asakonigei steadied her nerves and then said. "... Malik will choose to save me. Don't let him. Save the baby... please."

“I will do what I can.”

________________________________________________________________

Previous Ch. https://mrneighbourlove.tumblr.com/post/622482284480774144/the-rising-sun-ch-3-test-your-might

Next Ch. https://mrneighbourlove.tumblr.com/post/622677305470402560/the-rising-sun-ch-5-power-exchanged

Crossover with @ridersoftheapocalypse starring our characters!

[mrneighbourlove]

Into the Darkness and Unknown: Ch 5. A Blink into the Void

Bonegrinder woke and was quite concerned when he could not find Leere. He moved all his pillows and even checked near the river. Then the snake went to where Malik was sleeping, snoring rather loudly. Repeatedly, he poked the man with his tail.

"Hey. Hey. Wake up. Tiny princess is gone. Where is she?"

“What the hell are you doing?” Malik grumbled, slapping the snakes tail away. He was so intolerable.

"Tiny princess is gone. Where is she?" Bonegrinder asked him yet again. "She is not in the hut."

“We investigated the origins of Malus on our own. Afterwards, we discussed the origins of your heathen gods and the demon Teufel. I left for the night, but she remained behind.”

"... you let her research Malus? After all she's been through?!"

“Yes. Because she’s not a fragile little girl. She’s her own woman. I respect that.” Malik rose from his bed, grabbing his armour to strap on.

"Malus is dangerous, she doesn't know what horrors it holds! He is trying to protect her from what those fiends would do to her, use her for! Don't you know why Leere's back has that horrid tattoo upon it?!" Bonegrinder was worried and actually looked panicked. "He is going to find her! Stay here!" And with that, he slithered off in the direction of the Temple of Ruin.

“Wait a damn minute!” Malik grabbed him by the tip of his tail, having just barely finished getting into uniform. Holding on, he was dragged by the back as if he were on water skis.

Bonegrinder was old, but he was still damn fast when he wanted to be. When he tried to go through the opening corridor for the temple, the Anagari nearly lost his balance and released a loud 'OOF'. Looking back, the young lord had grabbed onto the side of the stone, halting the shaman's slithering. Lifting his tail, Bonegrinder watched as Malik still held on dangling there.  "... why are you covered in mud and leaves? You have to be presentable for Mother---wait... did you hold onto Bonegrinder's tail?"

Malik arm muscles were pulsing as he held onto the stone to stop Bonegrinder’s advance. “You stupid, ugly mother fucker.” Malik was glad he wore armour, but being splashed through mud, smacked by branches, and over all being dragged about was a completely unpleasant experience. Letting go of his tail, the only thing he could do was strip out of his armour, magically summon a different set of armour, and get changed into it. “You just had to run off like a child. Didn’t you. Your fat ass didn’t even know I was holding onto you.”

"Bonegrinder has little to no feeling in certain areas of his body, too much nerve damage." He wiggled the tip of his tail. "And you're just jealous that Bonegrinder has all the looks and you have none."

“Oh, don’t get me started on that topic you bastard.” Malik slapped his helmet angrily down onto his head. “Let’s go, I can see storm clouds forming. However, if I’m honest, I’d love to see god strike lightning down upon you.”

"Heheheh, you're just angry cause you know he is right." Bonegrinder had that smug grin on his face. "Come. Leere is this way..." He followed her scent into the library... then out of the library... and... "Huh? Oh. OH. We... might not want to interrupt this."

“Why? Where is she?”

"In Mother's bed."

"Nothing. Leere knows a fine piece of ass when she sees it." Bonegrinder then said, poking Malik's helmet with his claw. "You went after Asakonigei, so you know a lovely lady when you see one too."

“Don’t you dare bring up my wife. I’m not fucking the Queen of Danjur, Zarazu, or anyone else when I’m on diplomatic missions.” Malik growled deeply through graded teeth.

"Mother is not a queen, Malik. Mother is many, Mother is all, and Mother is a guardian." Bonegrinder truly did not see the problem. "This will not influence her decisions. Besides, he doesn't smell any arousal... they might just be sleeping."

Bonegrinder felt a punch in the back. “Open with that. God, you really are crazy.”

~

Inside the temple, Leere steered awake, yawning loudly. Seemed she was being held like a little stuffed bear.

Mother was still sleeping soundly until Leere started to stir.

"No bad dreams?"

“None. Yourself?”

"No, I don't dream very often now." Mother told the princess. "When I do, it's often visions of the future to come, the past which haunts me, or what will happen in the present."

“Well, it was nice.” Close enough, Leere snuck a quick peck in. “We should probably get back to the-” Before she could finish her sentence, there was a sound of lightning outside. “That’s odd. I don’t remember signs of a storm forming yesterday.”

"... you are brave to kiss an Echidnan of many like me, Leere." Mother then heard the rumble of thunder. "Hmm..."

A feeling, a shiver, was felt. To Leere, it was small. A coldness. To the Mother, something wrong was taking place in her homeland. “Do you feel something?”

"... something evil has made its way into my land." Mother had a dark frown on her face. "I must handle this situation. I cannot have it harming my children."

Leere stood up, immediately concerned. “I’ll go investigate.”

When Leere descended from Mother's nest, Bonegrinder was there with his arms crossed. "Bonegrinder would like to know why you were up there."

“I was researching the Mortuus. Your mother let me see the remains of your brother and father. Afterwards, I was very tired, so I offered to sleep beside Mother in her nest for the night. Why are you so concerned?”

"They are not his brother nor father, he is not of Mother, Mother considers us all her 'children'. Her people." Bonegrinder was... uncomfortable, being compared to Mother. It showed on his face. "You are in a strange land and trust others too easily here. While Mother said for you not to be harmed, that does not mean you are completely safe. You should have stayed in the hut. The library holds nothing but pain for you."

Leere knew that Bonegrinder was getting under her skin. Did all his people keep secrets? As a way to calm herself, she remembered an old lesson from her mother. ‘Take a deep breath Leere. Don’t let him get under your skin. Just count down. 10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1, deep breaths.’ Clasping her hands, she felt ready to confront her feelings. “Bonegrinder. I’m going to tell you now that you are pushing my boundaries. I can make choices for myself.”

"He knows you can make choices, but there are some issues you are best left in blissful ignorance." Bonegrinder told the princess. "He does not keep this knowledge from you because he does not think you cannot handle it. He keeps it from you because he does not want you hurt further."

“You want me to stay ignorant!? Are you joking me?!” That certainly cut deep into Leere, with the voice of her reassuring mother shattering from her mind. “You’re contradicting yourself! It would hurt if I couldn’t handle it! You can’t keep information about my past from me! What kind of friend does that? What kind of friend are you if you’d actively deny the truth from me?”

"He does not mean mental hurt, Leere, he means physical hurt. The more you know, the more susceptible you are." Bonegrinder did not know how to explain more without revealing too much to the princess. "There is a reason he removed what he did from your tattoo those years ago. He is trying to keep evil from being drawn to you once more. He wants you to be safe and far from harm. Please believe him, tiny princess, he is trying to help you."

“Physically harmed? On that you couldn’t be more foolish. I’m one of the most committed fighters you’ll ever know, you better believe that.” Leere was going to say something else when she paused. Her face slowly changed to clear and focused attention. “Bonegrinder, Mother. There’s a cart of dead bodies out east not to far from here.”

Malik was the only one who couldn’t pick out the sense of undeath from so far away. “Are you saying Omisha is under attack?”

"Leere, Modoc, you two will have to finish your conversation later." Mother felt the dark magic on the exterior of her lands. Someone was using Mortuus magic and... there was something else. A mixture of rage, hate, and... unbalance. Chaotic magic. This was unsettling. "Modoc, go with the guards to investigate."

Bonegrinder was not going to argue. He nodded his head in agreement and then slithered off to gather some of Mother's most precious treasures; the deadliest of the deadly. These would aid him if there should be any trouble.

Then Mother turned to Leere, "My dear, please do not get too upset over Modoc's intentions. I do believe they are pure, yet at the same time, you do deserve your answers. I ask for only your patience."

“He should have more faith.” Leere turned her attention to Malik, who was already getting prepared to leave. “I’ll need my scythe back Lord Malik.”

The Gerudo chuckled, excited to see how the princess would fight with a weapon. He’d never had the chance before. Handing the hilt to her he kept for safe keeping, he pointed out to the east. “We shouldn’t spare an extra moment if innocents can be in the crossfire.”

"Perhaps when one needs more faith, he must first see the faith others have him. Give Modoc time, Leere." Mother then waited for her precious ones to gather before heading out with the humans. "We must be cautious."

~

The area was a flat plain that made a patch in the jungle’s of Omisha. Fresh green grass whistled with the wind from the storm brewing. Down at an old, crumbling sanctuary near the center of the plain, a Mortuus was channeling a ritual. The sky darkened with the blanket of a storm. Rain fell and thunder boomed after flashes of lightning. From the jungle growth, she saw two figures approach. She needed more time to fulfil her magic. “Kill them.”

As Leere and Malik approached, bodies that sprinkled off the cart and onto the ground came to life. Some shambled towards them with snarling teeth and claws. Other held weapons, brandishing spears and swords.

Malik drew his sword, cleaving through rows of zombies, hurling flesh into the air. With his shield he cracked some skulls open with merely the flick of his arm. He was a wrecking ball that obliterated the fragile bodies of the dead. The princess couldn’t help but remember how brutal he was when she first laid eyes on him as a child. Even amongst the living, she felt very little soul from the man when he was engaged in combat.

Leere could sense the sway of the Necromancer over these victims. These bodies were flesh, as well as human. On the clothing she recognized symbols and styles from Al-Daida. Raising a hand into the air next to three, she squeezed her fist. The heads squashed inward like a crumbled paper ball. Focusing her energy, she over took the will of five others to turn on other undead, chomping at the bits to devour one another. The other Necromancer must have caught on quick, because like a door shut in her face, Leere felt herself unable to enforce her will on more undead. With more time she could break down that door, but she needed to fight immediately. Activating her scythe, the staff extended outwards, a blue blade of energy shimmering with ancient technology. Spinning around she surgically cut down various zombies’ limb by limb. With her hilt, she’d push any that tried to grab her, giving them a lashing of her blade to rip their heads from their body.

When the time came to fight, Mother was going to ensure no one escaped. Trespassers would die. Her precious deadly ones ripped into the zombies easily, flanking the humans that led the charge. Most of the undead could never hope to penetrate the flesh of an Echidnan. It was too easy. What was coming next?

The Mortuus felt she had found the time she needed. These Echidnan’s would be trouble, but that’s what the ritual was for.

All the fighters on the battlefield saw a red glow pierce the sky, and on the ground next to the caster a pentagram pulsed wicked energy. From out of the earth hellfire spat out, and, with the smell of brimstone staining the air, demons set foot on earth. Many were vile, disturbing creatures. Some were humanoid, with edged weapons, but that’s the tamest they were in appearance. Some didn’t have eye sockets. Others had exposed craniums. Most were the size of Echidnan’s. Three had crab like lower bodies with bizarre hooked sails and jagged claws. Worst of all, a few sprouted wings and choose to fly off and cause havoc in the rest of Omisha.

Leere and Malik certainly felt fear, pausing in their advance. However, in a moment of reflection separate to both of them, they dug deep and found their courage to move onward.

Leere broke her promise to Mother. With her own magic, she summonsed forth her Dead Hand. An undead pale monstrosity burst from the earth, with dozens of bloody hands shooting from the ground to pull a demon towards the mark of its jaws. Other demons quickly jumped the undead, clawing and biting back at the creature.

Malik gave into his rage, fuelling his physical strength as he parried the strike of a sword-demon, plunging his blade into the gut of the abomination, and pulling upwards to cleave it in half.

A particular demon with its eyes sewn shut held a staff with an orb on top. With the storm brewing in the sky, it spun its staff around before thrusting it toward an Echidnan. Lightning crackled and snapped down at the pointed target, tearing apart an old warrior. Between that caster and the two humans needing to put a stop to it, a demon with no skin on its muscly arms bounded its chest at Malik and roared.  

The Gerudo Lord tapped his shield at Leere, hoping she’d understand what would need to be done. “Catapult maneuver!”

Leere nodded, already running towards the man. She had witnessed her siblings practice the technique enough times as well as watch Rinku perform it in live combat to know what she needed to do. Jumping on his shield, the princess was thrown over the muscular demon straight towards the blind lightning caster. The demon hissed at her as she flew towards it. With a glare in her eyes, she struck downwards, cutting its head open like a cantaloupe down in vertical swing of her scythe. Landing on her feet, she quickly spun around to snap its staff in half, cleaving its body in good measure.

The other demon threw a punch at Malik, who in the motion of throwing Leere, swung his shield arm down at his opponent. The shield stabbed in between the knuckles of the demon, causing blood to squirt out onto Malik’s armour, as well as rewarding his ears with scream of pain. Least Malik could only hope it was pain; damn things roars sounded nearly identical. Under its screaming, Malik plunged upwards into the demon’s mouth, his blade piercing outwards the back of its skull. With a jerk, he pulled with his sword and shield out from its body, quickly moving with Leere to enter the grounds of the old sanctuary.

The land was full of blood now. The dark magic was tainting the ground and Mother was using her magic to push all of the demonic nature backwards. The leader of her people even used the storm of the enemy to sway lightning to crash upon demons that dared believe they could fly out to cause chaos. She had held the barrier separating Malus and Omisha. Now, she was using a shield to part her children from the demons. This foul magic would not hurt anymore, would not take hold of anyone, would never risk the lives of her people again! As Leere used her necromancy magic, Mother was very incensed. She would speak to the girl about the usage of such dark forces in her kingdom later. For now, she had a job to do; push back the intruder.

Bonegrinder was as deadly as ever, fighting beside of his brothers and sisters. Yet, he was more so experienced with these fiends. It sickened the Anagari to see the destruction, though he was more so worried. These demons were smarter than a zombie puppet. Once or twice, he used his long tail to swat a smaller demon from Leere or Malik, before being engaged by more of the larger abominations.

As Leere and Malik entered the grounds of the sanctuary, the intruder magically constructed a ring of fire around the area to keep anyone out who didn’t want to risk being burned, as well as to keep the two of them in her company. When she dropped her hood, Malik steadied his sword. “I know you.”

Leere felt an odd sense of curiosity towards this woman. She was taller than her, but still had the same red eyes and a similar shade of hair colour as her. This didn’t diminish her caution, however.

The woman raised a finger to Malik, frowning at first. Quickly, she shook off her frown with a light laugh. “Look at that. No longer able to be my puppet. No matter. When you die all over again you shall be a slave to my will once again, Dio!”

“The woman who tried to kill Zarazu.” Malik’s grip on his sword tightened. Leere felt this information was shared to give her clarity, but was also the man giving himself a reminder of why she was a serious threat.

“Indeed. She does not deserve to be the Goddess of Death. I will become the God of Death with her death.”

Malik didn’t take the threat to Zarazu’s life lightly. His hatred of the gods was deep enough, no need for this bitch to have grand dreams of ascending to godhood by taking the life of his friend, especially since Zarazu wasn’t an actual god. “You won’t touch her.”

“You’re right. I’ll probably have someone else rip out her intestines and snuff the breath out of her. Perhaps her husband.”

Leere readied her scythe, familiar with the madness of cultists enough from her travels. She knew there would be no reasoning with this woman. “The first Mortuus I met since my adoption, and you’re revolting. There’s a small hope that the people of Omisha are wrong about those that come from Malus, but I can see in your expression and wordplay that you’re a monster they fear.”

Dio turned her attention to Leere, a glow of examination filling her. “So… you’re the target. Heard stories about you. The Mortuus who escaped alive. You’ve made friends in high places. From what I understand, even a snake who can’t keep himself from destroying everything he loves.”

Leere and Malik knew she was speaking of Bonegrinder, but before they could ponder on this more, a flash of lightning was shot towards them both from a demon that made itself know behind Dio. It’s form Malik raised his shield to defend himself, but Leere had to throw herself to the ground to avoid the attack.

The woman laughed, a mad glee in her eyes. “My master is going to make me a god. I’ll use you both as slaves to build a temple in my honour on this very land.”

Mother knew not of the past incident with this Mortuus, but could put together enough pieces to realize that there was most definitely bad blood between the her and Malik. This demonic magic made her feel uneasy. It was the same kind of magic which was used to torment the souls of her mate and her child. Bad memories were there to help her, the Echidnan ruler reminded herself. She had to be cautious. She had to be faster. She had to be the smart one. With a slam of her tail, the Mother separated the earth between her children and the demons, a rift appearing in-between them.

The demons hissed; their attention being drawn to the Mother now that they were cut off from the rest of Omisha. One flashed frilled quills at the Echidnan. “The souls of your children will be our nourishment. But first, let us embrace you.”

Inside the sanctuary, Dio commanded her demon to attack Malik. It had the appearance of a flying eyeball with flower peddles surrounding the body. With a glow, black lightning shot towards the Gerudo, forcing him to take cover behind his shield and retreat amongst the rubble as the demon gave chase.

Dio herself locked eyes with Leere, her hands glowing with magic ready to destroy her enemies. There was a presence that felt familiar to Dio about this woman. Why? “A pampered princess can’t kill a god to be.”

“You are just another mad cultist.” Leere ran forward with her scythe to strike down Dio. Her blade met the empty air as the devilish woman danced around her strikes. Finally, she retaliated by snapping her fingers. At both of Leere’s sides, two Floormasters, man sized sentient hands, flew towards her to grab her. They were nearly identical to her Wallmaster, simply having a different function. She found herself being squeezed tight together in their grip. Dio snorted in amusement at her conjuration working out flawlessly. “Looks like the Destroyer is going to lose one of her friends.”

Leere felt her skin being torn into, blood leaking out onto the Floormasters. Good. Blood magic made the hands lose their grip, and before Dio could react, Leere threw the two hands together to make an icky battering ram of monster flesh. Both monsters forced together and hurled into Dio had the effectiveness of a giant fist punching her whole body. The woman was flung backwards into ground, blood flying from her now broken nose. Rising to her feet, her mood was soured to see Leere’s hands glowing red with cursed blood magic.

“You dare strike me?”

“I’m going to drain the life from you is what I’m going to do.”

Dio couldn’t imagine how a Mortuus who left the capital of Malus could have so much power. “Ha. We’ll see about-HCK!!!”

Suddenly, Dio wasn’t laughing. Due to Leere’s blood making contact with her skin thanks to the battering ram the princess threw at Dio, she was now able to levitate the body of the other necromancer. Taking her time, she started to squeeze the oxygen out of Dio’s lungs with her magic. This startled the intruder to Omisha greatly. She could taste the thick amount of iron in her mouth as her breath was being taken away.

As Leere stepped forward into Dio’s shadow to get a closer look at bitch she was about to kill, the woman cocked her head to the right at the princess and thrust her arm upwards with all the strength she could to get through Leere’s blood magic. Leere felt her rib cage be violently stabbed as a shadow pierced into her. Taking a few steps back, Leere struggled for breath as Dio rose from the ground. With a cruel smile, Dio made another slash with her shadow. The bladed arm cut into Leere’s back, spinning her around with the force of the impact.

The princess breathed heavily from her injuries. The only thing that felt good was the smell of the rain that started to fall down. Every drop that hit her lacerations stung like hellfire instead of cooling water.

As Dio approached from behind, she paused, her expression being frozen on Leere’s back. “That tattoo… I didn’t think it plausible. But it is it. Schwanz des Teufels: Tyrannin.”

“What?” When the woman spoke to her, there was frightening chill in her voice, as if two people were speaking at once, viewing her body with nefarious intent.

“Rejoice Leere Dragmire. You have a purpose now, a reason to stay alive.” It was defiantly a different voice coming from Dio now, however, when she spoke again, Leere heard the smugness of the woman return. “Doesn’t mean I don’t get to cut you apart so thy can keep still forever.”

Tendrils of darkness lifted from Dio’s shadow, shooting towards Leere with the precision of whips. They crackled through the air as the Princess drew the knife as her side to repel them the best she could.

Mother was able to contain the fiends easily with the help of her deadly children. Most of the demons were massive mounds of flesh without proper training. It was easy to rip into the fiends and dispose of them. Once Bonegrinder had completed his duty to Mother, using his own dark magic to contain the demons where they stood, he turned his attention to Malik and Leere. He had seen the two duel opponents before, yet, this was different. Malik was struggling to obtain an offense with his foe. Leere was holding her own against the Mortuus bitch, yet there was... shadow magic being used. Too much darkness...

When Dio attacked Leere with her assault of shadow whips, Bonegrinder shot forward through the fire. His body smelled of burnt flesh for only a moment before regenerating. It was time to end this now before anymore lives could be lost. Lunging forward, he tackled Dio and had his jaws opened wide. His coils wrapped around Dio's body and his fangs were ready to clamp down on her head.

The eye demon that had Malik pinned behind cover flew in to assist Dio. Before Bonegrinder could kill the woman, the shadow fired a powerful stream of dark lightning into the back of his head. As his coils unfurled, Dio scuttled on her back away from the freak of nature that nearly devoured her.

Leere was quick to try and stop her, claiming and swinging her scythe at the bitch’s head. Dio barely escaped death once again, returning the attempt on her life with a kick to Leere’s wounded stomach.

The pain Leere felt was unbearable, and her scream was shrill and high as she stumbled back. She even dropped her weapon from the kick. Looking up, Leere quickly was electrocuted by a stream of red lightning launched from the fingertips of Dio’s raised right hand. Leere had been electrocuted before, but this felt different. It was of her life force was being drained from her, the very soul being stolen. And its agony she felt from it was unreal.

Malik saw the demon firing a continuous stream of electricity at Bonegrinder. It wouldn’t stop firing down upon him, shredding flesh right down to the bone. Looking the lightning storm above, he quickly thought of a plan. Raising a metal sword to the sky, Malik put just enough of his own energy that the blade started sparking. The sizzling increased volume, until finally, Malik felt it was ready to throw. Launching the blade right under the shadowy demon like a boomerang, a lightning bolt from the heavens struck downwards in a path towards the metal blade, piercing the demon through its entire body to reach it. Its form crumbled into the earth, turning into black goo.

Dio channeled her masters magic. Magic was his domain, so it was only natural he could take it away. He taught her his ways. It hurt like hell to use, but she knew it hurt her enemies even more. Seeing Bonegrinder get up, she fired her other hand of magic draining bolts towards the monster. “Come now. Transform. I know who you are. My master told me. It also so happens you are the enemy of all Mortuus.”

Malik ran forward, throwing himself in front of Dio’s bolts towards Leere with his shield. It gave her a moments recovery to breathe as Malik struggled against the anti-life magic. If he was going to protect anyone, it would be the princess over that bratty snake.

"MODOC!!!" Mother shouted when she saw him being attacked by the life draining magic. If he was unstable... if he lashed out, he could hurt them too. She yelled at the pair, motioning with her tail for them to get behind her barrier. "Malik! Leere!!! Get away!!! Get away from Modoc!!!"

Bonegrinder's body twisted and contorted, his coils seemingly ready to break. His mind was jumbled. Nothing was clear. Where was he? When was he? Why was he fighting? Who was he with? These questions, he knew he had an answer, but could not formulate one. Groaning, he held his head. The Anagari's body was starting to form... particles. Floating particles surrounded him. Ironically, not of dark magic, but of pure energy. Light energy. His eyes were glowing a solid white, and he spoke in a language that no one understand.

"You will not hurt them! You are done hurting innocents! We banished you once and we will banish you again!" Bonegrinder simply shot his hand through Dio's fiendish magic and grasped her by the throat. "You serve a false god who takes pleasure in the torment of others. I will wipe you from existence for your crimes against this world!" With a blast of pure energy, the celestial magic exploded... and threw everyone backwards. Even Mother was knocked off her many centipede legs. All the demons either were obliterated by the magic, or retreated back into the portal that returned them to the deepest pits of the underworld and Hell.

In Bonegrinder’s grasp, Dio tried to speak. Her face was turning dark purple from the tight iron grip around her tiny neck. Celestial magic had burned her body from head to toe. She’d have died outright if something inside her watching deemed her ready for death.

To be completely honest with herself, she was terrified. If her body still had the capacity, she might have been pissing herself from fear, at least, if there hadn’t been a nugget of confidence in returning from the dead. Dio didn’t like the idea of dying regardless, but she’d serve one last purpose first. “My master will r-resurrect me. He will-”

Her eyes suddenly rolled back, and the air grew bitterly cold. The voice that left her mouth was clearly not her own. What’s more, it was the only one that could communicate with the being that inhabited Bonegrinder. “I found you at last. I don’t think you were the brother I expected though.”

Leere’s back was burning with pain and her magic sizzled from Bonegrinder’s explosion. She was flown far away, and when she tried to stand, she found her left leg was broken from the blast. It was hard to tell at sight, but she knew something was terribly wrong with both Bonegrinder and Dio. The air was phased around them like a mirage, the ground crackling with sparks.

Malik was lucky enough to be thrown into some rubble, so he wasn’t launched far. Closer than Leere, he could hear the voice that escaped the Mortuus. “Teufel.”

Teufel simply ignored Malik, as one would ignore an ant on a mountain hike. “I am God. I have subjects in all corners of this realm and others. This dear girl, played her part admirably. I will consider resurrecting her. Your God has one last task for you Dio. The Mother of Omisha insulted me by saying your pathetic tribe of life worshipers could ever control me. Deal with the matter.”

The Mortuus’ voice spoke out in the same tone as a broken note of a recorder. “Yes, my lord...”

Dio’s hand rose, and with magic not her own, a beam of celestial magic shot from her finger towards the Mother of Omisha as a way to pierce her heart. The magic already started to disintegrate Dio’s body as it left her being, too much for a mere mortal to handle such power.

"You will never win. Not as long as Kaksa is here. Not as long as I am here." Bonegrinder, no... an ancient god snarled at the voice of Chaos coming through Dio's body. It was a brother of Creation or Destruction who was in control of his host now. The celestial god of creation had laid dormant in his Echidnan host for a long while. Rarely did he surface. "You became greedy and tried to disrupt her beloved world. Now, you will never be at her side again. The Mother Goddess has wiped her hands of betraying filth like you---!!!"

When Dio shot magic at Mother, Bonegrinder reacted. He could only deflect it. Using a huge blast of his own celestial power, he knocked the beam sideways and it slammed into the side of a hill, exploding the earth. Hunks of grass, rock, and dirt flew through the air and the sudden force of casting his own magic caused the Anagari to sail through multiple trees, breaking the plants in half, before settling into the mud.

"MODOC!!!" Mother rushed to Bonegrinder's side and collected him into her arms. His body was disintegrated in some areas, but was slowly starting to repair itself. "Modoc? Modoc!!! I command you to open your eyes! Modoc!"

“Your goddess, Hylia, and the other gods have already failed. Already have I dominated a few myself. Join Ponca, Osage, and Akihara in Hell Modoc. I look forward to killing the last of your people Malik… Mother… Leere…. Hehe… Hehehe. HahahahaHAHAHAHA!!!” With a final defiant laugh, Dio’s body disintegrated into earth, her masters taunt being heard by all. The silhouette of her body left a black stain in the earth of Omisha.

Malik made his way to Mother, concerned about Bonegrinder’s condition. The last time he’d seen his body so damaged was when he himself detonated a highly volatile powder keg in his face. “Is he alive?”

"He is alive, but he's going to need some time to recover." Mother looked... worried. A huge, intimidating being like her being anxious was surely not a good sign. There was still a bit of celestial magic floating around Bonegrinder's body, yet now, it was harmless. As it sunk to the jungle floor, it actually rejuvenated the tainted parts of the ground. "He took a direct hit from Chaos... that stupid fool." The Echidan of many took a deep breath, fighting back tears. "You've been around as long as I have, yet have suffered more torment. Why do you continue to do such idiotic things when you know we all will need you?" She told Bonegrinder in his comatose state. "I fear that one day your body will not repair and what will we do then?" The other children of Mother made a makeshift stretcher and began to carry Bonegrinder back to the Temple of Ruin.

She then finally looked at Malik, and said, "... you have questions. I will answer. But not here."

Malik looked to Leere in the not too far distance, seeing her still on the ground writhing in pain. “Questions can come at a later time. Let us attend to our wounded first.” Malik walked past the bodies of demons and undead to reach Leere. Seeing the condition the princess was in, he winced behind his helmet. However, he respected her tenacity as a warrior for not complaining from the physical pain. “That leg doesn’t look good.”

“No... shit...” Leere was breathing as steady as she could to get through the pain. “I think my femur is broken.”

The Gerudo lord looked down to see some bone poking out of Leere’s skin. Between that and the gut wound, he wondered how she was still breathing.  “You need a Doctor.”

“No... shit...”

Carefully, but not enterally painlessly, Malik scooped Leere into his arms and carried her back to the rest of the Echidans. “I think a Bonegrinder is this Destroyer god we have heard so much about.”

“We can’t know for sure.”

“We both saw the magic he possessed. He tore through demons and Dio like they were nothing.”

Leere pondered on this theory, noting the facts. Bonegrinder surrounded himself with those that eroded the will of people. He was rather ravenous in his hunger, seemingly having no sight in his growth. Leere was read a tale that one of the known symbols of the end of the world was a giant snake. His own people held rumours about him. And given his powers, it wasn’t hard to imagine the type of destruction he could bring to the world. But he was still her friend, wasn’t he?

“Let’s... save that thought for later. I need rest for now.”

"Bring the princess into the infirmary. My healers will care for her." Mother instructed Malik. "And if you have any injuries that need tending, please tell my children. The Tlanuhwas will be sure to care for you and the princess tonight. Though if you rather have a Kokyangwuti, please tell me. There are many options to treat you, whatever you feel more comfortable." She then said, "I will visit after I ensure the barriers are stable."

“Understood.” With great haste, Malik took off with Leere in his arms. The battlefield they left behind had a remarkable effect. With the rain fall, life started to come back to land, all except marked by the hell and chaos left behind directly by Dio. Her death bed sizzled, whispering promises of more suffering and discord to be pulled in Omisha. Far, far away, a primordial evil was still laughing. The Devil found out the identity of one of its greatest enemies, as well as part of their very being thought forever lost. And if Teufel knew where and who they were, it would be all the easier to control the threads of fate for when its time would come. All in due time…

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