The Legend Of Zelda Fan Fiction ❯ Gerudo Forest ❯ Chapter 39 ( Chapter 39 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

She woke to the smell of food cooking. Ganon felt warm and soft beneath her and the sun shone brightly hanging in the sky. Ganon's eyes were fixed on her as she stirred. They looked golden like honey in the morning light. How long had he been watching her? She realized that he had placed her in the crook of his arm with his hand beneath her as if he was cradling her like a baby to him. “Morning.” She whispered holding her hand up. He dropped his head down letting her place her hand to his face. “ Mr. Piggy! Mr. Piggy! It's time to eat!.” She heard Anju call to him excitedly. Melissa giggled and Ganon just rolled his eyes before lifting his head and letting Melissa get up. They ate breakfast and then went to get what supplies were still left plus as much water as they could carry. This had solved their food shortage. The pantry had more than enough food to get all of them to their destination so Ganon didn't protest to the extra people now in their party. Maybe the food this morning had made him see that Telma would be beneficial to have around. Melissa was surprised when Ganon agreed to carry the children on his back. Yep! She would never let him forget this. Telma rode with her. Trinexx put up a little bit of a fight against it at first but a little singing calmed him down enough to let the woman up. They had a little ways before getting to Gerudo Valley. She could hear the kids excited yells over the rush of wind in her ears. Even Talo seemed to be better around Ganon. They had to detour a little farther away from the two villages they had passed on they way to death mountain so as not to attract attention . Melissa was glad they they hadn't been burnt to the ground. She felt partly responsible for the loss of Telma and the kid's village. If she hadn't insisted on staying maybe it would have never happened. Melissa was never happier to see the gorge but as they approached they could see things had changed a little. They came to a stop in front of a wooden gate that had been erected at the entrance. “How are we supposed to get past that?” Telma said looking at the obstacle towering above them. “Ram it.” Ganon spelled to Melissa. “What did he say? Telma asked. “He said he wants to ram it.” Melissa said wondering if that would be a good idea. “Are you sure?” Melissa asked him. “I mean we have no clue what's behind it. We might signal our presence to who ever built this gate. I think we should try something else.” She said looking the construction over. “ You worry too much.” he wrote. “Can we at least try looking over it before we do anything too hasty? I mean if it's clear I might be able to unlock it from the inside.” Melissa said trying to keep this trip as free from fighting as they could. Especially for the children's sake. “How do you expect to open it from the inside?” Telma asked warily. “If he quits being pig headed and agrees you will see.” Melissa said giving him a look. Ganon snorted to the pig headed remark but gave in. “Alrighty let's get this done.” Melissa said dismounting Trinexx. “Be good Trin and mind Telma till I get back.” She said stroking the horse. Trinexx snorted in response which she hoped meant he would. “Where are you going?” Telma called as Melissa headed to the biggest and closest boulder she could find to have some privacy. “I'll be back just wait there.” Melissa said not stopping to look back. Behind the boulder she undressed felling way too exposed and changed as fast as she could manage. As soon as it had started she felt Ganondorf's presence fill her head. She didn't mind. She had longed to hear his voice again. His thoughts were strong and she could feel a mixture of emotions from him. “How you holding up?” she asked him even before she had walked around the rock. “I am fine.” She heard his deep voice reply. Just those words were enough to make her heart flutter. She felt so silly and wondered if he could feel what she felt as well. Rounding the boulder Telma and the kids gasped again. “It's a big kitty!” She heard Anju exclaim. She heard Ganon laughing as he was and in her mind. “Hey at least I'm not Mr. Piggy!” Melissa pointed out. That made him stop. “How is this possible?” Telma asked looking at her. Melissa shook her head because of course she couldn't answer. “You explain it to her. I'll be back in a jiffy.” Melissa thought to Ganon. “Be careful.” He thought back. She could feel a little worry mixed in with his message. “I'll be fine.” Melissa said spreading her wings making Anju even more excited. “Can we ride the kitty next?” The little girl called to Telma who shook her head. With that Melissa took off with a laugh. Flying above the gate she saw what she would have never expected. There were Gerudo down there. Had they reclaimed the land while Melissa and Ganon had been gone? It wasn't long before she was spotted. She could hear them shouting and saw them pointing at her. A group of them came running with bows in hand. “What do you see?” She heard Ganon call but she had no time to answer. She had to quickly fly back over to avoid the incoming arrows. She roared out as one hit her shoulder. It hurt badly but thankfully it didn't affect her flying. She landed beside Ganon who saw it instantly. A look of outrage crossed his face. “Those Hylian bastards will pay for what they did.” She heard him think angrily ready to charge. “Wait! It's not Hylians. There are Gerudo on the other side. They didn't know who I was.” Melissa called before he did something rash. Melissa feared more for the kids on his back than anything. He calmed a little but he still seemed infuriated. “Then they will be severely punished for their actions.” He replied. “Please calm down. They didn't know. I don't want anyone punished. How about letting the kids off before doing anything stupid.” Melissa pleaded trying to shield how much pain she was in from him. At the mention of the kids she felt embarrassment radiating from him. In his rage he had forgotten they were even there. He let them down and they ran to Telma to tell them how fun their ride had been. Oh to be that oblivious Melissa thought before she ran back to get changed. She knew that if the Gerudo had truly taken over word of a dragon might reach Koume and Kotake. They would straighten this mess out but she would need to be able to talk to them. She winced as she pulled her clothes on. With the arrow she couldn't slide her sleeve over her shoulder so she had to hold it up awkwardly. Luckily it hadn't gone to deep. Her scales had prevented that but she was still bleeding pretty bad. Ganon looked in distress when he saw her up close. Melissa could only hope the Gerudo had doctors. They didn't wait long before the gates opened. Koume and Kotake followed by Chara and a few of the archers came out. As soon as they saw Ganon their eyes went wide and all but Koume and Kotake bowed. Ganon growled and they stood back up. “My son! We are so glad to see you!”Koume said ecstatic. “Why are you in that form? Change back so we may talk.” Kotake said flying up to him. “ He can't.” Melissa grimaced holding her throbbing shoulder. “Melissa!” Koume said smiling until she saw the blood and the arrow sticking out of her shoulder. “Oh my dear! You need to have that looked at.” Koume said flying to her to examine the wound. “Someone needs to help Ganon first. The wizard stabbed some object into his chest and now he's stuck like that. If you pull on it it moves deeper in.” Melissa babbled. “Yes. Yes. We will fix that but right now you need to see a doctor.” Koume said motioning for Chara. “Come on friend before you bleed to death.” Chara said grabbing her arm and trying to lead her away. “Wait what about our friends. They are looking for any survivors of the village that was burned not to far from the valley. The children need to find their mother. I saw the gerudo mark and wondered if perhaps they made it here.” Melissa said trying to make sure everyone was taken care of before she was drug off. Chara smiled. “ Some of them did.” Chara then pointed to the two archers . “Please show them around.” She ordered in which the two nodded. With that Melissa was being led to a horse. Melissa glanced back at Ganon who gave her a reassuring nod. Knowing everyone was going to be okay she gave in and let Chara take her away. Melissa wondered when Chara had gained so much authority. She was happy for her friend who apparently was moving up in the ranks. Reaching the Gerudo village she saw none of the merchants or soldiers that were there before. Though to her surprise there were still some Hylians. Chara stopped the horse in front of the second entrance they came to. Melissa had to have help to get down because the pain traveling down her arm was now making it hard to move. When they entered she was led to a small room where an old hylian man with coke bottle spectacles poured over papers. “Hey old man we have a patient for you.” Chara said making Melissa sit down on the backless chair. “Oh? Who's hurt this time?” the man said turning around excitedly but frowned when he saw her. “Who is she?” The man sighed coming over studying the arrow. “ She is a friend.” Chara responded flippantly. “Must not be too good a friend if your using her as target practice.” The doctor said experimentally yanking on the arrow. “Ouch!” Melissa objected but he paid her no mind. “Hold still and bite down on this.” The old man said placing a ratty strip of what tasted like leather in her mouth. She tried not to think of how many patients had probably used it before her. “Alright I won't lie to you. This is going to hurt a lot so just bear with me.” He said gripping the arrow shaft. With a sharp pull the arrow came out. It almost felt like most of her shoulder had come with it. She yelped and her eyes began to water. “There. Worse part is over now.” The man said like that was any comfort. He started cleaning and packing the wound. If this man was an actual Doctor she wondered how he had even stayed in business being as rough as he was. There was nothing gentle about his hands as he worked. “You know Lady Chara this isn't what I agreed to stay here for. You said I would get to learn about the gerudo not play doctor.” The man said wrapping her tightly with a bandage and Melissa cringed. “Instead I have wasted my time healing stray villagers you pick up. It might be worth it if at least one was a gerudo.” He said sounding annoyed. “Well then your in luck. This girl is gerudo.” Chara scoffed. It felt funny being talked about like she wasn't even there again. “What are you talking about? She's as Hylian as I am.” The man said finishing wrapping the bandage and fastening it. “I promise you she is one of us.” Chara laughed. The so called Doctor lifted her head and studied her face. He started mumbling things to himself staring intently at her like bacteria under a microscope. “She's too pale, her eyes are blue but there is a gold ring. Hmmmm... Unusual.” He rattled off to himself. Lifting her hair to inspect her ears a smile spread across his face. “Hylian gerudo hybrid? Fascinating. You must let me study her.” He said to Chara. Melissa had enough of this. “Not that I'm not grateful for you fixing me up but I'm not some specimen in a jar.” Melissa said jerking away from him wincing as pain shot through her shoulder. “But my dear you are a big discovery. You have proven one of my theories.” He said now jotting notes down in a book. Melissa looked to Chara for help but she just shook her head. “Well you will have to come and have your wound looked at regularly. It wouldn't take too much out of your time.” He said with a smile. Melissa wondered if she could convince someone else to help her with her bandages everyday. “Do I have a choice? I mean I don't know much about the Gerudo. I didn't grow up here.” Melissa told him. He looked a little disappointed. “Look if it will get you to stop complaining at council I'll come with her every day and you can ask me questions.” Chara said sighing. The man smiled again snapping his notebook closed. “Then it is settled! It will be nice to have two of you for comparisons.” He seemed all to happy about this. “Comparisons?” Melissa said getting up angry. The man hadn't heard her though he was already planing what he wanted to do next. Melissa would talk to Ganon about this. She would not be a lab rat. Melissa stormed out not sure where to go. Chara joined her shortly. “ Yeah he's a crackpot but he is good at his job. He is trying to write a book on us.” Chara said shaking her head. “You don't have to go back if you don't want to.” she added noting Melissa's agitation. “I just want to go back to Ganon.” Melissa finally said. “I don't know if that is a good idea right now. They will need full concentration and we would only distract them. They will let us know when he is ready for visitors.” Chara said leading them through the village. Melissa had forgotten how hot the desert had been. She had gotten used to Hyrule's nice temperatures and felt a little parched realizing she hadn't had anything to drink all day yet. “I'm thirsty can we get something to drink?” Melissa asked hoping it would be somewhere shady. Chara nodded and they entered one of the buildings. A ramp led down into a room that looked to serve as the kitchen. They sat at the table in the middle of the room and Chara handed her a cup. “So what have you two been up to all this time?” Chara asked curious. “Honestly I don't know where to begin.” Melissa said taking a sip of her drink. “ I guess I can tell you the short of it though.” Melissa proceeded to tell her a sum of the events they had been through. “You have been busy.” Chara laughed. “Well what have you been up to?” Melissa asked really interested as to how the Gerudo had kicked most of the Hylians out. “Well after we left we gathered all of the tribes we could find to drive out the Hylians. It feels good to be back home.” Chara said with a smile. “Of course as you can see we allowed a few Hylians to stay like the Doctor and some villagers but some of them can be quite a headache.” Chara said leaning her head on her hand reminding her of Ganon. She hoped Koume and Kotake were able to remove the black wedge. “So how did you end up saving the villagers?” Melissa asked trying to clear her mind. It would do no good to worry but she couldn't help it. “Well after we chased the soldiers out some of us tracked the one with the golden armor down and arrived to a burning village. We didn't know what else to do but bring them back. They do help us when we need supplies and such so it worked out.” Chara replied. Melissa hoped Talo and Anju had found their mother. “Have the soldiers tried to retaliate?” Melissa asked knowing Agahnim wouldn't take this lightly. He might even come down himself to crush this little rebellion himself. Just then A roar reverberated through the walls. She knew it had to be Ganon. What were they doing to him? Melissa got to her feet ready to rush to him but Chara grabbed her arm giving her a funny look. “What's wrong? There's no need to be scared.” Chara said thinking Melissa was trying to run in fear. “Where is he? I need to be there.” Melissa said feeling helpless. “I told you. You would only be in the way.” Chara laughed realizing it had been concern that had made her jump up. “I thought you didn't like him. At least that was the impression I got from you.” Chara said eying her. “What? I never said anything like that. I was angry at the way he was treating me at the time but I didn't hate him. A journey gives you time to get to know a person and I have become more fond of him than I would like to admit.” Melissa said embarrassed. Chara gave her a shocked look. “You have become fond of him? Your blushing says a little more than fond.” Chara studied her face. “What are you implying?” Melissa asked feeling the heat in her face. “You love him.” Chara said giving her a serious look. What was she supposed to say in a situation like this? She couldn't deny it nor did she want to confirm it to Chara. “You can't be serious!” Chara said outraged. “Why are you so mad?!? I haven't done anything.” Melissa said unsure why he feelings would make Chara upset. “You don't know the slightest thing about our traditions or our way of life. You are weak. There is no way you could marry him! He would never choose someone like you.” Chara said shaking her head. Melissa wondered if the other Gerudo's would feel just as strongly about this. And here Melissa had been leaning to saying yes to him. Could she do it if she knew everyone would hate her for it? There was at least one thing she knew Chara was wrong about. He wanted her to stay and that in its self gave her comfort. Melissa yanked her arm away. “Please don't be angry at me. I am only speaking the truth. You must stop your silly little infatuation before you end up hurting yourself.” Chara said thinking she was just being a good friend so that Melissa wouldn't get her heart broke. Melissa hadn't felt so conflicted in her entire life. “I'm sorry I need to get some fresh air. Please don't follow me right now.” Melissa said feeling upset. Chara went to follow anyway but Melissa gave her a stern look. “I didn't mean to offend you. Please don't be mad.” Chara said trying to apologize. “I'm not mad at you. I just thought I had somethings finally figured out and now I don't know again. Besides it's been Ganondorf asking me to stay with him not the other way around.” Melissa said with a sigh. “He did?” Chara asked looking unsure. “He has never shown interest in someone before.” She said with a look of disbelief. Melissa didn't want to talk about this anymore. She left before Chara had even realized it. Ducking down some halls and going out another door she had made it back outside. Melissa knew she was weak in most aspects. Even though her magic could be strong it was never reliable nor had she control over it when it was. Just like the other day when they had been attacked by the hunters. She heard another roar but she couldn't pin point where it had come from. The buildings were all connected to each other making it a labyrinth. She searched as much as she could narrowly avoiding Chara a couple times but she still couldn't seem to find where they had taken him. Eventually she ended up on the roof of the tallest building there. Heights no longer bothered her like they used to. She hung her legs over the edge and watched the sun set. She guessed she would never find him without help or unless he came looking for her and it had been a while since she had heard his last roar. Maybe it meant they had figured out how to reverse what had been done. It was peacefully where she sat. No one noticed her at all which was fine. The sun sank and with it came the cold of the desert nights. Melissa shivered but stayed where she was watching the figures below move indoors. The moon rose and the stars began to wink at her. She hummed to herself as her eyes grew heavy. She guessed she would just sleep under the stars since no one cared enough to look for her. Laying back she closed her eyes and let sleep engulf her. Eventually she was aware of being lifted and wrapped in something. Melissa snuggled against who ever it was feeling warmth and something soft beneath her fingertips. She was still half asleep but her eyes would flutter open for a moment before closing again. Nothing made since to her sleepy mind. She barely remembered seeing a man's face but it seemed distorted in her not quite conscious mind. The man's head seemed to be surrounded by a wild mane of reddish hair and she thought she had noticed two teeth that seemed to stick out oddly on the sides of his mouth. Everything was a blur. The man seemed to be really tall because she remembered feeling him ducking down a lot moving through the halls. She couldn't remember if she had tried to to talk to him or if he had to her. She felt she should know this person but she couldn't quite place her finger on it. Somewhere on the trip she had fallen asleep again everything forgotten for the moment.