The Legend Of Zelda Fan Fiction ❯ Gerudo Forest ❯ Chapter 53 ( Chapter 53 )

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

The day to leave came sooner than Melissa thought it would. She had just finished packing her stuff. Sitting back down at her bench she made some finishing touches to the bow Ganon had given her. The day Ganon had wanted her to follow was the day he had surprised her with the bow she had wanted from the market. She had definitely over thought his intentions on the way to her room and when he had given it to her she had almost been disappointed. She had spent most of the walk trying to prepare herself for what might come but her disappointment faded quickly just holding the bow. She had been so excited to start restoring it. She had worried he had pressured the woman to sell it to him but he promised he had done nothing of the sort. She had worked nonstop on it since he had given it to her making many trips to the market. Where the dragon had worn down she ended up re-carving it. It had also needed a new string and Kona had helped her replace it. Next she stained and polished it. It ended up being the most time consuming process of all because she had to wait for it to dry before applying the next coat. Once finished it had the color of cherry wood. Now her problem was the grip. The fabric had been stained and didn't really look like it belonged any more. She had decided to remove it and just hope it wasn't a wreck underneath. Working the little knife, that Kona had given her as a present for her upcoming trip, she slipped it under the fabric and sliced all the way up with no resistance. Pulling it away she gasped. The grip beneath looked to be tarnished gold inlaid with a red stone that seemed similar to what the ghost king's throne had been made of. The stone's shape was the usual Gerudo symbol and on either side of it a triangle was pressed into the metal. Where had the merchant gotten this bow? Why hide such a beautiful grip? She couldn't help but think there had to be some history behind this weapon's origin. She couldn't wait to show Ganon the finished product. Looking at it now she just knew he would have to take back his comment on her weird taste in things. She was excited to try it out but after the incident with Impa she had been forbidden to leave her chambers without an escort. Ganon had made her promise to not disobey his command this time and reluctantly she agreed. It made her feel like she was cooped up but understood it was for her protection. It was still dark out but technically morning. Anticipation of their journey today made it hard for her to sleep anymore so she paced the room restless. Moving to the window she looked out at the desert which expanded as far as the eye could see. The usual guards were on patrol and a few villagers were beginning to emerge from their homes. The villagers had been sharing accommodations with gerudo families since they had gotten here and it could be quite cramped. Now quite a few makeshift homes had been allowed to be erected on the outskirts. Melissa had noticed during construction that some of the gerudos had even stopped by to show them how to make the buildings sand storm proof. This made her very happy. She didn't know how long the villagers would stay after this was all over but it seemed they had been pretty much accepted into the tribe. She wondered if some might even choose to stay. She spotted Chara walking back to the the main building and wondered if her friend would ever speak to her again. Every time Melissa had spotted her, she seemed to slip off before she could even get close. Melissa had been hoping Chara would have been over what ever was causing this behavior before she left but it didn't seem like that was going to happen now. A light knock on the door signaled Ganon was here to see if she was up yet. He swung the door open and spotted her by the window. “I almost thought you would still be asleep with how late you were up last night.” he chuckled seeing the exact opposite. “I couldn't get my mind to calm itself. Oh!” Melissa exclaimed remembering her bow. “I finished. Wanna see?” She asked with a big smile. She had been hiding it from him so that he would be surprised at the finished product. “I guess.” he responded with a yawn coming to sit at the table. She could tell he hadn't slept much either. Retrieving the bow from her items she held it out to him. “This isn't the same bow. Did you have one made to look like it?” He asked turning it over in his hands. “What?!? No! I fixed it myself!” She said a little upset that he didn't think she could. “ I re carved and stained it a new color.” He looked at it closely. “You didn't do a half bad job.” He smiled. “Half bad?!?! That's it? All that work I put into it and that's all you can say?” She asked putting her hands on her hips. “ I think it looks awesome and just look at the grip. I removed the cloth this morning and that was under it.” She just couldn't hide her excitement at this new discovery. “This is an old design that hasn't been used in a century. The stone is pretty common but the triangles seem out of place. This bow might be quite old. Don't lose it.” he said looking serious as he handed it back. Melissa wondered just how old he was talking about. If it was over a century old then it could have been used during the last king's rule. She almost wanted to go back to the vendor to ask questions but there would be no time for that today. “So when are we heading out?” Melissa asked coming to sit beside him. “I believe Nabooro is almost finished so we should meet with her soon at the stables.” He said getting up stretching. Melissa nodded and grabbed her things. She had packed a small satchel with her supplies, the medallion Darunia had given her, and a few articles of clothing in case she needed to change. She also had a quiver of arrows that she would have to tote around now. She wasn't all that thrilled about an extra item to cart around but without arrows she couldn't use the bow. Link always had a crap load of items. Maybe she needed to find one of those magic pouches that she had seen Link use at the Water Temple. Heading to the stables they walked slowly. Not because they weren't in a hurry but because a lot of the gerudo wanted to give their best wishes for their king's journey. Eventually the gerudo she recognized as the mother who she had helped when they escaped the Spirit Temple approached wishing her king well. Then to Melissa's surprise she turned and bowed to her. Most of the women didn't acknowledge her at all in Ganon's company so to see someone do so threw her off. The woman smiled dropping a pair of small gold hoop earrings into the palm of her hand before retreating as fast as she had came. “What was that all about?” Melissa asked staring at the hoops confused. “Those are the earrings a gerudo receives once they are considered an adult. Usually a girls ears are pierced at a coming of age ceremony but yours are already pierced.” He looked quite pleased about this gift but she couldn't figure out why. He frowned realizing she was still confused.“This means you have been officially accepted to the tribe by the women themselves.” Ganon clarified. “How does one woman giving me a pair of hoops considered the approval of all?” Melissa asked skeptical. “Well the decision to give these are never made by one person. It takes a majority of the tribe.” He explained as they resumed their walk. So a part of the tribe acknowledged her as one of them. She wonder if Chara had been one of the ones to accept her. She knew Raiki probably had been against it but she could care less what that girl thought of her anymore. By the time they reached the horses Impa and Nabooro were already there. Nabooro patted her horse's side and Impa didn't seem to want to look Melissa's way. Maybe Nabooro was right. Maybe Impa did feel bad at how she treated her. She noticed Trinexx was also there waiting. Ganon must have already been here earlier this morning to saddle and pack before he had come to get her. He strode to the horse and with one swift move mounted. “Are you ready?” he asked holding his hand out to help her mount. The time had finally come to leave. She didn't even have to think about it. She grabbed his hand and he lifted her onto the horse. She held onto him tightly as they took off towards the valley entrance. He didn't even slow down as they neared making the guard panic to open the gateway quickly. Once through he really let Trinexx go. They sped over the rocky terrain and Melissa wondered if the sage's horses were even able to keep up. She tried to turn around several times but at this speed it was a little difficult. By her third attempt she almost fell off so Ganon grabbed her arm and held her firmly to him to keep her from being reckless any further. She didn't protest and leaned against him happily to be this close to him. Making it to Hyrule field they went the opposite direction that they had went last time. They passed many small villages and it seemed the ones closest to the desert had been badly damaged. Agahnim's doing no doubt and he was probably blaming it on Ganon if not the whole gerudo tribe. The wanted posters that had been posted of them were already going to make it difficult and Melissa figured the wizard had done this to keep them from being able to stop anywhere on their way. Ganon might still be able to use his cover as Armos to sneak around in unless Agahnim had posted wanted posters of that form to. Then there were the rumors of Impa's disappearance. Her popping up in a random town might draw attention of the wizard. She wondered if the sages had thought of this yet. All in all this would be a journey that called for stealth. They camped the night without any major problems. Impa still pretended she didn't see her but was very hostile towards Ganon. He had made dinner as usual and when he handed Impa a plate she knocked it from his hands saying she wouldn't eat anything she hadn't cooked herself. After that she pulled out her own supplies and made something for herself. Melissa wondered how long the sage would keep this up. It was not only rude but Impa had wasted perfectly good food. She knew the sage mistrusted him but this was going just a little too far. Ganon looked quite livid with Impa and Melissa tried coming over to calm him but Ganon flashed her a look letting her know to leave him be. Why wouldn't Nabooro do something about her fellow sage? The next morning they were back on the road before the sun had even rose. The plan was to make as much progress today as they could. Kakariko Village was still a ways off from what Melissa could tell on Nabooro's map and that was exactly where the Shadow Temple was located. If Impa's hunch was correct about Link and Heather being locked up at the temple, then the two had been there quite a while. She could only speculate if the hero and his guardian were alright. Surely if the wizard saw fit to lock them up that meant they were still alive. Then there was the collar Impa had spoke of. It worried her. Agahnim had apparently found away to suppress the dragons. Would the wizard have a collar waiting for her as well? She squeezed Ganon's waist for comfort. She would be okay. As long as Ganon was there with her she would be fine. He had made that promise to her after all.