“It’s getting really hot….” Zelda huffed, wiping her scorched brow with one short arm.
“You aren’t kidding.” Link was out of breath and clearly fatigued. “Try being a Zora in this weather.” The one thing that neither of them had thought of was the temperature. Being a Deku and a Zora was one thing; being a Deku and a Zora in the desert added a whole new dimension to it. Neither race dealt well with heat, and that drastically affected the two intrepid travelers.
“What I wouldn’t give for a glass of water right about now….” Zelda looked up at the cloudless sky above them; there was no respite from the scorching sunlight. In the state the travelers were in, they couldn’t last for too much longer. To make things worse, Zelda noticed a pair of large shadows approaching them. The Deku Scrub soon had more important matters on her mind than a glass of water. “Uh-oh…. Look up.”
“Huh?” Zora Link complied. The two shadows turned into two very familiar witches; Link unconsciously shuddered as Koume and Kotake floated down in front of them.
“Hoo hoo!” Koume was the first to speak. “What have we here?”
“Looks like two very misplaced travelers, Koume.” Kotake replied. The ice witch hovered just inches above Link’s head, inspecting him closely. “I never thought I would see a Zora in the desert.”
“Neither did I, Kotake.” The fire witch looked at Zelda with interest. “A young Deku Scrub shouldn’t be in the desert, either. Strange.”
“It doesn’t look very good for them, does it?”
“Have we any water in our possession?” Koume queried. Kotake produced a small flask from her broomstick and handed it to her twin. “You two should head home. You wouldn’t want to be here when the Gerudo Fortress is invaded, would you?” She handed the flask to Link. “Long live Ganondorf the Great!” With those words and a hideous cackle, the twin witches sped off on their brooms. Once they were out of sight, Link and Zelda collapsed onto the ground, breathing heavily.
“My heart won’t stop racing!” Zelda exclaimed. “That was too close!”
“The sorceress sisters being nice? That’s just weird.” Link looked carefully at the flask that Koume had surprisingly given to him. “Just is case, let me check it first. I don’t trust those two.” He pulled out the cork and sniffed the clear liquid inside. Much to his surprise, he smelled nothing out of the ordinary. Zora Link shrugged his shoulders and took a small sip. “Tastes like water. Nothing seems to be wrong with it. Here.” He handed the flask to Zelda, who drank about half of it. Link quickly gulped the rest of it and placed the flask into his satchel along with his other supplies.
“How much further is it to the Gerudo Fortress?” Zelda queried.
“If I remember correctly, it’s less than a mile past the bridge.” Link answered as he tried to get his bearings. “We should be there in less than a half-hour.” The Hero of Time hoisted the Princess of Destiny onto his shoulders. “We need to warn them about Ganondorf. Hopefully Kirei is there….”
*~*~*~*~*
Security around the Gerudo Fortress, Link surmised, was a lot stronger than he had remembered it to be. Probably because of Nabooru’s death, I suppose. The two travelers looked down upon the legion of Gerudo thieves guarding the front gate. As far as they knew, none of them had caught sight of the two onlookers from the ridge.
“They’ll think we’re intruders if we stay like this.” Zelda commented, looking away from the fortress at Link. “We’ll have to take off these disguises or we’ll be captured.”
“If we take off these masks, we’ll risk blowing our cover completely.” Link pointed out. “We don’t know if Ganondorf has spies around here or not. I’d rather take my chances with the Gerudo than with him.” The Zora looked back down at the fortress. “If we find Kirei, we’ll have no problem. Otherwise….” His voice trailed off.
“Otherwise what?” Zelda asked. Neither of them noticed a pair of guards sneaking up behind them—until Link felt a sharp point against his back.
“Make one false move and you die, Zora.” A hissing, snarling voice startled the Hero of Time. By the time he and the princess noticed the two guards, they each had metal rings clasped around their wrists. “Stand up, both of you!” The taller of the two barked. She attached a set of chains around the metal rings, binding their two prisoners hands completely. The other guard pulled Link’s satchel, sword, and shield away from him.
“Otherwise this.” Link grumbled. He had had dealings with the Gerudo several times before. They distrusted him at best even knowing who he was; as a Zora—a stranger—Link knew that the situation would become decidedly unpleasant.
“Move!” Shouted the shorter guard as she pulled on the chain. The pair of guards led their two new prisoners toward the fortress’s prison.
*~*~*~*~*
Less than ten minutes later, the Zora and the Deku Scrub were locked behind a set of metal bars. Escape was not an option, considering the fact that all of Link’s equipment had been taken away from him when the two thieves captured them. It didn’t help that three guards were posted less than six feet away from the bars, each keeping their eyes open for any sign of trouble.
“And the minute I see any trouble,” The middle guard warned them. “That minute will be the last you see, understand me?”
“Yes.” Link answered. He looked uneasily at Zelda, who herself was on the verge of tears. Neither of them knew exactly what to do. Their hands were bound behind them, so even removing their masks was impossible. “Ummm, ma’am?” Link finally spoke up.
“What is it, Zora?”
“Ummm, is Kirei around?” He asked. The middle guard turned around sharply on her heel. The look in her eyes said everything.
“Do you think I would answer that?” She shouted. “I won’t reveal any information to a prisoner!”
“We do know her.” Zelda piped up. “Quite well. She and Nabooru were good friends of ours.” At the mention of Nabooru’s name, the other two guards turned around; the middle guard drew her scimitar and advanced toward the metal bars separating her from Link and Zelda. Frustration became blind rage.
“How dare you profane the name of the dead!” She screeched. “A friend? Not the likes of you, prisoner! For that insolence, Scrub, you will die!” The guard proceeded to pull the keys from her pants pocket. She picked out a small silver key and placed it in the lock. Zelda shrunk back in horror as the door opened.
“Leave her alone!” Link yelled, struggling against the chains that bound his arms. “She’s telling the truth!”
“Liar!” The middle guard raised her scimitar above Zelda’s head. With as much strength as she could muster, she thrust it downward. Instead of the sickening sound of metal against flesh, an enormous clang resonated though the prison chamber. Link looked over at his fiancée; the princess was surrounded by a large blue crystal--Nayru’s Love--and nothing could penetrate it. Bewildered and very frustrated, the guard backed off.
“How in the—“ She tapped the blue crystal with her hand, then turned to her fellow guards. “What kind of witchcraft is this?”
“Let’s just say it’s more powerful than you can handle, ma’am.” Link sharply replied. “Will you let us see Kirei or won’t you? If not, I have a handy spell called Din’s Fire that you might find interesting….”
“Okay!” The guard nodded at her two companions, who quickly left the room. “You’ll get what you want, Zora. But I’m warning you, if you so much as touch our leader, you will die a very painful death—and no amount of witchcraft will be able to save you.” After a few minutes of tense waiting, the two Gerudo guards returned with Kirei. The Gerudo leader looked somewhat annoyed; she looked over at the other guard with cold eyes.
“These are the prisoners you brought me here to see?” Kirei inquired. The guard nodded. “I don’t know what these strangers are talking about. I have never met them before in my life. Sounds like a ploy to escape if you ask me. I’m too busy to deal with these prisoners. Back to your duties, ladies.” With those words, Kirei made for the door.
“Kirei, we need your help!” Zelda called through the bars. “If we don’t get out of here, Ganondorf will take over Hyrule, starting with this fortress!” Kirei paused in her tracks. She slowly turned around.
“What did you say?”
“Ganondorf has returned, and he’s looking for a fight. No one can stop him but us, and if you don’t set us free, the Gerudo Fortress will be the first place he attacks.”
“The only ones who can save Hyrule from Ganondorf are the Hero of Time and the Seven Sages.” Kirei flatly stated. “You aren’t any of them.”
“I beg to differ.” Link spoke up. “Let’s see if I can jog your memory. If I remember correctly, I’m the one who told the guard to let you into the Hyrule Castle courtyard yesterday. You were with three other thieves, and you told me about what happened to Nabooru.”
“What are you talking about?” Kirei exclaimed. “The person who told the guard to let me in was Link—wait just a minute….” She cocked her head and looked carefully at the two prisoners. No, it couldn’t be…But how would this Zora know exactly what happened at the castle yesterday? “But, you can’t be Link! He’s a Hylian, and you’re a Zora!”
“Kirei!” Came a frightened voice from just outside the prison door. At that moment, a young Gerudo guard burst into the room—one of the two guards that had captured Link and Zelda. Right behind her was an equally frightened Goron—a big, white-haired Goron hero to be exact. Link stifled a laugh.
“What in the world is that prisoner doing without chains on his hands, Damira?” Kirei scolded the young guard.
“But it’s not a prisoner!” Damira explained. “That’s Miva!” Kirei’s eyes grew to the size of pancakes.
“That’s Miva?!” Kirei looked at the Goron in confusion. “Your sister?! The fortress guard?!”
“It’s awful!” Miva cried. “I was inspecting the satchel Damira took from the prisoners when I came across this strange Goron mask. I tried it on, and it took over my body! Now I’m a fat, smelly Goron!”
“Just take the mask off.” Link piped up from inside the prison cell. Kirei turned to look at him. “Seriously! It’ll come right off!” The Gerudo leader turned back toward Miva and nodded. Still skeptical, Miva placed her hands where she thought the mask attached to her face and pulled slightly. In a matter of seconds, she was back to her normal Gerudo self. The Goron mask fell to the floor; Kirei slowly picked it up.
“If this is a mask, then….” She pondered out loud. “Viaru, release the Zora from his hand bindings.” Still confused, the guard who had nearly killed Zelda earlier released Link from his chains. Without prompting, Link pulled off the Zora mask. Kirei gasped. “You are Link! I never would have believed it! My deepest apologies.” Link rubbed his wrists, which were still quite sore from the metal rings.
“Apology accepted.” Link replied. “I guess I can understand why you captured us, but now that you know we’re not hostile, could you release Zelda?” He pointed at the Deku Scrub.
“That’s Princess Zelda?!” Kirei looked at the tiny Scrub. Viaru unlocked the metal rings around Zelda’s wrists, allowing her to remove the Deku mask and return to her true form.
“Thank you.” Zelda sighed. She walked over to Link and leaned her head on his shoulder. “We were trying to travel in secret, just in case Ganondorf had any spies around here.”
“That’s why we’ve increased security around the Fortress.” Kirei stated. “He’s completely taken over the Desert Colossus, and I’m afraid that he’ll come here next as you said. There isn’t much we can do against him, though. With Nabooru dead, the desert is pretty much fair game.” Kirei bowed her head, trying not to let anyone see the tears forming in her eyes. The Gerudo leader regained her composure and stood tall.
“We are pretty much certain that Ganondorf is going to make an attempt to take over this fortress sometime fairly soon.” Link mentioned. “Princess Zelda and I are on our way to the Spirit Temple in hopes of taking him down before he strikes.” Kirei was silent for a few moments.
“You will need an escort if you wish to cross the Haunted Wasteland. I will come with you.” Came Kirei’s response. Immediately Zelda protested.
“We don’t want to endanger you….”
“I will come with you.” Kirei insisted. “For it is written in Gerudo law that if a leader dies by the hand of another, her successor shall do everything in her power to avenge her death. Such is our way.” A sly grin curled over her lips. “You wouldn’t interfere in a Gerudo ritual, would you?”
“That’d be a no.” Link guffawed; the Hero of Time heaved a sigh. “Very well. We will depart whenever you are ready.”
“As long as I don’t have to wear one of those silly masks.” With a snap of her fingers, Kirei called the other guards to attention. “Viaru, go into my chamber and get my travel gear ready. Damira and Miva, bring Link’s equipment down here. We will be leaving through the Haunted Wasteland, so have the sentry open the west gate. And keep everyone on guard at all times. Prepare every weapon we have in case we can’t stop Ganondorf in time. Everyone snap to it! We haven’t any time to lose!”
Little did anyone realize that they were being watched. The same Stalchild that had taken Nabooru’s life watched and listened carefully from the window high above the prison. He chuckled to himself as he took in the conversation. Master Ganondorf will not be very pleased to hear this.
*~*~*~*~*
“So, did you find anything interesting?” Ganondorf questioned. The twin sorceresses each relayed their tales. They both spoke about the strange encounter they had with the Zora and the Deku Scrub and how Koume had given them a flask of water and shooed them off. “If you two didn’t find them,” The King of Evil began. “They must not have entered the valley yet. That will give me enough time to take control of the Gerudo Fortress and stop them before they even reach the Haunted Wasteland. We’ll start the takeover tonight, then-“
“Master Ganondorf!” Came the Stalchild’s voice. The skeleton raced into the room with a frantic look on his face. “We have a big problem!”
“What is it?” Ganondorf sighed.
“I went to the Gerudo Fortress like you told me to do.” The Stalchild explained as fast as he could. “I heard about two prisoners that the Gerudo had captured, so I went up to the window, you know, the one that lets you look into the prison. There were three guards and two prisoners, one Zora and one Deku Scrub.” At this statement, Koume and Kotake exchanged glances. “One of the guards was about to kill the Scrub, but the Zora cast a spell on the Scrub, so it didn’t get hurt. The new Gerudo leader came down to the prison. There was something about a Goron, but the next thing I saw was a flash of light, and the Zora and the Deku Scrub turned into Link and Princess Zelda! Somehow, they found out that you are planning to attack the fortress and warned them about it!” By this time, the Stalchild was completely out of breath.
“They warned my people….” Ganondorf’s eyes blazed with a wild fury; it was obvious that he was about to blow a fuse. Amazingly enough, he was able to keep his cool long enough to tell the Stalchild to leave the room. Once the skeleton had left, he turned on his heel and looked sharply at the twins. “They knew about my plan and warned my people….”
“There was no way we could see through those disguises!” Koume defended herself and Kotake. The King of Evil lost every ounce of control he had; anger erupted into pure, unbridled rage.
“Silence!” Ganondorf shouted. “Not only did you help those little brats, but you told them about my plan!” His eyes focused in on Koume, who immediately shrunk back in fear. “If they had died of thirst in the desert, I wouldn’t have to deal with them now, would I? No! Instead, you gave them water and saved their lives!”
“But-“
“I said, be quiet, you senile old bat!” The King of Evil released a beam of pure ice at Koume; the witch screamed an agony as the frozen blast enveloped her, sending her flying off of her broom and crashing to the ground. A sickening, bone-breaking crunch resonated through the chamber as Koume landed.
“No!” Kotake screamed. Ganondorf watched smugly as Kotake knelt by her sister’s side.
“Insolent wretch.” He mumbled. “Let that serve as a warning to you, Kotake. If you so much as breathe in a way I don’t like, you will suffer the same fate.” In an instant, he vanished into some other part of the temple, leaving the twins alone for what would be the last time.
“Koume, can you hear me?” The fire witch groaned and slowly opened her eyes; the blast of ice had completely incapacitated her, but the fall from twenty feet in the air had done much more damage to her already fragile form.
“Kotake…sister….” Koume finally croaked out. “I’m afraid…this has…finished me.”
“No, that’s not true!” Kotake insisted. Signs of panic set in the ice witch’s eyes. “There must be a way to save you-“
“There isn’t.” Koume struggled to even breathe. “Kotake, it’s all…my fault.”
“What are you talking about? There was no way either of us could have known that those travelers were Link and the princess!”
“That’s not…what I mean.” The fire witch was fading quickly. With her last ounce of strength, she took Kotake’s hand in her own. “My fault…that we got involved…in Ganondorf’s…plan. I…should…have…known…to turn…away….” And with those words, Koume’s life ended. Many people believe that twins share an empathic link with each other. With Koume and Kotake, that was definitely true. Never before had the ice sorceress been without her twin by her side. Even when they had been defeated by the Hero of Time, they still died together. Now, only one remained—and the pain was unbearable. Completely alone and stricken with grief, Kotake did something she had never done in her entire life; she cried.
