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Gerudo Guardian - Novelization Chapter

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This is part of my fan-novelization of "The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time". I do not own any of the characters or locations mentioned below, all rights belong to Nintendo, etc., etc...

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"Well, then, here's your last fencing lesson. Look out for your head."
- Anthony Hope, "The Prisoner of Zenda"

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The carpenters cowered in their cell, staring fearfully through the bars at their captors. Whatever fantasies they might have had in coming to the female thieves’ fortress had been smashed to pieces by the Gerudo themselves. These women were not lonely in the slightest, and any emotions they might have felt were vented into aggression. One carpenter now sported a massive bruise on his forehead, another had a deep cut in his right arm.

The thieves stared coldly back at their prisoners. Their disgusted feelings towards men had not been changed by this cowering lot; if anything, they had been reinforced. Still, they were a necessary evil… one of them smiled hungrily, and the carpenters cringed in terror.

Light footfalls came from the stairway, and every head in the room swiveled towards the stairwell. A young Gerudo guard padded into the room, and knelt down before one individual.

“Aviel, milady, the new prisoner has escaped!”

The Gerudo named Aviel stood up, her eyes flashing dangerously. “What? How? We checked him – he had nothing he could use to get out!”

“We examined the cell, milady,” mumbled the guard “and found a dent in the wooden ceiling next to the ventilation window. Other than that, we found nothing in the cell!”

“Where does the window lead?”

“Out to the main courtyard, milady. We found an unconscious guard beneath it – nothing else. The stone floor leaves no footprints.”

“Of course not. Put everyone on high alert and spread out. If he came in of his own will, he’ll still be around here somewhere – there’s no way he can sneak past us all… let’s go into the hallway to continue this conversation.” She threw a dirty look at the carpenters. “Too many ears around here.”

The Gerudo moved out into the hall, whispering urgently among themselves, and shooting furtive glances back at the cage. A door slammed, there was a soft rustle… and then all was still.

The carpenters glanced at one another, their eyes wide and terrified. None of them spoke, none of them dared even whisper. They had seen how silent and efficient the Gerudo could be, slipping along the ground and into the shadows and up behind a foe like some terrible sword-wielding ghost…

Several long minutes later, more footfalls reached the carpenters’ ears. These were quiet and stealthy, but obviously being made by someone considerably bulkier than any Gerudo. Daring to hope, the men crowded around the front of the bars. As they moved, they also heard strains of a whispered conversation. One voice was high and soft, the other was deeper and sounded annoyed…

“Did you really have to shoot that one in the foot?”

“Three more steps and she would have seen us. I don’t wanna get locked up again, Navi!”

“I could have distracted her…”

“And gotten stuffed in a jar for your trouble? I don’t think so. Wait, shush… I thought I heard something…”

The carpenters had heard enough. “Over here! Hey, over here! In the cage!”

The footfalls hesitated, then sped up. As the carpenters watched, a young man in a green tunic jogged out of the passageway, followed closely by a little blue fairy.

“Are you the carpenters?”

“Yes! Yes, thank you! Have you come to…”

“Rescue you? Yeah, I have.”

“Thank you again! You must have a lot of guts to make it past all those guards, kid!”

“There’s no time; is there a key for this cage around here?”

“I don’t know, but you’d better be careful! There’s sure to be a guard lurking somewhere around here…”

“Woo! Look out!”

Link felt a sudden rush of air on his cheek, and instinctively ducked. An instant later, a massive scimitar tore over his head with a sinister whoosh.

Link spun around, the Master Sword at the ready. A single Gerudo stood directly behind him, a sword in each hand arched to attack, her eyes wide and furious. She lashed out again, but Link was armed now; the massive blades spat sparks as they rebounded off the Hylian shield.

Link circled the thief, looking for a chance to attack. Immediately, he felt concern. She was following his movements with a trained eye, her muscles taut, her mouth a fine line. Her movements were smooth and refined, and Link had the impression of a massive cat ready to spring. This thief didn’t move with the clumsy, robotic patterns of a Stalfos – this swordswoman was fast, smart, capable, and tough.

Interestingly, the thief seemed to be thinking something along the same lines. Her eyes were narrowed, and never left Link’s own, but he saw a strange worry deep within them.

As Link circled, he noticed a small cache of pots to his right. Thinking quickly, he swung the Hylian Shield into the nearest vessel. As it shattered, the Gerudo’s eyes flickered towards the spot for the barest instant…

…the Master Sword licked out, and rapped into her left hand across the knuckles. She dropped the sword with a low hiss, and Link kicked it into a corner. He felt a sudden thrill of victory…

…which was swiftly extinguished as the thief leapt forwards again. The massive scimitar was spinning like a whirlwind, and it caught The Hylian Shield a heavy blow across the front. Link flinched… but that gave the Gerudo just enough time to dive across the room and snatch her blade up once more.

Link spun again, the Master Sword at the ready, but the Gerudo’s swords were beating mercilessly against the shield. Link thumped the shield into her torso, forcing the thief back…

The blade of evil’s bane swung again, but the Gerudo trapped it between her own swords, and twisted it until it nearly broke free from Link’s arms… but Link held on tight, and the sword never left his grasp…

Thief and Hero swung and parried and swung again, sparks flying and eyes blazing, neither giving an inch, until…

As the Gerudo swung once more, Link nimbly sidestepped away from her blades, then stuck his foot out. As the thief leapt towards him again, she tripped over his foot…

The Master Sword leapt out. Link had been pushed beyond any mercy or compassion now, and a long, shallow cut appeared in the guard’s arm. She stared at the mark for an instant, as though astonished to see it there…

Link’s sword licked out again, and shredded the thin desert fabric. Link was after something else now, and he grinned as the thing he’d been after this entire time fell to the ground…

There was a soft jingling as the key ring skittered across the stone floor. Link leapt forwards, and snatched it up, then turned to face the thief once more.

She glared at him with utmost hatred for a split second, then leapt high into the air. Link glanced up, and saw the smoke-hole in the ceiling for the first time… the hole she’d used to slip in… and had just used to slip out. Link shook his head, and ambled over to the cage, his hands fumbling with the key ring.

“All right, guys. Here ya go…”

It took three tries with various keys, but a big old-fashioned thing of iron finally turned the lock. The huddled carpenters stared out at Link, as if astonished beyond belief.

“Well, move it!”

“Hey… thanks, pal, but what about all those guards out front?”

Link opened his mouth, but a smooth, high voice echoed across the room before he could speak.

“They won’t bother you. I told them to let you all go.”

Every man in the room turned with a start. Aviel was standing in the doorway, a strange little smirk on her face.

“I mean it. You four – scram. The kid in green stays; I want to speak with him.”

The carpenters stared at one another nervously…

“BOO!”

All four men bolted for the door as Aviel gave an evil little cackle. As the carpenters sprinted away, she turned to face Link.

“Nice job, kid. You broke out of prison, freed everyone else, and beat one of our best warriors single-handedly. She was NOT happy that a man beat her. She’ll get teased pretty badly after this… but that’s not why I called you back.”

“You mind telling me why?”

“To give you this.”

She held out her hand, and Link saw a small brown card with diminutive writing on it. He picked it out of her hands, and strained his eyes to read.
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GERUDO MEMBERSHIP CARD
The bearer of this card is free to move about the
GERUDO FORTRESS
without being harassed, beaten, robbed, imprisoned, or harmed in any
way, shape, or form. The bearer is also entitled to attempt crossing of the
HAUNTED WASTELAND
and/or a visit to the
DESERT COLOSSUS

This Card was issued by: Aviel Sandblade
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Link glanced up. “And you are Aviel?”

The thief nodded. “I doubt you’ll actually need that thing. You’re already pretty famous around here. I always thought all men – save the great Ganondorf – were a bunch of fat, useless whiners. I guess you proved me wrong.”

“Are you in charge around here?”

Aviel shook her head. “No, but I’m second-in-command. While the great Ganondorf is away, leadership belongs to Lieutenant Nabooru. Last I heard, she was heading out to the Spirit Temple – that’s inside the Desert Colossus, you know.”

Link’s ears perked up as Shiek’s words echoed in his mind: “One inside a Goddess of the Sand…”

Navi spoke up now, her high voice echoing strangely about the room. “I was impressed! How did your warriors learn to fight like that?”

Aviel smiled. “Why not visit our Training Ground and find out? Pass every test, and you might find something, ah, very cool inside…”

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Other parts of the Novelization can be found here: [link]
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