The Legend of Zelda:

That night the Gerudos filed into the dining hall in their newly assigned pairs. They were quickly seated, eager as always to begin eating. Kat was seated next to Dark Link and Rin sat across from them with Seth. Seth and Dark Link were Ganondorf’s right-hand men, so they were seated up near the head of the table with the rest of the elites. Dace was there too beside Shianne, but he didn’t look down the table at all.

Kat was constantly watching Rin, who still looked awful, the same blank expression on her face. She looked at Seth, who had a content smirk on his face. What a bastard.

Nabooru stood from her seat, ready to address the Gerudos as she always did before each meal, often just repeating what she had said the previous night. But this night was different. Nabooru felt as though a celebration would be necessary soon, considering how well the Gerudos were doing now that the Neroths had joined them.

The room drew silent quickly. Nabooru grinned in satisfaction.

“We, the Gerudos, have flourished within the past few weeks. The Neroth tribe has benefited us beyond anything we could ever imagine. Our size has doubled, and it will soon double again. I think it’s about time, after these past weeks of pure, hard work, that we celebrated.”

The room bustled in excitement. It was about time that they had an opportunity to relax. Even Kat was excited inside, but seeing Rin across from her just cancelled it out. She bit her lip, upset that there was nothing she could do to help.

“Tomorrow,” Nabooru went on, “We will be heading out to the Spirit Temple again in groups to offer our blessings to the gods and to our creators.”

Kat rolled her eyes. She might as well have said “offer blessings to me”. Everyone knew she was the sage, yet Nabooru never took much credit for it in public. Only at the temple would she stand up in front of everyone, watching them kneel before her.

Kat’s eyes widened, remembering her dream the night before. She’d get her chance to find that staircase. She grinned widely. For once, Nabooru was leading her to where she wanted to be; never before had Nabooru made her happy. This was great, but there was one problem. If they were going out in groups, she’d have a bigger chance of being kept track of.

She decided not to worry about it. She’d find a way.

“Tomorrow night, after coming back from the temple, a celebration will be held. There will be drinks, dancing, music, the works, a time to sit back and just have fun.” Nabooru took her chalice from the table and sipped daintily. “That is all.”

Both excitement and scepticism came to Kat as Nabooru sat down. Would the knob still not let her through? Would she get caught? Would there even be a secret staircase? What if she couldn’t find it? She’d never even been in that part of the temple before, how could she have an accurate dream about the directions to take? Right… down a hall… left……

The food was served immediately. Kat was starving. She picked up a piece of pork and shoved it into her mouth, letting its tender, warm juices bathe her tongue.

Dark Link slapped her across the face abruptly. “What are you doing?! You know very well that the man is always the first to take a bite between the couple. It shows respect from the woman.” He glared at her angrily, knowing Seth was watching.

Kat looked confused. He’d been nice before, but now… was he back to himself? Was it all just a game he was playing by acting normally towards her? Was it all an act? Or was it an act now?

She cleared her throat. After Dark Link had finished his bite she swallowed what had been sitting in her mouth. She didn’t think much of it; her mind was now overflowing with what directions she had to take to find that supposed staircase. And what was down there? Would she find anything? Or was this somehow all a trap?

She looked up as there was movement across the table.

“I have to go to the bathroom,” Rin said, excusing herself from the table. Seth reluctantly agreed to let her go and went back to his meal as she left through the main doors.

Kat saw Dace glance over at her as she left. He mumbled something to Shianne and rose from the table. He went down the one side of the table and left through the same doors as Rin did. Seth didn’t seem to notice him leave, which was good in Dace’s case. He was probably going to see how Rin was, but she’d better not take that long or he may start to become suspicious.

Her pulse began to pound in her forehead, fork paused above her plate as the seconds, then minutes went by in her mind. This didn’t look good. Seth rested from his meal for a moment and glanced over his shoulder towards the door. The throbbing in her head increased. She bit her lip. “Come on, Rin, hurry up.”

Seth rose from the table briskly and made his way towards the door.

“Shit…!”

Then Rin came through the door alone, nearly running into him. Seth grabbed her by the arm and took her back to her spot roughly. “You took far too long.” He pushed her into her seat and then re-seated himself. “Where were you?!”

“I just went to the bathroom…” Rin said innocently, looking glumly down at her plate.

Seth opened his mouth to say something, but then stopped and continued eating his food, not bothering to go any further.

Kat sighed, relieved. She didn’t even want to know how close that actually was behind those doors.

Dace emerged from the doors and made his way towards his seat.

Seth, having heard the door open, glanced backwards and met his gaze with Dace’s, snarling under his breath.

Dace passed his chair quickly and sat down at the further end of the table, immediately being bombarded with tenderness from Shianne.

“Oh Dace, you’re so handsome…” Kat heard her say dumbly.

It was now that she realised for once, she didn’t have it so badly.

--------

Dace trudged casually up the hill and towards the archery range, moonlight poured across the sand, trying not to draw too much attention to himself. Thankfully, every guard he passed didn’t question him at all, tired from a long day's work. They probably figured that he was the previous leader of the Neroths, so therefore he could do anything and it was none of their business.

He made his way over to the stables where the sabers and horses were kept. A guard was sitting against its outside wall, eyes shut and snoring gently. Normally he would have told her to wake up, but decided it was best if she stayed that way for now.

Dace made his way around the back of the stables, which came close to the rock wall that randomly surrounded the fortress. One part jutted out, almost touching the stable’s wall, but he managed to climb over it and onto the roof. From then on he easily made his way to the back of the stables and leapt down gracefully.

“Eek!!”

Dace slid a hand over Rin’s mouth. “Shh! It’s only me,” he whispered quietly. “There’s a guard out front so be quiet.”

He took his hand from her face, seeing her smile. She sighed, looking up at him. “ I was beginning to think you weren’t going to show up.”

Dace sat down against the wall of the stable and smiled. “I wouldn’t do that to you.”

Rin smiled and sat down beside him. “So… why did you want to meet with me?”

“Well…” He frowned, looking forward at the formations of the rock wall only a foot away from them. “These past couple of days have been… well, different…”

Rin looked at him, but said nothing.

“I’ll be honest with you… These past couple of days have been my worst.” His voice became quicker. “I wanted to choose you at the ceremony, I’ve gotten to know you better then anyone else here, but that bastard Seth got to you before I could. I don’t trust him at all. I’ve seen the way he treats you and it bothers me. I’ve never felt this way before, but…” He paused. “I guess what I’m trying to say is even though we’re with other people… I’ll always be there if you need help.”

“Dace…” Rin smiled, now feeling worse then ever that she had gotten stuck with Seth, the two were incomparable. Dace would treat her so much better. Seth was a terrible person, and she knew things weren’t going to get better. Her eyes filled quickly with tears. She had to deal with it no matter what. Curse you Rauru; if it wasn’t for the sake of Hyrule, she would have given up by now.

She broke down and began to sob, burying her face in her hands.

Dace looked at her. “Rin, what is it?” He put an arm on her shoulder comfortingly.

Rin continued to cry. “I can’t tell you…” she managed to blurt between her gasps.

Dace frowned. “What do you mean?” He paused. “What’s wrong?? You can tell me Rin, even if Seth told you not to.” He placed his other hand on her shoulder to ease her.

“No, you don’t understand.” She calmed slightly, muscles relaxing, but the tears still flowed.

“Rin, I’m here to listen. Please,” he said rubbing her shoulders soothingly. “What’s wrong?”

Rin stood abruptly and whipped around to face him, suddenly angrier then he had ever seen her. “You don’t understand!! I CAN‘T TELL YOU!!” Rin fell to her knees and began bawling again, louder then before.

Dace stood and ran over to her. “Rin… I’m sorry… Please calm down.” He kneeled down and wrapped his arms around her. “Calm down…”

After a few moments Rin’s breathing calmed and she wiped her eyes.

Dace pulled her up gently to her feet and looked into her eyes, her tears only adding to their normal sparkle, still making her look so pretty even when she was upset.

Rin suddenly put her arms around him, quickly feeling him return the embrace. She could feel him breathing, his heart beating steadily inside his chest. She felt so safe in his arms. Why did it have to be this way?

Dace pulled away. “It’s getting late. All I wanted to do was see you tonight,” he said with a smile. “You’d better get back before anyone becomes suspicious.”

Rin nodded, suddenly sad that their rendezvous was over.

“I’ll head back first, just to make sure everything’s clear.”

Rin nodded again. “Okay… Thank you Dace, for everything.” She stood on her tiptoes and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

Dace blushed slightly and smiled back. “Anytime.” He turned from her, swiftly leapt onto the roof of the stables and was gone.

--------

Seth dragged Rin by her hair down into the dining hall, the moonlight barely giving enough light into the massive room. He kicked open the doors to the kitchen and pulled her in violently, slamming it shut behind her.

“YOU HONESTLY THINK I WOULDN’T FIND OUT?! I WATCHED THE ENTIRE THING YOU LITTLE BITCH!! YOU’RE MINE NOW WHETHER YOU LIKE IT OR NOT!” Seth screamed, literally throwing Rin to the ground. His face was extremely tense, looking as if his veins in his forehead would burst at any second.

Rin looked up at him in utter alarm, too scared to cry, afraid of what he was going to do to her.

Seth sneered in satisfaction. He had scared her enough; now it was time to show her who was boss. He strolled over to a massive pot that had been placed on top of a grill. It was sizzling gently as the fire beneath it flickered, nearly boiling. He slid a stool up beside it with the heel of his foot.

“I knew what you were up to the second you had left the dining hall and that moron had followed you out. That gave me plenty of time to plan your punishment ahead of time…”

Rin stood shakily to her feet and fell back against a shelf. Several pieces of cutlery fell to the floor noisily. Her heart pounded in her chest as her eyes came to rest on the giant pot of searing water. She should have known better then to go and meet Dace.

Seth looked over at her and placed a hand on the edge of the pot, almost instantly drawing it back. “Ouch, that’s quite hot… Why don’t you come and give it a feel for yourself, Rin?” He began to walk towards her, his eyes not breaking contact with hers.

Rin turned and swung the door open. She was about to step out of the room, when she felt Seth’s cold grasp take hold around her neck and pull her back in with hardly any effort. “AHG!! STOP!”

Seth carried her over to the pot of now boiling water and forced her up onto the stool. He lowered her down so her face was just above the surface. Some drops of hot water reached out and hit her in the face. “AH!!!” she screamed, Seth now holding her hands behind her back with one hand and the other around her neck.

Seth grinned, enjoying her distress. He came up closer behind her and moved the hand that was on her neck up to the back of her head. “It really bothers me that I have to do this to you, but you have to learn your lesson, my dear.”

“NO!! PLEASE DON’T!!!” Rin pushed back hard against his force, but it was useless.

“You may want to take a deep breath.” And he shoved her head beneath the surface of the water, pressing her neck against the burning rim of the pot. He chuckled loudly as he stood there, holding her head under the water, feeling her body tense and push against him as the water sizzled. He smirked, still laughing inside, watching her mockingly. “My dear, can you ever forgive me?”

--------

“You were told specifically that this was not going to be taken easily. Just because we’ve been nice to you so far doesn’t mean you can waltz around here and do whatever you wish. You must be punished.”

Rin looked up at Nabooru from across her desk.

Nabooru grimaced, analyzing her face. Rin’s neck was beet red beneath her chin, a disgusting mess of purple and black tied into the wound. Her face was burnt all over and had a light red hue to it. Her eyes were red too, and seemed hard to hold open.

“What in the hell happened to you?” Nabooru said, nose wrinkling as it always did.

Seth made eye contact with Nabooru as he stood there behind Rin, proud of himself it seemed.

“Oh…” she mumbled looking back to Rin whose head was now lowered. “Well, rules are rules, Hylian girl. You must be punished without any further delay. You met with another man in private and will pay for your actions.” She stood from her chair and rested her palms on the table, looking down at Rin, towering over her, showing that she was in power.

“You’re familiar with the bridge that spans the valley, correct?” It was an obvious question, but Nabooru enjoyed mocking her when she knew she wouldn’t answer. “You have a poison injected into your blood; it will, however, only cause your muscles to become weak and immobile, rendering you helpless. You will then be thrown from the bridge and into the valley. You will of course, either die or be lucky and survive, however, nobody has ever survived the fall before. In the unlikely situation in which you survive, you will then have two options to choose from. One of your options is to come back to join the Gerudos. Upon surviving the fall and journey down the river, you will prove yourself worthy of another chance among us. Your other option is to run. Seems simple, right?”

Nabooru watched Rin look up again at her. “Well,” she went on, “I’m afraid it isn’t. If you decide to run, I’m afraid you’ll have nowhere to go.” She laughed briefly. “The only other places left are with the Gorons or the Sheikahs, and both of them will be dead in a matter of a few months when we take over the rest of Hyrule, and all the other lands around it. You are only truly safe with us…” She glanced up at Seth and paused. “Oh, and another thing… Seth here is King Ganondorf’s right-hand man. If you run from us, he will be able to find you easily. He cares for you very much and still wants to be with you, even after what you did. I understand that he’s very upset that you’ll have to be punished, but even he has to abide by the rules…”

Seth grinned maliciously, amused with Nabooru.

“Do you understand, girl?” Nabooru crossed her arms seriously.

“Yes…” she mumbled, head still drooping.

Nabooru slammed her fist on the table. “Excuse me!”

Rin jumped uneasily. “My Queen… Yes my Queen… I understand.”

Nabooru grinned again and stepped back from the table, looking outside. “Good. Let’s make our way down there then. And let‘s try not to create a big scene about this.”

And Seth, followed by Rin, Nabooru, and a few guards, headed out into the morning sun. Nabooru beamed graciously; what a beautiful day it would be.

--------

A small group had formed around the chasm of the Gerudo Valley, but many thieves quickly gathered around to watch the Hylian girl plummet to her death. They hadn’t had this kind of entertainment in a long time.

Rin’s hands were tied behind her back with a thick rope. Nabooru had decided to be generous and leave her legs unbound. She knew nobody had survived the drop… well, the landing anyway, so what was this girl’s chance?

Two guards were holding each of Rin’s arms and led her out onto the bridge that spanned the canyon, followed by Nabooru, pleased with the audience that was forming. Rin’s head was low and her face in shadow. She didn’t want to be seen at a time like this, considering how many people were watching and how disgusting they were acting. She could hear them cheering from the either side of the bridge in favour for what was about to happen to her. She peeked one eye open, without surprise seeing Seth there, grinning contently along with the rest of the crowd.

“Yeah Nabooru!! Show ‘er who's the boss!”

After a few minutes Nabooru became happy with the size of the crowd and decided it was time to get this over with. She kicked Rin hard in the back, watching her gasp and wobble to keep her balance atop the narrow bridge. The Gerudos laughed.

Rin felt her hair be yanked back, forcing her head upwards and into the blinding, direct morning sun. She shut her eyes, knowing her face was now exposed. She heard people immediately begin to insult her, seeing the opportunity to easily take advantage of her.

“What the hell is that thing?!” followed by maniacal laughter.

Her eyes began to fill with tears as her hair was pulled back more, putting more strain onto her neck. What had she done to deserve this? She refused to cry in front of these monsters though, she wouldn’t. She couldn’t. She was stronger then they thought, and she wasn’t about to give them anymore satisfaction or pride.

Something sharp was suddenly jammed into her neck and the pressure beneath her skin increased. “Ahg…” Then it was quickly pulled out, faster then she’d thought.

“It’s only a matter of minutes now,” came a guard’s voice from behind her.

Rin realised just how high she was above the violent waters far below, only a few inches from the bridge‘s edge. She felt queasy now, not knowing if it was the fear of heights or the poison flowing through her, weakening her.

Rin suddenly fell to her knees and a third guard grabbed hold of her from behind. She could feel her body numbing very quickly and falling limp, tingling as if all of her limbs had had their circulation cut off for hours. It was a horrible feeling. She looked to one side of the valley, scanning the Gerudos screaming wildly. Then she looked to the other side, eyes resting on Seth for a split second, his cold eyes meeting hers. She looked away in disgust. He didn’t care for her at all. She’d rather be dead, she wanted to die. She wasn’t needed in this world like she was told. History could unfold however it wanted, she didn’t want to be around for any of it.

Then Rin’s eyes widened slightly, those numbing too. Kat was standing along the edge, barely visible behind the crowd of rabid Gerudos. But there she was, her usual stern look etched into her fair skin. She looked at Rin, seeing her there, minutes away from her death, helpless, weak; while the rest of these baboons were cheering, screaming, wild, eager to see her plummet to her death; eager to see her frail, limp body crash into the waters below, and see her corpse float to the surface and be carried by the waters down through the gorge, until she was out of sight, dead, gone forever.

She saw Kat’s head drop and without hesitation she disappeared behind the crowd. Her heart sank and she looked around for Dace, but he was nowhere in sight.

It was now that she realised how alone she was, how alone she always had been ever since she arrived at the fortress. Here she was, hundreds of feet above her awaiting doom, needing somebody, anybody more then ever, only to see the face of a sick monster grinning as he watched her, knowing what was going to happen to her. Those tears filled her eyes again, but still she managed to hold in her sobs. She’d have plenty of time for that when she’d be on her way down.

“Listen up everyone!” Nabooru began triumphantly. “This little Hylian has gone against my rules. She ran off last night to meet with another man that she was not assigned to. And this is her punishment.” She paused typically, allowing the suspense, mostly for Rin, to rise. “Let this be a warning to all of you… This is the fate that could befall you if you choose the same path as she…”

She motioned to the guards and they turned Rin’s limp body around to face her. She took Rin by the shoulders and the guards let go. Rin didn’t feel any safer, but in this state she couldn’t protest. Hell, she couldn’t even speak.

Nabooru looked her in the eyes for the first time, her golden orbs meeting with Rin’s wide, fearful sapphire eyes. “Humph. You Hylians are all the same.” She grinned as Rin stared at her. But something about the girl kind of freaked her out. The way she stared at her, eyes filled with tears, but she looked brave, determined, even though her face was litterally beaten in it seemed. She couldn’t read minds, but she wished now that she could. She didn’t trust this girl at all, but she found it to be rather amusing that she could even get to her. She looked like… more then just a girl… like she was hiding something inside her, but not even death could make her reveal her secrets.

Emerging from her thoughts as the Gerudos’ cheers grew louder, she widened her grin. She wished more then ever to push her from the safety of the bridge.

“Any last words, Rin?” she asked mockingly, her nose reaching out towards her face. She paused briefly, rage building in Rin‘s eyes.

“No…? Well then… I bid you farewell.” Nabooru released Rin’s shoulders.

Falling backwards almost elegantly, Rin saw Nabooru’s smiling face fall away from her, the roar of the other Gerudos echoing strongly in her ears.

Then her face was gone and there was the sky above her, a beautiful canvas with cascading blue tints and clouds, her long blonde hair dancing frantically around her face.

All around her it fell silent, soundless, the canyon’s dark walls now shooting up on all sides of her.

Then the roar came, drowning out the silence, as she plummeted towards the howling waters below.