Chapter Text
Finally, a moment of respite arrived, allowing her to catch her breath. The distant echoes of the witch sisters' argument faded away, leaving her momentarily free from their hostile presence. She closed her eyes, feeling a wave of overwhelming emotions wash over her. As the adrenaline from her escape slowly wore off, a wave of exhaustion washed over Zelda, leaving her muscles heavy and her mind sluggish. She took a deep breath, feeling the relief start to fill her lungs as her heart rate began to slow. The tension that had been coiled within her for so long started to loosen, her shoulders slumping and her mind finally able to register the events that had unfolded. She slumped against the wall, her body shaking with the aftermath of the ordeal, as she replayed the events in her mind.
Sadly, it didn't last long as the princess heard in the distance the loud voice of the Gerudo witches shrieking: "Guards! Catch that Hylian bitch!" Her eyes widened in horror as she heard many heavy footsteps running like a herd of raging stampede searching for her.
The Gerudo Fortress was a maze of serpentine corridors and shadowy passageways that twisted and turned in seemingly endless loops. Zelda's heart raced as she navigated the fortress, each turn bringing her deeper into the maze-like complex. The walls were adorned with intricate carvings and ancient tapestries, depicting scenes of Gerudo warriors and their conquests, but she barely noticed them in her frantic search for a hiding place. Her breath came in short, desperate gasps as she rounded a corner and spotted a narrow hallway, barely visible in the dim light. She darted down it, her footsteps echoing off the stone walls. The hallway opened into a small, forgotten storage room, filled with dusty crates and old supplies. She glanced around frantically, her eyes scanning the room for a hiding spot. A small cupboard caught her eye, its door slightly ajar. Without a second thought, the fallen royal squeezed herself inside, pulling the door shut behind her. The cramped space was dark and musty, the air thick with the scent of old wood and neglect. She hugged her knees tightly to her chest, making herself as small as possible, her ears strained desperate to catch even the faintest sound of her pursuers' footsteps echoing in the distance, her breath hitched, held captive in her lungs, as she listened intently, every muscle tensed, poised to react to any danger that may approach.
The heavy footsteps grew louder, echoing through the fortress as the guards scoured the halls for her. She could hear their voices, harsh and angry, as they barked orders to one another. "Find her! She couldn't have gone far!" one of them shouted, the urgency in the guadswoman's voice sending a shiver down the Hylian ladys spine.
The poor captive closed her eyes, willing herself to remain silent and still. The seconds stretched into agonizing hours as the guards' search continued, their footsteps drawing closer and then receding as they moved through the dusty room. The captive bride's heart pounded in her chest, each beat a reminder of the danger she was in. The storage room remained quiet, the only sound the faint rustling of the guards' movements outside. The vessel of wisdom's mind raced, trying to formulate a plan. She knew she couldn't stay hidden forever; eventually, the guards would find her if she didn't find a way to escape the fortress entirely. The footsteps eventually began to fade, the guards moving further away as their search expanded to other parts of the fortress. the Hylian poor woman allowed herself a small, shaky breath, the tension in her muscles slowly easing. She remained in the cupboard, however, not daring to move just yet. She needed to be sure they were gone.
Minutes passed, and the silence deepened. Zelda cautiously pushed the cupboard door open a crack, peering out into the dimly lit storage room. It was empty, the guards having moved on in their search. She slipped out of the cupboard, her movements careful and quiet, and crept to the doorway.
The corridor outside was empty, the sounds of the search now distant echoes. She took a deep breath and exhaled filled with relief and satisfaction, as steeled herself for the next part of her escape. She couldn't afford to be caught now, not when she had come so far. With renewed determination, she slipped out of the storage room and back into the labyrinthine maze of the Gerudo Fortress, her mind focused on finding a way out.
Suddenly, She was seized, trapped in icy grips, clamping down on her forearms like vises. Panic surged through her veins as she struggled to break free, her heart pounded with desperation and panic, each beat hammering against her chest like a bird thrashing against the bars of its cage, she gasped in shock and pain. The weight of fear and powerlessness constricted her throat like a vicious snake, making each breath a struggle.
Zelda's breath hitched in her throat as the Gerudo guards seized her, their grasp cold and unrelenting. She fought to extricate herself, but their grip was like iron, constricting her arms painfully. The fear that coursed through her body like a violent storm made her gasp for air, her heart pounding so hard she thought it might burst from her chest. The realization of her vulnerability sunk in, leaving her feeling stripped of both strength and hope. With each passing second, the weight of her powerlessness bore down on her like a crushing force, suffocating her spirit and igniting a deep sense of dread in her soul.
Zelda turned to look at her assailants, she was shocked to see it was the two women under the influence of the healing drug found in the house the first time she came to Gerudo town. They were smiling to her kindly. She was dumbfounded, but maybe she could convince them to let her go. After all, they didn't look hostile like the rest of the women she encountered here, she felt some hope blossoming into her, "please let me go!" she pleaded her breath strained by fear.
"Now why would we do that?" asked one of the girls.
"we want you to stay with us!" said the other one cheerfully.
"You are so beautifu!" The two Gerudo women chirped in unison.
The poor princess felt her heart sinking, the two desert women seemed to be in an altered state she quivered in fear and dread, and yet, she refused to give up hope, they were not as hostile as the others, she thought, so maybe she had a chance.
"Listen, you girls are so kind and sweet and even more beautiful than me, I just want to go home, I promise I won't do anything, I just want to go home...Please let me go." she begged.
One of the Gerudo girls turned to the other looking worried :"poor thing, she looks scared" and then, she turned back to Zelda and added: "My name is Arisha" she gestured to her companion: "And this is Rina, come play with us you will feel better"
Rina clapped and and spoke cheerfully: "Why would you want to leave it's great here, water and food are a bit scarce but since our king has risen into power no bad voe has attacked or assaulted us, and since our king has taken the bad princess as a hostage everything will get better and better!"
Zelda was shocked they were not even aware she was the princess! "But I am the princess!" she croacked.
The two Gerudo women looked at each other and laughed.
"Oh! so you're the princess everyone was talking about?!" replied Arisha happily. Rina pinched the Hylian lady's cheek tenderly and spoke: "But you are so sweet!"
The imprisoned soon-to-be queen felt herself overwhelmed by fear and a deep sense of despair, she was never going to escape at this rate, she felt her stomack tiying into knots.
"Come on let's play! you'll feel happier, princess" the two crazy desert women exclaimed cheerfully in unison, as they dragged her away.
With a heart heavy with fear and despair, Zelda found herself being dragged further into the labyrinthine fortress by the two unhinged Gerudo women. Their cheerful, childlike demeanor only heightened her terror as they giggled and spoke in unison, their laughter echoing through the dimly lit halls like a nightmarish chorus. Every instinct within her screamed for her to flee, to fight, to escape the clutches of these deranged and delusional captors. Yet, her own strength and hope seemed to have abandoned her in the face of her crushing failure. The two insane Gerudo women continued dragging the poor captive Hylian maiden through the unending dimly lit halls of the Gerudo Fortress, their laughter echoing off the rough stone walls, their cheerful voices sliced through the air like a scythe, their words cutting deep with their relentless optimism, they chatted animatedly amongst themselves, but their words were barely coherent, their minds were clouded by the effects of the strange healing drug they had consumed.
"We're going to play such a fun game!" chirped Arisha, her voice bright and high-pitched.
"You'll love it, princess!" Rina exclaimed gleefully, her eyes feverish with excitement.
Meanwhile, Zelda quivered in fear and dread, her heart racing like a cornered prey, her mind raced, desperately trying to find a solution to her dire situation. As a last attempt, she forced cheerfulness into her voice: "Fine, I will play with you girls! How about a game of hide and seek?"
The Gerudo guards stopped in their tracks, seemingly interested in the idea. The royal captive waited with baited breath, her heart pounding with hope. A huge smile crept onto the unhinged desert women's faces as they replied in unison, their voices filled with joyful excitement. "Absolutely not, princess!"
"You would hide and we won't be able to find you!" Arisha added with a laugh.
"Does the princess hates us so much?" interjected Rina looking upset.
Zelda felt her stomach sinking down and her body going limp, as she was overcome with despair and a sense of disappointment. The mood of the drugged desert-dwelling women seemed to shift rapidly to the wrong side. She remembered what Ganondorf had said the first night they came to Gerudo town; the effect of that healing drug was unpredictable, this simple information implies that these two girls could turn against her at any moment if she didn't do anything to appease them.
"No, you girls are wonderful!" the the royal lady hurriedly answered, her voice strained with forced joy. "It's just that...Everyone just hates me here! I'm sure the women would kill me if they had a chance!" Her voice wavered, and she struggled to maintain her facade. the captive soon-to-be queen's eyes stung with unshed tears, her heart pounding with a mix of fear and despair.
The two Gerudo women hummed thoughtfully, and then Rina answered calmly an empty happy smile still plastered on her face: "of course they would, people are mad because of the war."
after a long pause she continued in a matter-of-fact tone "My sister was sixteen...barely a child when she was raped by a military Hylian and then... he just slit her throat...He didn't have to she didn't fight..." The Gerudo girl paused again deep in thought and then added: "I was very sad and angry...Now I am not...I don't remember why..."
The dark tale spun by Gerudo guardswoman left the Hylian royal hostage reeling, her heart clenched with empathy and terror. The harrowing and gruesome fate of Rina's sister left a sickening taste in the the crown princess' mouth, her mind's eye painting a frightful and horrid picture of the atrocities that had befallen this young Gerudo girl and so many others.
"They even tried to wipe us out completely before that, during the raid" Arisha added with a smile.
As the two Gerudo guardwomen continued their reflection, Zelda found herself caught up in a swirling vortex of conflicting emotions. The mention of the horrors inflicted upon the Gerudo people stirred a complex mix of emotions within her— feelings of guilt, shame, and a subtle seed of doubt that wove its way through her perception of her kingdom's righteousness, she felt sick to her stomach.The two Gerudo women's gazes were filled with a disturbing mixture of adoration and emptiness, their words revealed the horrifying truth of their predicament.The effect of the healing drug seemed to have numbed them to the pain, anger and agony that should have accompanied such a traumatic memory, leaving them in a state of blissful ignorance. The imprisoned lady felt a profound sadness for the Gerudo girl and the senseless violence of the war that had claimed her innocence.
"The raid, what's that? What happened during that time?" Asked the forced Hylian bride her voice quivering coloured with shame, pain and agony; this couldn't have happened, she never heard of anything like that in the history of her kingdom.
"Enough!" screamed Rina, and then she took a deep breath and resumed her cheerful child like demeanor "I want to play!"
"Oh! let's share her and cut her in half, each one of us can play with a a part of her!" squealed Arisha with excitement.
The bloodthirsty words of the two insane Gerudo women struck sheer terror in Zelda's heart. The thought of being 'shared' and sliced in two was too horrifying to grasp, her mind whirling in disbelief. Yet, deep inside her, a flicker of fight remained, even if it felt like a last defiant flame amid the encroaching darkness. She stared at the bloodthirsty woman in front of her, her mind racing, desperately looking for any possible escape route or bargaining technique. Suddenly The princess heard footsteps coming from afar, she hope it would be anyone even if it was the king of evil himself!
Another Gerudo woman appeared gracefully from a corner, she ran towards the insane duo and the poor princess. The newcomer was a striking Gerudo woman, tall and regal, Her long, flowing red hair cascaded down her back, contrasting against her desert-tanned skin. Her eyes were dark and green. As she approached, the woman's gaze fell upon Zelda, and there was a flicker of recognition in her eyes. "Arisha, Rina," she called out firmly, her voice carrying authority. "What are you two doing with the princess?"
Arisha and Rina turned towards the newcomer, their expressions still cheerful. "Oh, Lady Riju!" Arisha exclaimed, her voice high-pitched and filled with joy. "We found the princess wandering around. She wanted to play hide and seek with us!"
Rina nodded eagerly in agreement: "Yes, yes! We were just having fun, Lady Riju. The princess is so sweet, she wanted to play with us!"
Lady Riju's eyes narrowed slightly as she regarded the poor royal hostage, assessing the situation. The latter could feel the weight of the new comer's scrutiny, her gaze sharp and discerning. Despite the warmth in her eyes, there was an underlying sense of concern and caution. "Arisha, Rina," she finally said, her voice firm and commanding, "I'm glad you found the princess, but please, give her some space and go back to the healing facility, your treatment is not over yet, our king would be mad if he heard you went out without healing completely."
the two crazy women lowered their heads in disappointment as they left.
The Gerudo savior's gaze shifted towards the Hylian crown heiress, her eyes softening with a touch of pity and compassion and spoke her tone full of admiration: "Are you alright princess? I am so sorry you went through this! Let's go back to Gerudo town, I'd like to spend some time with you and have a chat, I heard so much about you!"
The forced bride felt a surge of gratitude and hope upon hearing the desert woman's kind words, offering a sense of safety and potential respite. She felt a flicker of exhaustion spreading through her body, and yet, a part of her yearned to follow her liberator, to cling to the hope of being with someone safe and kind.She had grown weary of the tumultuous events of that day, and the idea of returning to Gerudo town seemed like a bittersweet prospect.
"I... I am alright, thank you," Zelda replied, her voice still a little shaky. She hesitated for a moment before continuing, "Thank you... really, thank you for rescuing me. I don't know what would have happened if you hadn't arrived, I would really appreciate your company, Lady Riju. It would be nice to have a conversation with someone sane for a change."
The thought of having a heartfelt conversation piqued the Hylian royal's curiosity, although, a small part of her couldn't shake off the lingering fear and doubt that gnawed at her stirring slightly her gut, especially given the recent unsettling experience.
The Gerudo rescuer smiled warmly at the imprisoned vessel of wisdom's response, a flicker of understanding visible in her emerald eyes. "You are welcome, Princess," she said, her voice laced with kindness. "I can only imagine the ordeal you have undergone. Come, let us retreat to the tranquility of Gerudo town, where we can talk and find respite from the madness that has seeped into our desert." With a reassuring smile, Riju extended her hand, in a silent offer of support and guidance.
