Fan Fiction Friday: The Chosen One Chronicles – Chapter 3

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Chapter 3

Kiyoko and Dalal arrived with Kohga and the other Yiga in a far more barren mountain gap. One Kiyoko was all to familiar with.

“Welcome home, boy,” Kohga said. “Welcome home.”

Home. As if. As if this place, where only bad memories came from, could ever be home. Home was with the Sheikah, with people who cared for and respected Kiyoko. To the Yiga, Kiyoko was just a half-breed, part Yiga, part Sheikah. At one point they’d been one in the same, yes, but through millennia of culture and ethnic evolution — through what some theorized to be “crossbreeding” with the Hylians — they’d become to very distant things. Ironic as it was, the Yiga were the only pure-blooded remnants of the Sheikah nation that once helped to defeat Calamity Ganon with their mysterious technologies. Thus, modern Sheikah were less than cattle in the eyes of the Yiga. The Gerudo would sooner accept a man into their society than a Yiga would accept a Sheikah… a silver head. And yet, there was Kiyoko.

Kiyoko, who somehow, despite being a half-breed, was allowed to grow up a Yiga. He’d never been told, but he assumed there must be some sense of import to his being. Yet, never did it seem like there was. He was shuned and ostracized by the other Yiga. Any who were sympathetic or even kind to him were few and far between. He was more than another foot soldier, he knew that much, but the question burned within him like an undying flame every moment he spent in the “care” of the Yiga. He’d finally gotten some solace when he fled, only for it to come back, hitting him in the face like a Stone Talus. And now, it seemed he’d have no choice but to stay. Maybe he could work out another plan of escape, but it couldn’t be for some time. He didn’t want to put Dalal and the baby through anymore stress, and once the baby was born, they’d have to wait until it was safe to carry it such a long distance across the planes of Hyrule. They couldn’t risk stopping at any Hylian villages, on the off chance that the Gerudo posted spies. It was going to be a long time with the Yiga; a long time back–

“Home,” rang Kohga’s voice, interrupting Kiyoko’s train of thought. “Home is where the heart is, as they say.”

Ha. If home was where the heart is, then home was with Dalal. And if home was with Dalal, then… Home was with the Yiga, wasn’t it? No. Kiyoko was not weak enough to let himself believe such absurdities.

“Just show us to our cell,” Kiyoko retorted.

“Your cell?” Kohga poised. “No, no. Not cell. My boy, who do you think we are? We’re going to give you and your, erm, new family nothing short of the best!”

As it turned out, Kohga wasn’t lying– about the living quarters, at least. How they were treated remained to be seen. But, their suite was quite lavish. It came equipped with a kitchen, a living area, a room for Dalal and Kiyoko, and a separate room for their baby, large enough to accommodate them growing up throughout the years. Large enough to accommodate them growing up throughout the years… Kiyoko shouldn’t have been surprised– of course the Yiga planned to keep them there. Well, at least they had a nice place to spend their imprisonment. Perhaps now life with the Yiga could be at least somewhat bearable. Well, a little more now, because Dalal and their baby were always going to make it more bearable than before.

“Are you going to be OK?” Kiyoko asked Dalal.

“As OK as a pregnant mother can be in these conditions,” she responded with forced optimism.

“Sure.”

“Look, at least we’ll have the baby. It’s not Kakariko, but it’s better than if I’d stayed with the Gerudo. Let’s just make the best of this until we can find a way to get out of here.”

“That’s just it, though. Every moment here, it’s like there’s a cancer eating away at my soul.”

“Even with me here? Even with our baby?”

“You help, yes, but… There’s just so many bad memories I have of this place.”

Dalal put her arm on Kiyoko’s shoulder. “I understand that, honey, I do, but we’re here now, and we’ve got to make the best of it.”

“I know. I just wish that we weren’t here. Anywhere but here.”

“I know, hon. But for now, it is what it is.”

“It is what it is.”

A long silence passed between them. Dalal got up and walked to the crib in the baby’s room. He ran her hands across it, feeling its rich mahogany skeleton. In Gerudo Town, she was used to everything being made of sand stone. Though durable, it was coarse and rough. Mahogany, however, was sleek and smooth. She was glad her child would get to grow up with luxuries she never had, even if they might lack the freedom she had; not that growing up Gerudo wasn’t without its strict cultural practices. Kohga spoke of some power within her child, something that could bring about Calamity Ganon’s revival. If her child is really capable of something like that, perhaps she could use her child’s power to vanquish the Yiga instead. Then, they could be free. Of course, should the worst happen, and her child become an agent of chaos, well, at least their life would lead to something significant. After all, how much destruction could Calamity Ganon really cause when every time it rose to conquer, a hero rose to vanquish it. How amazing it would be to have her child in history books, though admittedly she’d prefer if they weren’t a bringer of doom. Still, the thought that her child may have some kind of future, any kind, outside of the confines of the Gerudo ways enthralled her.

“This is nice, what they’ve done for us,” she said. Kiyoko did not respond. “Kiyoko? Have you seen the crib? It’s really nice.”

“Oh, sure it is.”

“What did we just talk about? I know you don’t want to be here, and neither do I. Nor do I trust the Yiga anymore than you, but at least they’re showing us hospitality. We can–”

“Hospitality, yes, but for how long? How long before they throw us in a cell? How long before they discard us and raise our child into a monster?”

“They won’t. I won’t let that happen– we won’t let that happen.”

“But how do you know? They could come and kill us in the night, then do as they please with our child.”

“They wouldn’t. They need our child to trust them, and if they kill us, that’d never happen.”

“They’d say Gerudo cam and slaughtered us.”

“Our child would see through that, they’d call the bluff, seeing that they weren’t slaughtered or taken.”

“The Yiga would say they came at the last minute, too late to save us, but not too late to save them.”

“Kiyoko, you have to have faith. Tell me, how did you get out? How did you escape the Yiga?”

“I had faith that I could. I believed that I could escape, so I never once gave up hope. I honed my skills, studied the land.”

“Exactly. Have faith, honey. Do that, and our child will turn out fine. As will we.”

“I sure hope you’re right.”

“I usually am.”

---

Meanwhile, the captain of the Gerudo squadron that’d chased Kiyoko and Dalal made her way into Gerudo city. The sight of her towering form on top of the towering stallion was striking. As she made her way down the entry road to the chief’s building, everyone stopped to look, child and farmer alike. Murmurs spread throughout; she ignored them.

She dismounted her horse when she arrived before the building. She now stood before the long steps leading up. The doors at the top opened, and a tall, muscular women with light skin and white hair braided into a long ponytail that draped over her left shoulder  stepped out, arms on her hips, and a naginata on her back.

“Arya,” she spoke.

“Impa.”

To be continued…

John Piland is a writer and editor for Zelda Dungeon. He’s been working on this story for a long time, so he hopes you enjoy it. He enjoys fiction and writing screenplays, stage plays, short stories, novels, and poetry. He’s been an avid Zelda fan for years, and loves the hit MMORPG Final Fantasy XIV just as much, so hit him up if you play and would like to go adventuring together. Follow John on social media @John_Piland_.