Fan Fiction Friday: The Silence Within the Stone – Chapter 12

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Chapter Twelve

Link braced himself as the large Gerudo woman trudged forward menacingly.

“Zayeeri,” Jenoa began, doing her best to hide the nervous twitch that had begun to manifest at the corner of her mouth. “It’s about time you arrived. Perhaps if you abandoned those ridiculous things you’re wearing there you’d be much quicker.”

“You know better than anyone that I love to play with my food Jenoa,” Zayeeri replied. “Even if it is a scrawny, pathetic desert mouse like yourself and your—” she paused as she looked behind Jenoa at Link and Rukio. “—Friends?”

“Accomplices I assure you, nothing more,” Jenoa said, her fists clenched around the hilts of her scimitars, the white of her knuckles contrasting heavily with her dark skin. “And my accomplices and I will be leaving.”

“To do what? Seek out the rightful ruler of the Gerudo. The one you spurned without a moment’s hesitation based on rumors and hearsay? My dear sister, Ganondorf means only to bring about a wondrous age for our people. We are blessed to have him within our midst; to be born in an age when the very reincarnation of power itself walks throughout Hyrule. Why can’t you understand this?”

“He means to bring all of us to ruin! That’s why!” Jenoa launched herself forward, thrusting both scimitars out in Zayeeri’s direction. The big woman batted one away, but found her face on the receiving end of a quick slice with the other, a product of Jenoa’s exceptional reflexes. Zayeeri didn’t need to feel the warmth on her face to know that she had been cut, rather, she tilted her head at a diagonal angle allowing the blood to flow downward toward her lips where she promptly licked it away.

“Okay that’s just gross!” Rukio exclaimed. He turned to Link who appeared ready to join the fray at any moment. “We doin’ this brother?” Link looked sideways at his Goron friend.

“Absolutely.”

Both of them charged forward. The cadre of Gerudo soldiers followed suit, and a cluttered battle ensued within the hallway. Slashes, massive swings from blunt weapons, and ranged weaponry flew about in a chaotic maelstrom. Link, having a better feel for how to handle Gerudo combatants had begun to go on the offensive against several within his purview. Parrying blows and dodging quick, stabbing strikes began to feel second nature to him, and his confidence began to fuel him, it gave him strength.

Rukio in turn had been slowly adjusting his fighting style to make up for his lack of speed. His previous battle showed the young Goron that there are times in which brute strength might not be the only route to victory. He continued to lure Gerudo inward, sapping them of their strength as they tried to cause lasting damage to the large warrior. Large swings from his club laid the assailants to waste before more would step forward, eager for their chance at bringing him down.

“Let’s do this!” he cried out as he charged forward.

Link looked between a pair of soldiers that were advancing toward him, and saw that Jenoa and Zayeeri were locked in combat, several Gerudo in awe of the display they were bearing witness to. None interfered, perhaps this was tradition within the Gerudo? A sign of respect? The only thing he was certain of, was that Jenoa was fighting a losing battle. Regardless of how adept she was in fighting, the fact remained that she was facing exhaustion from the prior fight and was now against a towering mountain that took every attack she could land with sickening glee. Jenoa continued her onslaught, her movements having slowed considerably now, and jumped upward with both arms extended. She brought them toward each other as quickly as she good, a clear effort to behead Zayeeri, but it was in vain. Zayeeri brought her gauntlet-covered hands to the sides of her head, deflecting Jenoa’s blades. She reached out and grabbed Jenoa by the throat and began to squeeze.

“All of this could have been avoided sister, if you’d only learned for once in your miserable life to NOT QUESTION THE NATURAL WAY OF THINGS!” Zayeeri tightened her grip as Jenoa, having dropped her scimitars clawed desperately at Zayeeri’s hands looking for an escape. A noise cut the air to her right, as an arrow flew in the direction of Zayeeri’s head. It had missed its intended mark, but managed to bring the giantess down a peg as it sliced through her ear, severing from her head entirely. The big woman cried out in pain, dropping Jenoa and reaching upward to tend to the wound. The batallion of Gerudo troops began to mobilize once more around them. Jenoa looked backward after catching her breath to see Link standing there, bow in hand nocking another arrow and preparing to fire. Her mind raced, there had to be some way out of this. She felt crawled quickly around the ground to gather her swords and flipped backward in Link’s direction, taking several additional steps back once she had gained her footing.

“You!” she yelled, her voice now hoarse from Zayeeri’s attempted strangulation. I’m going to throw something and I need for you to hit it with an arrow do you understand?!”

“Throw it,” Link said, not taking his eyes off the crowd in front of him. Rukio moved backward toward his friends, holding Evelyn in a defensive position. Jenoa reached into a pack on her hip and removed what thought at first to be a bomb. However, instead of the spherical shape he had been accustomed to, this looked to be flat on the bottom, round on top, and had what appeared to ears. The object seemed almost rodential, but Link didn’t have time to question a potential instrument of escape. Jenoa leaned backward, the bomb in hand and prepared to throw.

“Ready?!” she yelled, just as Zayeeri had regained some state of composure and was ordering the deaths of the three compatriots. “When I say shoot, shoot!” She threw the object in front of her, its trajectory clearly heading straight for Zayeeri. Gerudo warriors that had charged their way dispersed away from the object as it approached, confirming Link’s suspicion that it was a bomb of some sort.

“Shoot!” Jenoa yelled, and Link brought his focus to bear, letting the arrow fly forward. Zayeeri raised both gauntlets above her face, clearly understanding what predicament she was in before the arrow met its target. A blast erupted down the hallway, the flames giving chase down its length. Link turned toward Jenoa, instructed her to crouch down and used the shield on his back as a means of deterring the flame for them both. He knew that Rukio would be fine, as he had already assumed his Goron ball formation and would be quite safe.

Luck was on their side, as the flames from the explosion had dissipated before they arrived at the trio—the stone walls and flooring didn’t allow for it to catch beyond the blast radius. A hole had been blown in the side of the wall, and daylight was now beaming into the hallway. They stepped forward in its direction and stopped at the edge. The grounds outside the fortress were visible, roughly 20 feet below them. Link looked down the hallway and began to move.

“What are you doing?” Jenoa asked, placing a hand on his chest.

“Zayeeri could still be—”

“No one could have survived that and we have no time as it is. More of my people will be swarming this place after hearing that explosion. We must move now.” She surveyed the outside and pointed at a small building near an alcove. “There. That is where we will find horses. Now how to get down…?”

She and Link felt a strong tug at their waists, and looked down to see the mighty arms of Rukio holding them close.

“Geronimo!” he yelled as he jumped downward with the two in tow. They landed, feeling the shock of the impact throughout their bodies. Rukio put them down and smiled. “These legs might look real teeny but they’re plenty strong. I used to jump offa—”

“Enough!” Jenoa snapped, and began to run in the direction of the building. Rukio looked at Link and shrugged. “She is still cool, but clearly has a temper on her.”

“You really need to fill me in on what happened once we get away from here. It’s been a whirlwind since you guys broke me out of that cell.” The two gave chase after Jenoa, ultimately arriving at the stables. Inside were an assortment of exquisite steeds, pawing away at the grass under their hooves. Jenoa stopped and pointed at a stall to her right. That one is yours if I’m not mistaken. Link ran forward and sure enough, Epona was there safe and sound.

“Epona!” Link exclaimed, opening the stall door and giving his old friend a hug around her neck. She nuzzled him a bit before Jenoa appeared outside of the stall on a mahogany-colored stallion.

“We must go now!” She looked over at Rukio. “You need a horse.”

“No horse for me. I can keep up just fine!” He rolled himself into a ball and went outside. Link hoisted himself onto Epona’s saddle, gave her a gentle kick, and the three rode out into the desert, the cries of the Gerudo behind them growing ever distant.

Bryan King is an editor for Zelda Dungeon. He loves writing about everyone’s favorite green-clad elfin boy, and thinks Zelda II doesn’t get the love it so rightly deserves.