Fan Fiction Friday: The Silence Within the Stone – Chapter 13

|| Previous Chapter || Next Chapter ||

Chapter Thirteen

The three rode on, not stopping to look behind them at Jenoa’s behest. She led them on, horses at full sprint over dunes and through valleys, reassuring Link and Rukio that their tracks would be swept away by the fickle winds of the desert. Night had fallen after some time, and Jenoa, in the lead position, finally raised a closed fist to cease. Link had begun to feel as though Epona might fall over from sheer exhaustion, so he was all to happy to acquiesce. Rukio seemed no worse for wear, uncurling himself and standing upright. He was used to heats far more extreme than this back on Death Mountain. Jenoa rummaged through some saddlebags on her steed and removed what appeared to be food wrapped in linens. She lifted an assortment of carrots, apples, and bananas to the mouths of the two horses before setting to work on a campfire. Link helped Jenoa scavenge for whatever they could that might burn in the area: bits of wood and dry brush mostly. When she was satisfied that they had what they needed to survive the night, she pulled two pieces of flint from her pack and struck them together. The spark caught the materials, and a fire began to grow steadily from the pile. Jenoa explained to Link that while the Gerudo desert had fierce, searing winds and sun during the day, at night it became quite cold, and they would need to do what they could to stay warm. This was a far cry from Link’s home that experienced a typical rotation of climate, and he took a minute to himself to appreciate how wonderful and fascinating the rest of Hyrule truly was compared to what he was accustomed to.

The three sat around the fire, eating the meagre rations that Jenoa had stashed away. She finally looked across the fire at Link.

“I suppose now might be a good time to explain who I am exactly and why I saw fit to release you. And no doubt you have questions of your own yes?” Link looked at her, and it hadn’t truly dawned on him that he had more or less gone through with everything that had been thrown at him with little to no hesitation. Granted, he felt that anyone in his position would have taken a chance at freedom without raising too many queries as to the conditions being presented to them. “My name is Jenoa,” she continued. “I was a scout for the Gerudo tribe and was considered one of the finest warriors our people had to offer.”

“After what we saw back there I’d say we agree, right Link? I mean she was somethin’ with the way she was jumpin’ around, and somersaultin’, and flingin’ those swords around!”

She smiled. “Was being the operative word of course. I’ve clearly severed ties with them, and am now seeking to right an impending wrong that stems from the arrogance of my people.” She looked at Link and gestured with a hand toward Rukio. “You are quite lucky that your friend here was asking questions about Ganondorf, the traitorous snake. Otherwise, there is a good chance you would have remained imprisoned to rot, or worse.”

“Yeah, after I lost you back in that sandstorm, I started followin’ this weird floating thing until finally, I got conked on the gourd by a buncha those Gerudo women. When I came to, I was behind bars! Not the best way to wake up. I finally got one of them to tell me that they were Gerudo and I remembered what the Great Fairy told us about that Ganondorf guy, so I figured one of them mighta known somethin’. When I asked about him and told him we were out to stop him, they starting to get pretty mad. That’s when Jenoa showed up.”

“Fate was kind enough to let me overhear the commotion, and having my own desire to stop Ganondorf, I seized my chance to bring you into my cause. Your friend Rukio mentioned who you were, and I was aware of a second capture that was made, and you matched the description.”

“And the rest is history!” Rukio said with a smile.

“I owe you my life Jenoa. Thank you,” Link said in earnest.

“You need not thank me,” she replied. “Your debt to me will be repaid when we have ceased Ganondorf’s conquest.”

“Why do you want him stopped so badly? We have our reasons, but I find it a bit strange that one of his own people is looking to stop him,” Link asked.

She paused a moment. “There is a legend not widely known by my people,” she began. “Perhaps that is a product of simple disbelief or reluctance, but I know it quite well. For eons, the forces of good and evil have been locked in a constant struggle, personified by individuals that—”

“Yup! We know all about this!” Rukio interjected.

Jenoa stopped abruptly and looked at him. “What do you mean?”

“Well, the reason that we’re out to stop this Ganondorf guy, is because he froze all the people at Hyrule Castle town to stone, and then Link found me, and the elder told us to see the Great Fairy of Death Mountain, and she told us all about how Link is the chosen hero of courage and some stuff like that, and how Ganondorf is the guy that represents power, and how…” Rukio continued at length, explaining their journey thus far—Link adding his own input when needed. Jenoa sat, speechless during its duration, eyes wide on the Goron who was making his points in an overly animated fashion. When he finally took a deep breath inward and stopped, Jenoa looked to Link.

“You? You are meant to be the Hylian hero of legend?”

“That’s what I was told. I’m not entirely sure I believe it myself, but at this point it’s all we’ve got to go on, and it at least gives me some hope of stopping him.”

She eyed his clothes, fully aware of the descriptions in the legend of a hero garbed in the green of fields and the weapon that called to him. The Sword of Evil’s Bane. Could it really be this boy? Had she truly stumbled upon the savior of the land out of sheer happenstance? She too was not sure if she believed that the small man before her was their hope for salvation, but the evidence before her was piling up. She began to feel hopeful, as though what she had once considered to be a nigh-impossible task was not as insurmountable as it once seemed. But if he were indeed the boy chosen by the Triforce, he would need the fabled Master Sword to eliminate Ganondorf.

“What are your thoughts?” Link asked, breaking her from her line of thought.

“Circumstances are certainly leading me to believe that perhaps there is some truth to what you were told,” she answered. “You spoke of a Great Fairy. What else did she tell you?”

“That I was to seek out the other Great Fairies. One was located here in the desert and one in the Zora’s Domain. They would give me what I needed to acquire the Master Sword. Apparently, I can’t beat him without it.”

She thought back to the tales of her youth, and remembered stories her mother would tell of a beautiful woman that existed below the sands; of her magic, wisdom, and grace. She would journey above ground to fraternize with the Gerudo, her arrivals celebrated by all within the city. However, there came a time in which she no longer appeared. The Gerudo became worried, sending their own out into the wastes to look for her, never to return. Rumors swirled of the woman’s deception, filling the Gerudo with a false sense of security so as to lure them out beyond their boundaries and feast upon them. Searches for the woman ceased, and in time, her existence faded into legend. Could that woman exist, and could she be the Great Fairy they were sent to find?

“Do you know anything about a Great Fairy out here?” Rukio asked, stretching a bit and fighting back a yawn.

“I believe I may know of something that might be what we’re looking for, but it could very well be a simple myth. There was said to be a woman possessing magics out here in the desert, and that she dwelled under its sands. I’m not sure how she made her way underground, but there are some ruins several miles from here that might give us a clue. It’s long been abandoned and now only Poes dwell there.”

“Poes?” Link asked.

“Yes. Do you recall the creature that lured you inward before you were captured? That is one of the spectres of the desert. Their true names were lost to time, but we Gerudo refer to them as ‘Poes’. We derived that name from sounds they make when one gets close enough to hear their voice. There is a mutual understanding between the Gerudo and the Poes. We are mindful of their territory as they are of ours. Hopefully we can traverse through the ruins without any difficulty on their behalf. We can set out tomorrow, as it seems your friend has already settled in for the night.” She gestured to Rukio who was now curled up, fast asleep.

Link pulled his tunic in a bit more, the chill of night becoming more realized. Jenoa went to the pack on her horse and pulled out two blankets.

“I apologize, as they aren’t as thick as I would have liked. We were pressed for time, and I gathered what I could from the storage room within the stables. They are better than nothing however.” She brought a blanket to Link who accepted the gift graciously. Returning to her place across the fire, she placed her scimitars next to her and laid parallel to them covering up with her own blanket. No doubt she wanted to be at the ready should anything approach them during the night. Link did the same, turning inward toward the fire, sleep overtaking him shortly thereafter.

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.