'
The Gerudo princess looks very delighted when she sees her cousin's helmet.
" You actually managed to get the helmet back! And in such a short time as well!" She bursts out in excitement where she leans forward on the throne with the hands on the armrests.
In a few seconds, she snaps gasping back to her old posture, where she leans awkwardly back and clears the throat to cover her excitement.
"... I am impressed... Now, may I get the helmet?" She smiles with a calmer behavior.
Link gives Linkly a short side-look before he starts walking up through the stairs to reach the throne. The other hylian looks still very bothered by the earlier news of his pregnancy.
The taller hylian hands the helmet over to the obvious excited princess. Seeing how she is struggling to remain serious and not expressing any kind of childish behavior in front of them. Trying to calmly take the helmet carefully and not in any rush.
A thought crosses his mind when she takes the helmet from him. How would the helmet fit her? She looks way too small compared to the helmet. Like a child who would try its mother's shoes for fun.
A short moment later, he gets the answer. It didn't fit. The helmet is too big for her and seems wobbling each time she makes a movement.
Link swallows down a short laugh. And clears the throat with the fist in front of the mouth to cover up the laugh.
Riju looks smiling at him.
"Well?... How do I look?" She asks like a child who wants praise.
Link lowers the fist and shrugs.
"... Beautiful, my princess... So?... About Vah Naboris... Can you tell me something about the divine beast?"
The princess lifts the helmet up a little while tilting the head up to prevent the helmet from falling back down.
" ... Well... Vah Naboris will attack everyone who gets too close... If you aren't careful, you will get zapped by its lightning... And that's why..." she tells and grunts when the helmet slides down again. She adjusts the helmet and smirks at Link.
"...- Why I needed the helmet you brought me... It will protect me from the lightning..." she adds.
Link raises an eyebrow. Not sure how he should feel about it. So, the princess is protected... But, what about him? Is he supposed to be her stupid shield who gets cooked in the attack zone?
The princess notices the confusion and the gloomy look in Link's eyes.
"... So... I will be the distraction to Vah Naboris..." she clicks the tongue.
Link jolts grunting.
" Eh?... Distraction? What are you talking about?" He asks curiously, and the dark look in the eyes vanished right away.
The princess smiles smugly.
" I mean... Since I am protected from its lightning ... It would only be fair if I take the biggest risk where I try to distract Vah Naboris while you safely attack it... I suggest you are attacking its hooves with bomb arrows... And once the divine beast has fallen down to the ground, you should board it... Find the lost mirror piece and make sure Vah Naboris gets back its control from evil..."
Link parts the lips a little where he exhales softly. Feeling how he slowly starts getting some kind of respect for the princess. She might look very young. But she isn't treating others as they are things she could use to her liking.
The hylian nods.
" Deal..."
The princess exhales in relief.
" Good... And since you aren't supposed to be in the town due you are a man... I suggest we meet up outside the walls... South from Gerudo town by the outpost... I will have sand seals ready for us..." she explains and glances down at Linkly, who hasn't made any sound since they entered the throne room.
"... How about him? "
Link flinches where he turns around and looks over the shoulder down at Linkly.
For a brief moment, a dark thought passed his mind. Maybe the parasite inside Linkly's womb would get killed if Linky gets zapped by Vah Naboris? And wouldn't risk his life any longer?!
The hylian shakes the thought away. It's an awful thought... Even though it might save a life. Linkly's life.
"No?" Riju asks and takes Link's head gesture as he answered her.
Link gasps and turns back at her with worries in the eyes.
" I ehm... No... " he sighs.
"... I don't think he should help us... He is fighting something else at the moment... And shouldn't join the battle without a clear head..." he explains.
The princess stays silent for a while until she nods.
" Alright... I think you are right. Besides... I'm sure it's easier to distract Vah Naboris if there aren't too many people to get its attention... "
*** A few moments later***
Link gives Linkly a nervous look from the shrine outside the walls to the town.
"... You don't mind if I'm leaving you here while I'm taking care of the divine beast?"
The smaller hylian looks tiredly up at him.
"... N-no... Besides... I'm kinda used to it by now..." he shrugs.
"... And I'm kinda tired ..." he adds mostly to himself.
Link's face wrinkles into a grimace when he gets a frown. Not sure if Linky was accusing him of leaving him behind... Or something.
He scoffs.
" Well... I don't think- ... It would be good if you got hitted by the lightning in your- ... Ehm..." he averts the eyes and furrows the eyebrows.
"... -Current situation..." he clears the throat and doesn't wanna to mention the growing child. He even barely wanna think about it either.
Linkly nods.
"... Yeah... Maybe not..."
Link glances back at him.
" So... I'm leaving now... Try not doing anything reckless, okay?" He points out and gets another nod from him.
Even though it feels wrong leaving him behind, he is feeling somewhat relieved when he starts walking toward the south.
Luckily for him, it's evening, and the heat feels kinda manageable. Kinda lukewarm. The wind blows softly at him and runs through the hair.
Hopefully, it's a good sign...
Linky follows Link's movements with the eyes for a while.
Then he sighs and starts walking toward the gate to reenter the town.
A man stands outside the walls and tries peeking curiously into the town.
Linkly raises an eyebrow and starts eyeing him up and down. The man seems to have a few pounds too much. The hair is dark, and he has eyeglasses. Except that, he isn't looking very unique. A hylian. Nothing more. And nothing less.
It seems as if Linkly accidentally stared a bit too long at the man, 'Cause he notices how Linkly looked at him.
The man flinches and turns toward him while eyeing Linkly curiously up and down.
"OH?!" He bursts out and startled Linkly, who shyly starts averting the eyes while the heart pounds faster.
The man chuckles and walks toward him.
Linkly stiffens and swallows hardly.
The man smiles widely.
" It seems it's my lucky day~... I have been trying to find a cute woman for a long while now... And here you come... Looking like my kind of dream woman!... Blue eyes... Blond hair... And tender... You are perfect!"
The blonde hylian laughs nervously. How did he get a creep on him?!
The stranger grabs his hand in his. And makes Linkly to gasp jolting where an uneasy feeling runs through the body.
"... So?... Are you here alone? Do you want to join a little journey with me?... I want to find a statue who looks like a sword... It can be our date~" he suggests and keeps eyeing Linkly as the eyes were trying to see through the clothes.
Linkly let's out another awkward laugh who sounds as a grunt.
He tries protesting by shaking the head and taking the hand back from the man.
But the man prevents him from getting the hand back by grasping it tighter. Creeping Linkly out even more.
" Oh?... You aren't very talkative?... That's no problem for me... It's only charming, and I love when women know their place..." he says in a low voice where the other hand starts running down along the side of Linkly's body by his waist. Giving Linkly goosebumps in displeasure from the touch.
Linkly's heart skips a beat where he froze while an unpleasant feeling of being in a familiar situation runs through his mind.
The moment when the man's hand starts sliding behind Linkly's hip to touch his backside, one of the guards from the gate notices them.
"OI!... WHAT ARE YOU DOING? DIDN'T WE TOLD YOU TO LEAVE!!!?" she shouts while moving toward them with the spear pointing toward the creep whose hands flinched away from Linkly.
The man looks rather pale and starts stuttering an excuse before he is hurrying to leave.
Linkly stares shocked at him with the feeling of the heart pounding somewhere in the throat.
It happened so fast... So, he can barely understand what just happened with him.
The guard scoffs and shakes the head while tilting the spear up with its end at the sandy ground.
"... I hope karma will get him one day... Harassing girls like this... Unacceptable..." she mutters and glances down at the hylian.
" Are you alright, little Vai? He didn't hurt you?"
Linkly jolts and looks up at her with a gasp. It feels as if he is letting go of air he has been holding
He blinks confused.
Then he shakes the head.
The guard gives him a smile.
" Good... And if he ever harass you again, don't hesitate to let us know..." she tells him and gets a nod before she turns around to walk back to the gate.
The hylian looks toward the direction where the creep walked. Only a few meters away, he can see how the man sits down underneath a 'tent'. There, a cloth attached to a few sticks works as a shelter.
The man is probably waiting until he can find his next victim... Or when the guards have forgotten about him.
Linkly shudders and walks back into the town... At least he would be safe in there... As long he keeps his disguise as woman...
*** By the outpost ***
The princess is already waiting by the outpost with two sand seals.
She brights up when she sees Link.
" Good... You are here..." she says when a loud stomping sound muffled her voice a little. The sandy ground starts shaking.
Link gives the princess with the big helmet a short look while the eyes pass her to look toward the sound where it came from. Vah Naboris.
He notices how electricity seems vibrating through the ground when the camel takes a step and retouch the ground with one of the hooves.
That... Might be a problem.
The hylian looks curiously down at the sand seals.
"... And these animals will move swiftly through the sand?... I am not very eager to get hitted by electricity 'Cause the seal can't get away in time..."
Riju chuckles.
"... Don't worry... These sand seals move very swiftly through the sand... so fast that you might miss shooting at Vah Naboris' hooves..."
Link gives her a cold glare for a brief moment.
"... Yeah, sure... Don't worry about that... I won't miss my target..." he let's out a dry laugh and walked toward the sand seal who wasn't standing closest to Riju.
The hylian starts patting the animal with a careful touch. Receiving a very delighted sound from the seal in return.
Riju gives Link a short look before looking over the shoulder at the divine beast.
"... So... How about we get started? I take Patricia while..."
"Patricia?" He asks and stands upright where he blinks confused.
The princess smiles and makes a hand gesture to the blue sand seal.
" ... Patricia is my favorite sand seal... She isn't only the fastest seal... I also got her from my mother as the last gift before she passed away..."
Link nods slowly.
"... I'm sorry about your loss..." he politely says while the thoughts drift away to his own mother. Will she always remain petrified? Or, he will find a way to break her curse and make her mobilize again?
He shudders from the thought of seeing her and the rest of the villagers in the ordon village as stones.
Riju shrugs.
"... Let's get started instead of living in the past... Vah Naboris is preventing my people, and visitors from moving freely... And that's a huge problem... If we are stuck here... The gerudo race will soon die out since we can't find any mate... And I can't let that happen, or letting my people living in fear of moving outside the walls of the gerudo town... So... If you are ready, let's take down Vah Naboris and bring peace ..." she tells him and gets up on the shield who is placed upside down on the ground. The princess grasps the reins.
" Remember... Target its hooves... And avoid its lightning... And when Vah Naboris is down... You should enter and perish the darkness who has the divine beast in its control..."
Link nods.
" Alright... And I am ready. Don't worry about me...Only make sure you don't get hurt..." he grins and steps up on the shield to the other sand seal. With confidence, he picks the straps in the hands where he ties them to the belt around his lower waist. Since he needs to use a bow without having to worry about the reins.
A moment later, they both get their sand seals to move toward Vah Naboris, where Riju goes first. Making sure Vah Naboris will see her first and pay most attention to her. And giving Link the chance to surprise attack its hooves without risking to get zapped by a lightning.
*** A few moments later ***
Link walks slightly nervously through the inside of the divine beast. Feeling worried that Zant will appear around the corner. Trying to get under his skin and putting fear in his head.
Last time, Zant gave him a show where a shadow version of Linkly accused him of hurting him. There Linkly already was dying 'Cause of him...Which turned out to be true... Did Zant know about the pregnancy at that time? Or, it was a coincidence?
Zant has always been a creep around him. Taunting and assaulting him where the creature loved seeing fear in his eyes... And it worked. Even though Link thought for a long while, Zant was dead, he couldn't still get him out from his head and dreams. There, the dreams were more as nightmares.
***
Link exhales in relief when he finally reaches the spirit of Urbosa. It seems Zant isn't in sight today.
The green clothed man smiles and walks slightly cooky toward her.
" ... Hi, you must be Urbosa... Ganondorf's cousin?" He points out and raises an eyebrow at the end.
The spirit hums and starts eyeing him where she puts a hand on the hip.
" Yes, I am... And a little bird has told me, you married him?"
Link shrugs.
" ... I won't deny 'Cause you are right... A short period after I saved Calatia and freed Ganondorf from his curse, I... Or I mean, we... Fell in love and got married... But now... It seems -..."
Urbosa sighs.
"... And now he has once again lost control of himself... And not only has Calatia got a curse... But hyrule is also a victim of his evil side..."
Link jolts.
" But! It's not his fault! The yiga did something with him, and I think the tw- ..."
The tall lady nods.
" And the creatures from the twilight realm might be able to help you with that... Therefore, you need to repair the mirror we have in gerudo town.."
"Yes!... So, I need the last piece you should have according to Princess Riju..." he says excitedly. Maybe he gets a chance to reach Midna before Zant can prevent him.
The spirit sighs and shakes the head.
" I would gladly help you... Sadly, I threw the mirror piece in Death Mountain... And right now, no one can enter Death Mountain since another divine beast is causing a problem there..."
Even though the hope wasn't gone, Link still gets a bit gloomy from the news. So, he needs to beat another divine beast before he could enter the twilight realm?!
Urbosa looks to the side while thoughtfully squinting the eyes. There must be something she can help him with.
Then she looks back at him.
" ... I might not have the mirror piece... But I have something else for you..." she starts telling him.
The hylian hums asking and looks curiously at her.
The Gerudo woman flickered with the fingers where a small strap popped up. A necklace in black leather.
Link grunts confused, and takes the necklace in the hand.
"... A ... Necklace?... " he raises an eyebrow. With a doubtful feeling nagging in the backhead.
Urbosa nods.
"... Wear the necklace, and you should have easier to control the beast on nights with the blood moon on the sky..."
Link glares at her with an annoyed look.
"... I'm not a damn dog who needs a collar... So, no thanks... I think I will refuse to accept your 'little gift'..." he scoffs and holds the necklace rudely out toward her.
The spirit smirks.
"... Are you sure?" She teases and startles Link.
" What?" He gasps.
Urbosa shrugs.
" I mean... If you want to risk someone you hold dear to get killed since you can't control yourself, then you can give the 'little gift' back... I know what I would do... But that's up to you... "
Link stares shocked at her. Then, he looks thoughtfully down at the necklace, with insight about the situation. She has right. He doesn't have the opportunity to refuse such a gift.
If he can't control himself during nights with the blood moon on the sky, then he is a danger for others... So, he should take every chance he can to prevent such a situation in the first place.
He sighs.
"... Well... Since it would be very impolite to refuse a gift... Then... Thank you..." he says where he mumbles at the end with a small blush. Sneakily shoving the necklace in the pouch.
Urbosa chuckles and crosses the arms.
"... You are welcome, little wolf... And don't worry... The day you take care of my cousin, I will support you from here... So, until then... I wish you luck..."
*** A few moments later ***
Linkly walks out from the town with wolfLink walking next to him.
The small hylian looks worried at him.
"... Alright... We are outside the town... What do you want to talk with me about?... Are we going somewhere?"
The wolf sighs and turns back to his hylian form when he is hidden behind the shrine.
"... Yes... I think you should get back to Zora domain..." he says seriously and could barely look at Linkly where shock and sorrow start spreading across the other's face. Link is pretending he is busy with getting the clothes back on. A reason why he can't look at him.
Linkly parts the lips slowly where he clears the throat and furrows the eyebrows.
" Zora domain?... Why?" He asks confused and don't understand what they have to do over there. He gets a bad feeling inside him. As Link wants to get rid of him.
Link sighs and confirms Linkly's worries without sugar coating it.
"... Why?... Simple... You are not in any condition to travel on a journey and putting yourself in danger... Not only that, Sidon is at Zora domain... And I think you should spend time with him..." he explains and wants to ease some of the guilt of being the main reason for Linkly's bad health. The reason why Linkly is most likely is going to die...
He stiffened from that thought... And the only chance to stop thinking about it would be to avoid him. Stop seeing him.
The thought of the thing inside Linkly makes him angry and disgusted... And right now, he doesn't want to get reminded of the 'child'.... So, the easiest way would be to separate from Linkly... At least until he has saved hyrule and Calatia...
And due to his part in Linkly's slow death, he doesn't deserve to be around him... So, Sidon should get him back...
"... I'm sorry..."