Break The Cycle

chapter 10

"Aunt Riyoko!" you hugged the long-haired Gerudo tightly. "And Aunt Malo!" You hugged the raven-haired Hylian. "How have the two of you been?"

"We've been alright, kiddo," Malo said, gently patting the top of your head.

Riyoko squinted at Link, who had also set off running, and pointed to him. "I see you've finally found a knight!"

"Mhm! We even decided to hold a tournament a few days ago, and he won," you explained, letting go of Malo and placing your hands on your hips.

Malo folded her arms. "Has he been keeping you safe?"

Riyoko tutted, shaking her head. "Oh, love, you don't need to worry all the time. Besides, Y/N can take care of herself, can't you?"

Link caught up to you, stopping to catch his breath.

"Of course! And there wasn't much trouble on the way here either. Just a few Bokoblins, nothing to worry about," you smiled. "Link, these are my aunts, Riyoko and Malo."

He bowed his head, then glanced back at you.

"And this is Link. He's from... uh..."

"Hateno!" the Hylian interrupted, extending a hand to shake Riyoko's.

"Hmm... are you good at fighting?" she asked him, glancing at her wife.

Malo scoffed. "He better be! I swear, if you let something happen to my niece, I'll-"

"There are no need for threats," Riyoko interrupted, placing a hand on Malo's shoulder. "Are there?"

You laughed at the two. "So... what are we waiting for? Let's go already."

As the four of you reached Kara Kara Bazaar, your aunts insisted that you and Link stayed here until the morning. You reluctantly agreed, watching the two return to Gerudo Town.

The innkeeper didn't seem that happy with the pair of you waking her up in the middle of the night, but apologised when she noticed who it was, saying she was just tired.

You changed into your nightgown, smiling. Link had insisted you sleep in comfortable clothing, so he had left the room as you put it on.

Calling for him to come back in, you folded your 'casual' outfit and placed it on the chest of drawers. Link sunk onto his bed with a sigh, glancing over at you.

"I noticed Riyoko and Malo had rings on. I'm guessing they got married?" he asked.

You nodded, "Oh, yeah. Probably... let's see, if Malo was 15 when they met and 35 now... they got married 5 years after meeting, so it's been 15 years."

"I've never known anyone have such a long marriage, y'know," he stated, before closing his eyes. "Goodnight, princess."

"Goodnight, Link," you whispered with a smile, getting into bed and falling asleep yourself.

The next morning, you got out of bed and headed down to get breakfast. Of course, this worried Link, who had no idea what had happened to you. After apologising repeatedly and assuring him it wouldn't happen again, he finally dug into his meal.

Riyoko and Malo arrived shortly after, and the four of you set off to Gerudo Town at last.

"Had anything happen while I've been gone?" you asked, looking between the pair. They glanced at each other, then proceeded to mouth words at each other as if you weren't standing right there. "Uh, guys? What is i-"

"We found somewhere we think might be ruins? Except it's guarded by a Molduga," Malo explained, pointing to a small area outside of the town. You could even see it from this distance, a small mound of sand wiggling about.

"Oh, it's over there? Lucky we have two excellent fighters, eh?" you smiled, elbowing Link in the side.

"We can't find a way to defeat it. Our soldiers all tried, but... weapons don't work against it. Until then, no-one gets in - or out - of those ruins. I bet there's lots of good stuff in there..." Riyoko said, gazing dreamily into space.

Your smile turned into a frown. "But as you just said, weapons don't work against it. How would we kill that thing?"

"I think I could figu- hold on. Do you think there's another entrance? Like... not near the Molduga?" Link asked, shrugging.

"No idea. It's worth a shot..." Malo smiled, folding her arms across her chest.

The four of you thought it would be a good idea to investigate the area first. Finding another entrance was plan B. In the event that the Molduga was alerted to your presence, you would all climb up one of the many pillars surrounding it.

"Look!" you exclaimed, pointing at a torch bracket a few feet away. "There's four torches there. What if we have to light them?"

"I think you're right. Hold on, I brought fire arrows," Malo said, casually pulling out the weapons from her quiver.

She aimed carefully, then shot each torch with her bow, not missing a single one.

Nothing special happened.

"I thought that would work," you frowned.

In her frustration, Malo shot another arrow, this time aiming for the Molduga. She shot several, not knowing the creature was now vulnerable.

"Honey, stop! Maybe we cou-"

But then the Molduga flopped over, turning into a black cloud. "Oh. Nice."

You jumped down from the pillar, closing your eyes to avoid getting sand in them, and began to walk to where the monster had been.

Suddenly, the ground started to rumble, and slowly opened up.

Link gasped. "What the-"

The rumbling stopped. You peered down into the newly-opened abyss, looking back at your companions. "Guys? We found the entrance..."

They all caught up, gazing into the hole as well.

"What are we waiting for?" Link asked, causing you all to turn to face him. "Let's go!"

He laughed, then ran past you all and jumped in.

"Does he have any regard for his safety?" Malo asked, sighing. You shook your head.

You and your aunts followed suit, jumping in. Riyoko screamed. A lot.

It turned out, the drop wasn't that far. You only fell for a couple of seconds, before landing with bent knees onto a stone floor.

You looked around the large room, noticing how the walls were absolutely covered in cracks. They all ranged in size; from the tiniest gap to meter long holes.

"This place must be so old..." you whispered, tracing your finger over a particularly long crack, then wiping it on your shirt due to a mix of dust and sand.

"What secrets might be here?" Link asked, standing by your side and crossing his arms.

Malo and Riyoko stood a little behind, gazing around the room themselves. The Gerudo headed over to a corner, picking up the scrolls and books hidden there.

She passed them to her wife. "Wonder what those are about. Can you figure it out?"

"No, I... I can't read this text," Malo frowned, wiping the cover of the first book. She then placed the pile onto a low table nearby, and grapped a scroll.

The Hylian female unrolled it, only to find that it was written in the same cryptic language as the book's title. "Hey, Y/N, Link, come here a minute!" You both walked over, and she passed you the scroll. "Do you know what language this is?"

You took it from her, scanning the foreign letters. "Well... if I had to guess, I'd say it's the Gerudo language? I could try to translate it..."

You cautiously placed the other scrolls and books into your bag.

Link looked around. "I don't see anything else of interest, besides an odd-looking wall- Wait! Is that a door? But there's no keyhole..."

"We can come back tomorrow, kid," Malo said, patting his shoulder. "We need to find an exit."