Linked Through The Ages: A Linked Universe AU

Chapter 4: Too Late

She had to find him. That was the only thought she had as the sand swept past her bare legs and feet.  A pair of dark blue eyes peered from under the tattered cloth she used as a hood.  Various sunburns covered her skin and pitch black waves and curls peeked out from beneath her hood.  A dark, threadbare buff hung around her neck, contrasting with the sun washed maroon of her cloak.

"Please...where are you? I need to find you before...," She trailed off, her hoarse whispers being snatched by the dry wind, whipping across the sandy desert in front of her.

Hours had passed by as the girl wondered through the vast expanse of sand before her.  Sweat dripped down her brow as she pressed her palm against a large stone.  She dropped a worn, leather satchel to the ground and sat with her back to the rock, pressing herself against it and the shield slung over her shoulder.

She opened her satchel, pulling a small flask and torn, ragged map from the inside of her bag.  She opened the flask and attempted to drink from it.  A drop barely touched her cracked lips. She shook the bottle, sighing when it did not emit the sound of splashing water.  She stuffed the bottle back into the bag and unfurled the map that now lay in her lap.

Various pen marks were drawn over different areas of the map.  Several places were circled and even more were crossed out in a rough manner.  The girl took a pen that had been stuffed inside of the curled paper and crossed out the name 'Gerudo Desert' along with the surrounding area with an exasperated sigh.

She stared at the map a minute longer, glancing occasionally at the camel-shaped machine, standing tall upon the cliff side, many miles away.  She sighed, crumpling the piece of paper in her hands and stuffing it back in the bag.  She dropped her head, resting her forehead against her scuffed knees.  Her arms wrapped around her legs and she clasped her hands together, hugging herself. "Please...let me fix this...I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry..." Her murmured prayers trailed off as a tear slipped down her cheek.

"Hey! Ya lost sweetheart?"

Her neck snapped upward.  She spotted the man who called her, jogging along the sand towards her.  She was used to the men who traveled through the desert; most of them young and naive, leaving their parents' house for the first time in their adult lives to brazenly find love with the woman of Gerudo Town.  They were shameless in their attempts at wooing any woman or girl they found slightly attractive, whether said woman expressed her desire to be pursued or not.  She couldn't count how many times she had run far into the desert to escape their patronizing calls or had laughed at their feeble attempts at seducing the soldiers who guarded the entrance to the unique city of feminists.  Sometimes, on the rare occasion she was bored, she would pull pranks on them.  She found it hilarious how the smitten men would do absolutely anything for her attention, even to the point of humiliation.  Today, she didn't feel like humoring the lovestruck man.

She wrapped her calloused fingers around the red hilt of the worn, curved blade strapped on her hip, in case this stranger wouldn't take 'no' for an answer.  She grabbed the satchel from off the ground, allowing her hood to fall further over her eyes, showing her disinterest.  She turned from the stranger, heading in the opposite direction of Kara Kara Bazaar.  She reasoned that if he was looking for a girlfriend, he wouldn't follow her very far into the harsh desert.

"Hey! I just wanted to talk to ya. You looked kinda sad," He continued, jogging after the girl doing her best to show her indifference to his greetings.  She walked faster as his footsteps became audibly closer.  Something felt wrong.  Very wrong...she could feel it...

"Where ya going? Come on...won't ya stay and talk? I'll buy ya a drink if that's whatcha want,"  he continued to press.

The wind had begun to pick up and the girl noticed streaks of a foreboding red, painting the sky against impossibly dark clouds.  She thought it had been much earlier in the day.  At least, too early for sunset.  Again, her conscious nagged at her, telling her something was terribly wrong.