The Legend of Zelda: Cursebreaker

The Broken Blade

When they set camp again, Link saw Malon off. There hadn't been much to say during the evening's preparations, but before she left she clasped his shoulders tightly. The look in his old friend's eyes was fearful and he couldn't blame her, nerves simmering just under his own skin. "Take care of yourself, Link. I'll be heading to Faron Province to find work, so if... If you're alright, after all of this, come find me?" Goddesses, she'd lost so much, and now he could tell she was afraid of losing him too. He knew he was the last scrap of familiarity she had left, and guilt gnawed at him that he couldn't come with her.

But he needed to do this. The goddesses had chosen him, Hyrule was counting on him, and he needed to see Zelda. Though he knew he wouldn't like what he found, he needed to know why.

Link cleared his throat. "Of course. I'll come find you, Malon, and then we'll find Talon." He received a watery smile in return, and then she had mounted her horse and set off across the vast expanse that was Hyrule Field. It worried him that she would be making the trip alone, but she could handle herself in a pinch. When he could no longer see her, he set about helping anyone who needed an extra hand.

And then it was time, and they marched on Castle Town.

-----

The desert wasn't such a bad place to be, Zelda thought, if one did not have to wade their own way through the sands. Though sitting atop a horse behind a Gerudo swordswoman wouldn't have been her first choice of transport... The situation as a whole put her on edge. Her life was in their hands, and while they had been nothing but friendly so far she could not help but recall the warnings about them that Impa had drilled into her head: Ganon was one of them. They were enemies to the Sheikah. Thieves, raiders, usurpers. And Zelda knew there was at least some truth to those words, since she and Link had been attacked earlier. They'd taken Epona and her harp!

But something about that attack had always felt a little off. She'd chosen to ignore it at the time, in favor of comforting Link about the loss of Epona and forging on ahead to Kakariko, but there were too many things that hadn't added up. Why had there only been two of them, that deep into Hyrule? Why had they only taken Epona and a single bag of goods, when Link clearly had such a fine blade? Even if they hadn't recognized what it was, swords of good craftsmanship were still expensive. And then the one woman had just dropped her sword and run! The Gerudo were skilled warriors, and that was too large a mistake to be anything but deliberate!

And now they were offering Epona back in exchange for the very same sword. It was a setup, it had to be, and yet the mark on her hand did not ache in warning as it had when the darknuts had been about to ambush her. And since it was not giving her a clear sign to escape, the only course of action that Zelda could think of was to simply follow their lead. Without supplies, she would likely die in the desert anyway if she did not accept their help.

A large shadow passed overhead and Zelda's hand went to her knife on instinct. Her eyes turned skyward, but the harsh sun temporarily obscured her vision. There were no clouds, and she couldn't recall any winged species that large native to the desert... An aeralfos? No, she could pick out the general silhouette now. Too bird-like. A kargarok?

Her eyes adjusted and Zelda inhaled sharply, eyes wide. That was... Those feathers! The soft shade of pink striped with yellow was unfamiliar, but the shape of their owner was distinctive.

One of the Gerudo had a loftwing.

But... Batreaux had said she was the first in an age to call their bird! Suspicion flared in her mind before she purposefully smothered it: Batreaux had done nothing but help her, and to doubt his intentions now would be rather horrible of her. Zelda supposed that unless the owner flew to Skyloft themselves, it would be impossible for the friendly demon to tell if a loftwing had just flown off for a bit or if they had found their wingless counterpart. Though she had no idea why a Gerudo had one!