Gerudo Forest

Chapter 55

Three days had passed and Impa stayed true to her promise. She still seemed perturbed by Ganon's presence, but she no longer started fights. She even started eating meals with them, no longer cooking a separate dinner. Nabooro took notice of the change, but whether Impa told her the reason, Melissa didn't know. They now stood on a hill, as the sun was setting, overlooking Kakariko Village. 

"What have they done?!?!?" Impa asked mortified at the state of her village. 

It looked almost as bad as the last village they had passed, only there were still people here. An attempt to repair had been halted because Agahnim had apparently taken over the city with monsters. Stalfos guards patrolled the streets and people skirted around them giving the skeletons a wide birth. Melissa was surprised the villagers were brave enough to come out with such horrors walking about, but the monsters didn't seem to have any interest in the villagers. Melissa figured they were more of a deterrent for a rescue mission, as well as to keep the inhabitants from rebelling.  

"It's going to be difficult to sneak in with all those monsters patrolling the streets." Ganon observed. 

"You want to sneak in? Why not just face them head on?" Nabooro questioned unsheathing her twin blades, with a wicked smile. 

"Because, we don't know how many there are. Be sure there are more than the handful you see in the village." Ganon replied.  

There seemed to be something else on his mind though. 

"Do you sense him?" He whispered to Melissa. 

He must of meant Agahnim. She reached out and to her relief felt nothing.  

"All clear." she whispered back. 

"That's good." he said with a meager smile.  

Even with that smile, he had looked a little disappointed at her news. Melissa shook her head. He really did want a fight, but he was either being cautious for her or had wanted to take the wizard by surprise.  

Nabooro frowned noticing the exchange between the two.  

"We need to disguise ourselves." Ganon said a little louder, now to everyone. 

"And why would I need to disguise myself in my own village?" Impa replied sounding a little cross. 

Melissa gave the sage a look and Impa scowled remembering her promise. 

"Fine whatever." the sage grumbled. 

Ganon smirked as he dismounted, but the sage didn't notice.  

"Did you pack something with which to disguise yourself?" Ganon asked, holding out his hand to help Melissa down. 

"Well I bought a cloak and I brought your spare clothes." Melissa answered with a nod, before taking his hand to disembark. 

"Good girl." he grinned ruffling her hair. 

"Hey!" she protested, furiously trying to straighten it back out. 

Opening her bag, he rummaged through till he found his clothes. He gave her a teasing wink, before turning to walk to the nearest group of trees. She watched Ganon longingly as he disappear, almost wishing to follow. What was she doing? She needed to keep her head in the game. Ganon would probably find it amusing, but she didn't need to be distracted at a time like this.  

"You okay?" Nabooro asked when Melissa just stood staring in the direction he had vanished. 

Melissa blushed and quickly turned to rummage through her bag. She didn't want either sage to see her embarrassment. She pulled out her cloak. It didn't feel cold enough to be wearing something like this yet, but it was the only thing she had to cover her face. She put it on and pulled the hood up. Nabooro and Impa donned similar garments. Hopefully no one would be curious enough to try and peek at their faces.