Chapter Text
Link wrapped the scarf over his face and hair, hoping that in the night this might give him at least some anonymity.
Take what precautions I must to feel safe? He took a deep breath and glanced back toward the room’s exit, where he could see the faint shadow of his guards barely outlined on the cloth. I want peace too. He clenched his treacherous hands so they wouldn’t shake so much. I have to make this work somehow.
Link moved quietly to the window, his bag slung over a shoulder. He’d keep what weapons he could feasibly carry on himself with him at all times. Anything left in the room would be things he could guiltlessly leave behind.
He squeezed through the narrow opening and carefully lowered himself to drop to the balcony a floor below. At least the Gerudo palace was mostly wide and not tall. It wasn’t hard to climb the rest of the way down to ground level in the shadows.
Here in the center of the Gerudo lands, he felt ill-at-ease, largely because he knew he was surrounded by possible hostiles with no way out should things go wrong.
Having weapons of his own was one thing when he was forced to meet with that king, but having a way to get out without leaving anything behind would be even more important.
He pulled the scarf up higher over his nose. He felt obvious even still, but at least his light skin and hair were somewhat covered. His height and build already marked him an oddity, but his hair and skin would blaze in the darkness and call all attention to him wherever he went here.
He adjusted his bag and hurried through the shadows near the palace. He’d already walked these roads once, escaping their prison the week before, so he knew he could get by unnoticed, especially if they weren’t specifically looking for him this time.
He just needed to find the best and clearest path, drop off his belongings where he—and no one else—would find them, and then return to his room before the guards noticed he was missing. He didn’t know what would happen if a foreign diplomat snuck out without his guards. He was already barely allowed into the city as it was.
He hesitated at a section of the palace he recognized. The fancy balconies matched what he’d seen when he’d dined with the Gerudo king.
Link shrunk further into the shadows, wanting to be seen by that man least of all. He scanned the area, and as if in confirmation of his suspicions, he noticed more guards around this section than the others.
Well, this route is definitely not one I’ll choose. He turned to slip back through the shadows and find a new path, but movement above made him hesitate.
He peered into the distance. Chest tightening around his heart, Link leaned against the wall. The Gerudo King stood on his balcony, staring out at the shadows of the city and backlit by the lights from his room.
It won’t be over until the Dark Beast is defeated…
Link gripped the hilt of his sword and shoved down the thoughts. He couldn’t go around attacking foreign kings, especially not when he was sent as a diplomat of peace. Besides. Last time they met, King Ganondorf only became aggravated after Link drew his silly little dagger.
Link pressed against the walls, but couldn’t take his eyes off the figure above. From this distance, without those hate-filled eyes locked on him, he thought he could see something he’d seen before. It was a ridiculous feeling, really, but one that told him they weren’t meant to be fighting.
The king moved.
Link flinched as the big man looked both ways, nearly directly at Link’s hiding spot, then spun around and began to lower himself over the edge of the balcony.
He was… climbing down?
Panic raced into Link’s throat and he scrambled back a few steps to bump into the wall. He saw me? Did he see me!?
He nearly drew the Master Sword, but he caught himself in time. Glints of light would definitely give his position away. There were plenty of guards, if King Ganondorf had noticed him he would have just called some of them to deal with the issue—not climb dangerously off his third story balcony to deal with it himself.
At least, Link hoped that was the case. Forcefully, he released his grip on his sword and pressed his hand against the wall instead, watching as the king made his not-so-graceful decent down the balcony.
He got stuck for a full two minutes at one point, reaching for a foothold that was barely out of the way and keeping himself up with his arms alone.
The guards weren’t expecting their king to try to leave—or else they were totally used to it—because they didn’t even glance behind them as he climbed down.
He was dressed not in the finery Link had seen him in the first two times, but in simple trousers, a vest, some armor pieces, and a scarf wrapped around his head, as though trying to hide his massive bulk and manly build with that one commodity.
Link’s cheeks tingled and he fingered his own scarf. Maybe it was stupid to come out here with it as his only disguise.
The king made it to ground level and Link hung around to watch, perhaps out of some mislead curiosity, but he just couldn’t imagine why the man hadn’t taken the stairs.
King Ganondorf took stock of his surroundings once he reached the ground, then he slipped into the shadows, clearly trying to avoid his guards.
Link furrowed his brow. Just where is he going? Now more than curiosity drove him as he stepped in the shadows and followed the king while remaining hidden himself. What sort of secrets does he have to hide, even from his own? Is this part of the reason he hates me so much?
They left the guards behind, and Link actually followed the king of the Gerudo out of the palace walls and into the city. It was here the big man relaxed more, though he still looked on edge.
Link didn’t let down his guard. He didn’t want to be caught by the king even more than he wanted to avoid the Gerudo guards.
Should he go back? Tell Raim what was going on? She mentioned he wasn’t in his right mind, what if he was leaving now to wreak some havoc?
Link hesitated at a corner, getting ready to turn around, but a low grunt drew his attention.
King Ganondorf looked actually scared as he ducked behind a pile of crates, on the other side, a Gerudo Warrior Link thought he might recognize as the spy from the Twinrova’s hideout was walking down the dark street.
She looked suspicious, and if she checked behind those crates, the king would be caught.
Link forced himself to relax. If the Warriors found their king, then Link didn’t have to worry about explaining to Ralim why he was out there in the middle of the night without his guards. That was just fine with him.
Still… His eyes drew back to the big Gerudo man, hunched over and looking for everything like a cornered rabbit. Clearly, the man really didn’t want to be caught.
And… he didn’t look like the king who had tried to strangle Link, or the one who threatened him at dinner. He looked like the one who had stumbled over his words and looked so uncomfortable and uncertain in front of Link.
The Warrior, Nabooru, stepped closer and Link saw the way her king tensed, as if realizing for the first that he was caught. Even this close to being found out, he didn’t even twitch a finger toward his weapon.
Gah… Link sighed. Fiiiiine. He dug into his bag and pulled out his handy Laughing Mask. With any luck, Nabooru would be distracted long enough for the big man to sneak way, and she wouldn’t remember that Link had worn this same mask in the Twinrova’s hideout.
He fitted it to his face, mentally thanking Ruplen again for the item, before he stepped out from the alley just a tad and scuffed his foot on the ground.
The noise was enough to draw her attention, and in the darkness of the night, Nabooru broke into laughter.
With her gaze turned, the king took his chance and bolted. However, Link noticed orange eyes pointed in his direction for a split second.
Just great. Should’ve let him get caught.
Link ducked back into the cover of his alley, tore off the mask, and while Nabooru was still recovering her breath from her laughing fit, he darted into the darkness and away.
Hopefully that wouldn’t give him away, but also… he couldn’t let the king get far without seeing what he was up to. Now—having helped him—he felt doubly responsible to make sure nothing went wrong and that the king wasn’t doing anything suspicious.
At least, if he was, by helping him Link only gained himself the opportunity to find out what and why. Hopefully Ralim wouldn’t be too upset with him for that. After all, she did say Link needed to learn to feel at ease so he could make this thing work. Knowing what Ganondorf was up to would certainly ease his worries.