Alright, so on the last chapter, I know it said "Xalia! Gerudo!" in italics. Ignore that, please. Anyway, I'm having a lot of trouble on this story, so if you have any ideas, tell me what I should do next. I know it's been an insanely long time since I've last updated. Sorry about that! Enjoy!

Link took a cautious step forward, his hand immediately going to his sword, but nothing happened. He drew it anyway, the blade of the Master Sword glinting in the sunlight that revealed the dangers of the meadow to us.

I walked forward first, pulling Link with me by the hand, who hesitantly followed, eyes darting around and sword flashing in the sunlight, his hand clenching the ocarina.

"Link, really," I said to him as he became increasingly tense with every step. "What's the worst that can happen, now that we know what's in front of us--" I stopped speaking as he suddenly leapt forward and cleaved straight through the stem of a huge Deku Baba that had reared up straight in front of me, blue eyes flashing.

"That's what we need to worry about," Link muttered, cleaning his sword on his pant leg. "Insanity and all the things that come with it in this cursed place."

We kept walking until we got to the end of the "meadow." Link hadn't wanted to camp anywhere near this place, so it was long past dark, and my legs were burning.

I trudged forward, being reminded of all the times I had had to push myself onward through the many places my adventures had taken me, and finally we stepped out of the waist-high grass and onto a huge plateau. Nayru, the Goddess of Wisdom, was sitting cross-legged on the ground, eyes closed, her fingers gently moving across the strings of a lyre. She was apparently housing herself in a mortal body, a young girl in her twenties with hair and eyes turned silver by the goddesses' power.

She looked up as we stepped forward, and the Master Sword flashed as her eyes fell upon it. Nayru's human disguise smiled as she stood, the lyre disappearing inside her sparkling white cloak, and she stepped aside, revealing a mirror almost identical to the Mirror of Twilight, which is what we had used to come here in the first place.

"Goodbye," the last word floated on the wind for a moment too long as Nayru disappeared, fading into the breeze. I stepped forward as Midna plunged her hand into the mirror's iridescent surface, giving off a faint glow in the dark, and we were both sucked in with the familiar sensation of warping.

I stumbled on the sand, feeling almost as if I wanted to kiss the sweet ground of Hyrule.

"Good to be home," Midna said, her tone matching my thoughts. I nodded, and then asked, "Where to now?"

The Twili paused, thinking. "We could go to Hyrule Castle Town, maybe visit Zelda or Telma."

"That's as good idea as any," I said, nodding. "Shall we go?" Midna nodded, warping us both to Castle Town. We headed to Telma's first, planning on getting some food and a drink or two, and then sleeping at the inn above the tavern and going to see Zelda in the morning.

I knocked lightly, and the door was opened by Telma, round face and shining, warm brown eyes.

"Hey, honey!" she said, opening the door wider and welcoming us in. I was greeted enthusiastically by Ashei, Auru, and Shad, all of whom inquired as to whether I had found what they were looking for, how my adventures had been, etcetera. Telma got Midna and I a drink as I introduced her to the crowd. Auru remarked on how he knew I must have had some help, Ashei scoffed and asked her if she knew what a sword was, and Shad enthusiastically asked about her people and their culture. I chuckled and whispered a warning in Midna's ear as Shad began to go on a rant, though he was too absorbed to notice.

"Hey, Link," Ashei said, smiling warmly as she tipped her chair back on two legs, arms folded across her chest and one hand reaching out every now and then to take a drink out of the flask sitting on the table in front of her.

"Good to see you again," I replied as Midna began chatting with Shad, seeming to enjoy talking with him.

"Oh, Link, Midna," Telma said from behind the bar, putting down her rag and wineglass as she gestured to the back of the room, where a figure was sitting in the shadows. "We have a new addition to our group. She says that you can call her Xalia."

"Oh, I think we've already met," the figure replied, getting up and walking into the light. She was a Gerudo, with extremely tanned skin and red hair tied in a ponytail at the nape of her neck. Her eyes gleamed a harsh gold, but they had barely discernable flecks of violet in them.

"Have you?" Telma replied in surprise, looking at Midna and I. I took a moment to run through my memories, remembering the figure in the shadows that had been leaning against the building, just before we went into the meadow.

"Did my little song help?" Xalia asked with a slight smirk playing on her face, and I nodded.

"I didn't think I'd get a chance to thank you," I replied, carefully impassive. She seemed like the manipulative type, and if there was one thing I had learned from being the Hero, it was that you didn't trust people until you knew who they were, where they came from, and who they were allied with.

"So…" Xalia said, yawning and stretching. "I think I'll go to bed now. Thanks, Telma. Good meeting you all." Telma nodded, Ashei mumbled something that she was lucky Auru didn't hear, and Xalia turned to go up the stairs. As she did, the candlelight fell on a knife strapped to a sheath on her thigh, which she inconspicuously covered with her hand, her eyes narrowing as she saw that I had looked.

I felt my hand clench on my sword, automatically distrusting her as she disappeared into the shadows. Muffled thumps could be heard as she ascended the staircase, though I was sure that she could be silent when she needed to be.

"Link, honey?" Telma asked, and I tore my eyes from where Xalia used to stand. "You alright?"

"Fine," I muttered. "I just don't trust her, that's all."

"See?" Ashei asked suddenly. "I told you she was weird. Now Link agrees with me." I smiled slightly, sitting down on one of the chairs and pulling one up for Midna, who took it and sat down as we began talking.

At around midnight, Midna and I retired to our separate rooms, and I slowly drifted off, images of battle and bloodshed--my memories--flashing in my mind.

My eyes snapped open at the cold bite of steel pressed against my throat, and a low voice said, "Stand up, follow me, and don't try anything."

Years of experience told me that I was helpless in this situation, and I forced myself to remain calm, running through my repertoire of techniques--fighting without a sword. Things didn't look good.

My captor shoved me forward as I stood, knife at my back, and I walked down the hall obediently, wearing nothing but my leggings. I shivered once in the frigid night air, and I heard a satisfied "Ha!" behind me. The knife lowered, allowing me to turn and see who was holding it.

Xalia. I knew I should not have trusted her, and here I was. Shivering, unarmed, and with the tip of a dagger resting on my heart.

"Muscular, aren't we?" she remarked dryly, eyes traveling from my chest to my feet and back up again. I did nothing, thankful for the cold air that flushed my face and disguised the blood rushing to my cheeks. "Perhaps you could win in a fistfight. But I doubt it will come to that, as I doubt even you would be stupid enough to try and rebel against me, when I have a blade and you do not."

I shifted my weight from one foot to the other, considering my chances. Again, things didn't look good.

Xalia smirked, saying, "Go get dressed. We're leaving." She paused. "And don't try and use your sword, unless you want to see it thrown out the window."

I walked back down the hall, planning to take my sword and lead Xalia away, into Hyrule Field, where we could have a proper fight, but she leaned against the doorframe as I began to put my chain mail on. I raised my eyebrows at her, but she leered and said, "Go on. I'm just here to make sure you don't try anything. You know," Xalia's tone became thoughtful. "I didn't think it would be this easy. You're very docile, you know. From all the stories I've heard, I expected you to be kicking my butt right now." She shrugged and yawned. "I guess I was wrong."

My eyes darted to my sword, resting on the bed, but--as if reading my thoughts--Xalia stepped forward and grabbed it, saying, "I'll take that, thanks." Cursing her under my breath, I put the rest of my clothes on and kept myself from fingering the dagger in the magical pouch hanging on my belt. I had gotten a new one after my father's had been broken, but it just didn't feel the same. Even so, it was nice to know that I had a couple of tricks up my sleeve. "Go," Xalia snarled, shoving her jagged knife between my shoulder blades. "Quietly, or your little friends won't meet a very good fate."

Even though I hated being at the mercy of someone I knew so little about, I walked forward, no idea where we were going or what awaited me.

We walked for days, stopping only once a day and halting to rest at night. Finally, as we were crossing into the outer reaches of Hyrule, near a mountain range that wasn't far from the Yetis, Xalia began to slow. We passed under the shadow of the mountain, and it became clear to me that it was abandoned, and that we were far from civilization--even if Yeto and Yeta could be called civilization.

"Come on," Xalia snarled, pushing me forward. Resisting the impulse to whip around, grab my sword, and fight her, I gritted my teeth and kept going.

She pushed me towards the mountain until we finally got to a small tunnel at its base, which Xalia tapped with her sword. It became larger until the opening was huge, dripping and smelling akin to the stench of the Lantern Caverns. "Go on," Xalia said with a slight smirk, and--retaining some of my dignity--I walked forward, wishing that my sword were strapped to my back.

The opening shrank and disappeared when we were both in, something I found to be amazingly foreboding.

A figure seemed to melt out of the shadows, pale hands clasped together and black eyes glinting from underneath the person's hood.

"Slower than usual," it said in distaste. "I would have thought you wouldn't even need to wait until the Hero went to sleep."

"Well, I couldn't take chances," Xalia said uncomfortably. "And besides, I got him, didn't I? Isn't that what Ganon wanted?"

"Indeed," the cloaked figure murmured. "I will relieve you of him; you may go back to your little Telma's Bar and pretend nothing happened." Xalia nodded and stepped out, ducking out of the miniscule tunnel and disappearing into the night.

The figure's long fingers reached up and pulled its hood down, revealing two pitch-black eyes set in a pallid, ebony face that was framed with long, dark silver hair. "Come with me, Hero," he said, taking my shoulder and steering me through the tunnels. "And don't try anything."

I was shoved into a cell that smelled of death and decay, moldy bread and stale water all but thrown in after me. "Get used to it," the man said with a leering gleam in his black eyes. He turned to go, saying over his shoulder, "I'll be back later." And then there was pure darkness.

By magic or the natural lightlessness [yes, that is a word] of the cave, there was no light whatsoever. It was extremely unsettling, the way my eyes couldn't get used to it no matter how much my pupils dilated, and every movement in the dark seemed to take the shape of Ganondorf, or a sword raised high over my head.

Sorry about the abrupt ending. That's as far as I've gotten. Anyway...

What's going to happen next? I have no idea. That is for you to know and me to find out XD

R&R!