When Link stirred into consciousness, for a moment, he wished he could sink back under. The air was very warm, like a thick blanket wrapped around him. It was a struggle to even open his eyes, let alone lift his head. As he did, his surroundings came into focus. A small, empty room, sandstone walls and floor with a barred window to the outside, and a wooden door with a gap near the top. Sunlight leaked through the window, providing the only light.

   Despite his exhaustion, he tried to move, only to be restricted as cold loops dug into his wrists and ankles. He'd been chained to a wall, and the metal links only extended a few inches, leaving him little room to move. He wanted to cry out, but the gag in his mouth silenced him. Panic chased away more of the haze clouding his mind as he struggled. He was reminded of the other times he'd been restrained like this, feeling like he couldn't breathe.

   Stop it! he scolded himself, forcing himself to close his eyes and breathe deeply. What was he doing, acting like this? These weren't the vines of a Tangrowth or the tentacles of a Tentacruel. Arguably, this situation was even worse. How many times was he going to be locked up like this? He despised it with every fiber of his being. The Gerudo compared him to a wild Pokémon, even if it had been their fault that he ended up this way.

   After taking a few more calming breaths, Link had regained enough composure to better analyze his situation. The chains leading to his ankles had the most slack, and he could either choose to kneel or sit criss-cross. He chose the latter since it hurt his knees slightly less, though his wrists were still pinned up next to his face. Of course they wouldn't let him sit comfortably, let alone give him much room to move. He then reached out with his senses as far as he could. They swept across what felt like a large complex, with numerous auras walking through corridors. None were those he recognized, so only he had been captured.

   Only I was... Something in his chest twisted, and guilt rose in him. The fate of Zoroark was unquestionable. He hoped the Dark-type had passed before the Gerudo ended him themselves. Link didn't like the idea of the Gerudo putting Zoroark out of his misery. In their case, it didn't come off as an act of mercy.

   Link mourned for Zoroark a minute longer before reluctantly pulling himself back to the current situation. He had to figure out where he was. The one guard had mentioned bringing him to a fortress, and judging by the materials his cell was constructed out of along with how hot it was, he could guess that he had indeed been taken to the Ikana-Gerudo Fortress, so that was where he had to be.
 
   Link's heart sank. He already knew Zelda and Luce were going to be both pissed off and worried about him for letting this happen, and he apologized internally for it. He could only imagine what was going on back at the canyon, but he forced himself to shake it off. He and the others had prepared for this as best they could, and at least the worst case scenario turned out as good as it could have. All he had to do was escape.

   He did his best to monitor the auras around him as well as trying to figure out a way to free himself. Curses surged forth when he recalled that his lockpick had been tucked into the stitch-work of his pants pocket. There was no way he'd get ahold of them unless he could free one of his hands. Unfortunately, this wasn't possible then. The cuffs were too tight to slip out of, not unless he tried to break his thumbs beforehand.

   For what felt like hours, Link bided his time. It slowly grew more difficult as the warmth in his cell turned into an uncomfortable heat, thanks to the window. As he tried to wet his dry throat, he wondered how long he'd been passed out for. It could've been days for all he knew, though he didn't think Daemos would be fine with him remaining locked up here.

   Finally, a pair of auras began to make their way towards Link's cell. The sounds of footsteps leaked under the door, growing louder by the moment. Link got to his knees, again straining against his shackles as he prepared to do... something. He didn't know what it would be, but he was ready to come up with it on the spot.

   The lock to his cell door clicked as a key was inserted, and it opened. Two Gerudo guards stepped in, both soldiers from the Ikana division. The smoky gray veil one of them wore identified them as such, further proving Link's guess about his location to be correct.

   "So you're finally awake. Those Joltik definitely did their job well," the veil-less guard said. "Good afternoon, Holder of Courage. I am Captain Ashei, and welcome to the Ikana-Gerudo Fortress." Link didn't try to say anything, waiting for either of them to do something. Ashei then acted, crouching before Link. "You must be parched by now, no? The heat of Ikana is quite punishing to newcomers." She pulled his gag away, holding a canteen out to him.

   Link stared at the canteen, wary. Knowing water was so close by seemed to amplify his thirst. He wanted to refuse, but he also didn't. He nodded, and he had to deal with the Gerudo holding the canteen as he drank. Its taste didn't seem off, so he lowered his guard by the slightest as he focused on drinking as much as he could.

   Instead of taking away the canteen prematurely, Ashei let Link drain its contents before standing back up. Link took a second to recover, trying to adjust to the discomfort of filling his stomach so quickly after it had been empty moments before. "No 'thank you?' Rude when we could have just left you here with no water at all," Ashei said, sounding disappointed. "But who are we to judge? After all, you're our esteemed guest."

   Link finally spoke up. Feeling a bit revitalized after the water gave him the confidence to let his usual sarcasm leak into his words. "Then maybe you'd wanna loosen these chains? Last time I heard, guests shouldn't be uncomfortable." He did this mostly as a test, to see if these Gerudo could appreciate bite like Villia had. He wasn't about to put an ounce of trust in them unless they proved themselves remotely worthy of trusting.

   The second guard exchanged glances with Ashei before smiling. "Uncomfortable? But that's exactly what we want." And without warning, she kicked Link in the stomach. Pain shot through him as he gagged, and his restraints prevented him from doubling over. He had but a moment to recover before she kicked him again. His throat constricted, choking back bile as he resisted the strong urge to vomit.

   "Don't you dare speak, you don't have the right to," Ashei scoffed. "His Majesty has always been too soft with Hylians, and you're a perfect example of what happens when you're allowed to run free. You shouldn't be surprised when you get what's coming to you." Ashei punctuated her point with one last kick, and that was all it took for the water to make a reappearance, unceremoniously ending up on the ground along with residual bile. Link retched and coughed, his throat and eyes burning. The paper-thin patience he'd garnered for the Gerudo was already shredding, and Courage's heat began to rise in him. Ashei stared down at Link with no remorse. She probably enjoyed his pathetic position, retching on the floor. "King Daemos seems to have turned over a new leaf now, fortunately. He's made us out to be too soft," she said. "But now he wants to bring us back to our roots."

   "Your roots, huh?" Link spat, glowering up at his captors. "That's not what Villia says." As much as he wanted to dismiss her feelings outright, he still kept them in mind. But one thing he knew for a fact was that these Gerudo were more than happy to uphold the image the kingdom saw them in.

   "Captain Villia has always been weak. Then again, the Hylians have poisoned the Royal Guard with their weakness, so it only makes sense that she'd be infected by them," Ashei said. "Although, Captain Villia still has quite the silver tongue. She's more than happy to lie to get her way, so perhaps you should think more critically, Holder of Courage?"

   That managed to silence Link momentarily as his thoughts began to race. He didn't doubt that Villia would end up lying in the end, but that belied everything that supported her words. Her expressions, reactions, the tone of her voice, they spoke of something authentic. And she said the Gerudo were a people of their word. Would she truly betray something so important to her and her race? "Even after makin' a promise?" he asked cautiously. "An' she said ya kept your word."

   To that, Ashei replied with a mere shrug. "Oh, we do, but just around other Gerudo," she said simply. "None of you Hylian Rattata trust us, so we can only trust each other. Funny that you would say that since you think we're all deceivers."

   And that was what really complicated Link's thoughts. His head spun as he tried to figure this all out. Was Villia just that good of an actress?

   "The Illusion is at a loss for words? Now that's an accomplishment," Ashei said, again crouching before Link. She got in his face, grabbing his chin so he had to look at her. He almost spat in her face when she did that, stopped by her putting the gag back in place. "General Dragmire himself will be here to collect you in a few days; he wants to escort you back to the castle personally."

   "It'd almost be a shame for you to go since you're cute, for a Hylian voe," the second guard said mournfully. "Those eyes almost make you look like a doll."

   "Stop with that," Ashei spat. The other guard looked at her, pouting.

   "Can't I state the facts?" she asked innocently, to which the captain scoffed.

   "For as 'cute' as Shaillu says you are, I won't treat you kindly," she said, "and neither will anyone else here." She grinned, her eyes holding an excited glint. "Until the general arrives, we're all going to make your stay hell."

   Like Link would let that happen. And I'll make yours the same! he thought before unleashing a pulse of Courage. The guards flew back, impacting the walls with startled gasps. While Zelda was more skilled with these types of pulses, Link was still able to knock the wind from the Gerudo, and he didn't even feel the least bit drained afterwards. It took them a moment to climb to their feet, and he was ready to hit them again if they tried anything. And Shaillu did try to make a move, but she was held back by Ashei.

   "We'll just be attacked again," she said. "You can wait for the others to wear him down before you pay him back." Link was stunned. Did she actually just say that when he could hear? Or was that the point? Shaillu let out a frustrated huff as she left the cell, followed by Ashei. As suddenly as they came, they were gone.

   Pieces of Tauros shit, think they'll catch me off-guard like that again... Link thought, seething from the pain and the conflicting emotions the guards had left him with. He was more than happy to believe that Villia had been lying, but at the same time, Ashei could've been trying to screw with his head. She certainly didn't mind coming right out of the gate with her thoughts and intentions.

   In spite of the conflictions, one thing remained consistent between them. Ashei said that Villia was a coward, and Villia herself had admitted it herself. How did that leave everything else? It was Villia's words against Link's instincts, and he briefly wished his thoughts were stable for once. But he didn't want to care then. Besides it giving him a headache, all that mattered was that he needed to escape.

   Within the next couple hours, Link began to formulate an escape plan. He knew the guards wouldn't loosen or unlock his restraints, since it was an easy avenue to receive a more devastating blow from him. That meant he'd have to get a hand on the keys himself somehow. Obviously, the cuffs prevented him from doing that. Every few minutes he'd give them a tug, foolishly hoping that all his struggling would free them from the wall, but they were rooted firmly.

   Out of everything, his legs were the most capable of movement. He could try kneeing one of the guards, but the previous guards didn't let themselves get that close. He'd also likely screwed up his chances of them being close enough to give him food or water, so he'd have to manufacture a way for them to make that mistake.

   As he was lost in thought, Link almost didn't notice the approach of a trio of auras until they were too close for comfort. These auras weren't Ashei's or Shaillu's, but that didn't make him feel better at all.

   The new guards stopped right outside Link's cell door, and he could see amber eyes staring at him through the gap near the top. They continued to stare for a few minutes, and a shiver swept down Link's spine.

   "The hell ya want?" he tried to say, but of course the gag muffled it. All he could really do was glare at the Gerudo. No answer came, though he could hear one of the guards giggle to herself. Link clenched his fists—not like it would do anything—and was about to try and give them their own taste of Courage. Before he could, however, the eyes left the gap. Just like that, the guards were gone.

   Link didn't move for a few seconds after that, not until their auras were a decent distance away. What they wanted was an unnerving mystery. To taunt him was all Link could think of, either that or silently gloat that they had managed to capture him. But they would be in for a rude awakening when he escaped. It was a matter of waiting. Waiting... that was the thing Link hated more than being imprisoned in the first place, but he had no choice.

   For the remainder of the day, nobody entered Link's cell. Guards still approached, and they would stare at him from the outside. Their auras gave off curiosity and a hair-raising sense of anticipation. What they were thinking only made Link more tense, and he waited for the door to open, but it never did, and the guards would quietly leave. But he knew that one of these times, they would do more than just stare.

   Eventually, the light began to recede from the cell as night fell. Link wondered if there would be any other lights, but his answer came when he was eventually submerged in darkness, save for the faintest streaks of moonlight.

   The night seemed to drag on even longer than the daytime. Exhaustion soon began to catch up with Link again, and he resisted. He'd begun to rub his wrists raw on the cuffs, but he ignored the stinging to keep struggling. He did it more now to keep himself awake, because sleep would invite nothing but potential danger.

   At one point, Link realized that there weren't any auras nearby. Besides a couple Pokémon roaming the halls and a Zubat flying past outside, there were no Gerudo. Even knowing that this wouldn't be a good idea, Link dared to close his eyes for a moment. He needed to try and get a better picture of the fortress and the guards' locations...

   Link was torn from sleep when a sharp pain fractured through his arm. He barely had a moment to process the pain before something jabbed into his leg, and yet another in his chest. His eyes flew open, only for confusion to cloud his mind as he was briefly overwhelmed by the number of auras and sound around him. There had to be at least fifteen, like everyone in the base was in his cell. But he could barely sense the auras as pain struck him from every direction.

   He was being hit, kicked, and punched with differing degrees of brutality. His instincts fought against each other, telling him to both fight and curl up to defend his torso and head. But he could only writhe as the chains denied him either of these options.

   "He's awake!" a voice cried when she noticed Link struggling, and a collective laugh rippled through the air. This seemed to trigger a second onslaught, though this one was comprised of words. Jeers and mockery mixed with the laughter. Among the shouts, "Get what you deserve!" was a common one, and it made Link's blood boil.

   A boot then slammed into his chest, knocking the wind from him and snapping his senses into a somewhat cohesive structure. With a muffled scream, he unleashed a pulse of Courage. The beating ceased as everyone was blown back, but the laughter didn't. Nobody seemed fazed by Link's retaliation, and he was left to gag and gasp for air. His head snapped up, eyes wide and aiming a smoldering glare at the group of Gerudo standing on the far end of his cell. More stood outside in the hallway, trying to look inside. At the front of this group was Ashei, smiling widely.

   "Good evening, Holder of Courage. We didn't mean to wake you up, truly. We all wanted to personally welcome you to the fortress!" The other guards chorused mocking greetings among snide laughs and jeers.

   Shock and anger twisted in Link, and he wanted to scream again. Instead, his throat and chest seized with pain, and he devolved into ragged coughing mixed with choking on the gag. His chest was on fire, and he swore he could taste blood. This made the guards laugh even harder.

   "We should get out before we set him off again," Ashei called out to the other guards. "His tantrums admittedly do sting. We'll see you in the morning, Holder!" Disappointed sighs and complaints sounded, but the crowd of guards gradually left.

   Once they were gone, Link allowed himself a moment of weakness, slouching in his bonds. Everything hurt, and hurt horribly. Aside from his pounding head, blood ran in a thick stream from his nose and spotted his gag from a busted lower lip. His left cheekbone throbbed, bruised at the best and fractured at the worst, as did every one of his ribs. Besides those spots, the rest of his bones felt intact for the most part. But only time would tell if he really was okay.

   For the remainder of the night, Link was kept awake by his pain. The gall of the Gerudo to openly attack him like that was astounding, though it made some sense. They wouldn't dare do something like that in public for fear of backlash. This was the same savagery that had been displayed the night his parents died, and it made him feel sick knowing that they'd be getting away with it. If Daemos' usual ignorance made him see past it, then it would be the effects of the Triforce of Power. How ironic that he was being consumed by the violence he so despised. Link would've laughed if he wasn't so exhausted.

   Morning soon came, and Link stirred from a doze into pain all over again. His entire body felt like one huge bruise, and his chest still ached with every breath he took. Not good. Something was definitely fractured or broken, and he swore loudly upon realizing it.

   "Looks like he finally woke up."

   Link stiffened with surprise before looking up to the door. He'd been so preoccupied with his injuries that he hadn't noticed the Gerudo, and one of them was Ashei. Had they been watching him sleep? This was on a whole other level from what he expected of the Gerudo, and it actually unnerved him.

   "We wanted to make sure you were okay since we were a bit rough last night," Ashei said as the guards with her agreed. "But we'll see you again tonight. Rest while you can!"

   Again they left before Link could get an effective word in, but that didn't stop him from trying to yell a few choice words after them. He didn't care that it hurt his throat more, he wanted to get some of his anger out. But now he knew he had to try and escape by tonight, or else he'd be too injured to carry it out effectively.

   Or too weak in general, he thought as his stomach growled. The last time he ate was two mornings ago, same with drinking anything, really drinking. He'd once been used to not eating for days on end, back before he found out he was a Holder. Since then he hadn't skipped a meal, a luxury that was clearly coming back to bite him in the ass. Even if they did feed him, it'd be something he couldn't eat; it wasn't like they cared about his tastes.

   Link chased his exhaustion away with a few tentative shakes of his head. He really hoped the dizziness he felt was remnants of pain mixed with poor sleep, and not a concussion or something similar. It wasn't like he had enough problems already. On instinct, he pulled against his chains, cursing when they proved as solid as before. But he'd somehow get out. He had to.

—~*~—

As the hours painstakingly crept by, Link waited for another guard to approach his cell. More did, gawking at him, but none entered. With each one that left, he lost another possible chance to escape, and he cursed himself when they did.

   In between these times, Link continued to strain against his restraints. Though the skin around his wrists had been rendered torn and bloody by now, he still struggled. He even hoped he could use the dripping blood to slip out, but the cuffs were just too tight. All he was doing was risking an infection now. He hoped that he would be out before one could set in

   When night inevitably came, Link was more than determined to stay awake. With the constant pain stabbing at him, it already wasn't that difficult, and the extra doses of vitriol and creeping dread combined into a stew that made his skin crawl but kept him awake. He'd use his dwindling energy to fuel Courage if he needed it, he just needed to keep them from entering the cell. Counterproductive, but it wasn't like he could get past all of them if he did manage to get himself free.

   Late into the night, the auras began to amass, filing through the halls towards the cells. Link straightened up, making it obvious that he was awake and expecting the group. Soon, several sets of eyes were looking at him through the door's window again, over ten others gathered behind the immediate gawkers.

   "Oh look, he's still awake?" said the voice of Ashei. "I guess he didn't enjoy his welcome party last night." He heard a key insert itself into the lock.

   "Back the hell off," Link growled, even if he knew they couldn't understand him. Ashei still seemed to perceive it as a threat, however.

   "Or what?" she replied. Like a wordless taunt, the cell door clicked open. Link didn't hesitate, sending out a powerful pulse of Courage. Dirt scuffled as the guards struggled to stand their ground, some falling to the floor with small gasps. Good, he wanted to make sure they knew he was still strong.

   "Back. Off," he repeated, putting as much malice and anger as he could into that single word. In the second of hesitation, he loosed another pulse, stronger than the first. The shocked shouts and yelps of the guards were music to his ears, and he couldn't help but grin with satisfaction. To make a show of things, he summoned an orb of Courage in his palm, letting it grow as large as he dared. His vision began to swim with the strain of the energy against him, still, he maintained it.

   To his surprise, there was no moving from the guards. Anger, hesitation and even some uncertainty flickered amongst the crowd like wayward Volbeat, and the guards shared looks. While Link dissolved the orb, he didn't break his stare with Ashei, maintaining that same grin. He wasn't going to back down until she did, he'd make sure of that.

    The stare-down continued for a long while, neither Link or Ashei relenting. After what felt like hours, and surely hours had passed, the guards began to lose interest and fell away. Soon, all that was left were three guards, two Link knew as Ashei and Shaillu, and a third he didn't know. They left as well, and only Ashei was there, still glaring at Link. Silence lingered for a few minutes longer, then came an agitated hiss from Ashei.

   "We'll all pay you one last visit before General Dragmire arrives, I'll make sure of that," she said icily. The cell door locked again, and with dramatic reluctance, Ashei left.

   Link had to let out a bitter laugh when he knew the guards were out of earshot. Somehow, that had worked, he was safe for the night. Now if only he could have goaded Ashei into entering the cell, but admittedly his mind hadn't been as clear then. Creeping exhaustion thanks to a lack of sleep and overuse of Courage was clouding it. Now with the guards gone, that exhaustion took over, and Link fell into an uneasy sleep.
  
—~*~—

Morning, noon, late afternoon? Link didn't know what time it was. He'd thankfully been left alone as he slept, eventually waking at a time he couldn't pin down. The cell was as hot as always, and the light coming through the window was the same scathing yellow.

   Even after sleeping, Link's head still felt foggy, temples pounding with a dull pain that refused to leave him. His throat was drier than the dirt floor, and he swore his stomach was caving in on itself. He'd only been here two days, and already he was a complete wreck. He clenched his teeth at that thought. "Only" two days? He shouldn't have been here for one, or even half of one. Yet aside from his first encounter with Ashei, he hadn't had any chance to attempt an escape.

   He could almost feel the lockpick in his pocket, so tantalizingly close but just out of reach for him to grab. Just one hand and, he'd be able to get out, but it was that one hand that posed the biggest issue. How things were going now, he wouldn't be able to get it out, not unless another guard came into the cell, and with how he'd been left alone since Ashei's initial visit, that wouldn't be the case. The joke of an idea of breaking his thumbs to get his hands out was starting to sound like a true possibility with how little progress he was making, and it chilled his blood.

   For a while longer, Link dared to sit in the silence and heat, hoping that any guard would enter the cell. Hell, he'd be happy to see Ashei then. He just needed someone, someone to try and hold leverage over so he could get himself out. But as even more time dragged by, that wasn't coming to pass. How much longer did he have until Ganondorf arrived? If he was still here the next day, then surely his fate would be sealed.

   Slowly, his gaze traveled to his right hand. He would only have to break one thumb to get out, and it would obviously be his less-dominant hand... The chill came back, more obvious and consuming. Was he really going to try this? He'd never purposefully broken his own bones before to escape. But at this point, what else was he supposed to do? For this, he could either strain against the cuffs again until it broke, or he could slam his thumb into the wall and hope that did the trick. The second seemed like it could be over quicker.

   I'm really doin' this... He closed his eyes and again gritted his teeth. Just one quick, hard strike, and it'd be done, he told himself. He'd already gone through worse pain, and this wouldn't matter if it got him out. Even as he hardened his resolve, his heart pounded, every muscle tensing. In his mind, he started counting down from three, raising his hand to the wall. This was for them. Three... two...

   Everything stopped when he sensed the approaching aura. His eyes flew open, catching a glimpse of the top of a red Ponyta-tail moving outside his cell. There was a jingling of metal, then metal scraping against metal.

   Then the lock clicked open.

   For a moment Link was surprised, but he quickly changed his expression to a glower. He glared daggers at the guard entering the cell, making a point of taking in every bit of her body. Long hair tied up, a muscular but surprisingly short stature, and rich, dark skin. Her veil hid everything except her amber-green eyes, unique for a Gerudo. She must have had some Hylian blood in her, further added to by her height.

   The guard didn't say anything, and neither did Link. He waited for her to make a move, and she did. From within a leather pouch around her waist, she produced a canteen and something wrapped in a thin cloth. Link could glimpse the tan and brown hues of bread from an open spot in the cloth, and he tried to ignore the twisting in his stomach. If the last time he fell for this was anything to go off of, he wouldn't be allowed to keep that food down.

   "I'm sorry for intruding," the guard said. She approached from the side, preventing Link from possibly kneeing her like he had anticipated. She then gently pulled Link's gag down. "I didn't mean to wake you," she continued.

   "Whaddya want?" Link asked.

   "You must be hungry, or at least thirsty," the guard continued. "I had to sneak this in since Captain Ashei said to not feed you."

   For a second, Link wanted to refuse, but this was the perfect opportunity to try and execute his plan. "Alright," he said cautiously.

   "My name is Farrah," she said as she held out the canteen. Link ignored her and began drinking, letting himself get in a few gulps before biting down on the rim, slowly enough that the Gerudo didn't notice. He then pretended to cough, using the motion to yank the canteen from her hand and knock it to the ground.

   "S-sorry," Link lied. The moment Farrah leaned down to grab the canteen, Link contorted his body. Every part of him screamed out in agony, but he still managed to knee her in the chin. As she recoiled, he seized her Ponyta-tail in one hand. Her gasp of pain was cut off by Link hissing, "Give me the damn keys."

   "Wh-what?" Farrah stammered.

   Link scowled. Was this woman deaf? "I told ya to give me the damn keys!" She was buffeted by a wave of Courage, but he still retained his hold on her hair.

   Even as her voice was frantic, she didn't scream. "Wait, I was going to help you anyways!" Now it was Link's turn to ask "what?" as confusion hit him. Did he hear her correctly? "I want to help you escape," she said quickly. "I can't get you out right now because it's still daylight, but once it gets dark, I can get you out of here."

   "Ya will, huh?" He put every ounce of skepticism into his voice.

   "I know a Gerudo is the last person you'd want to trust right now, but I can assure you that I want to get you out," Farrah said, looking apologetic. "I never got a chance to say what I wanted to last night, but now I can."

   Like Link was going to believe her word right away—or at all. "Why do ya wanna help me?"

   "Because while revenge might be founded, it shouldn't be carried out like this," she replied. "It's just fighting fire with fire, and that won't solve anything."

   That sounded ominous as hell, but it was countered by the calmness of Farrah's aura. At the same time, however, she could obviously be hiding her true feelings. Link wanted to groan with frustration. He wished he could just know if she was telling the truth or not! "Give me the key to the cuffs so I know ya ain't lyin'," he said. "Slip it into my shirt collar so I can grab it if I need to."

   Farrah frowned, shaking her head. "I'm sorry, but I can't do that. I have to hand back a key ring."

   "I just said the cuffs key," Link said. "Ya can keep the door key since ya gotta lock the door. I ain't gonna trust ya otherwise." There was a tense moment of silence before Farrah responded.

   "I understand." She slipped a key off the ring in her pocket. It was small, perfect so that it wouldn't be easily seen when tucked into Link's shirt collar. He made sure he could grab it with his teeth without it slipping down before he was satisfied. Well, as satisfied as he could be while chained to a wall with multiple injuries. "I'll come back around nightfall. The others won't be coming around again until around midnight, so we'll have time."

   At least she had the common sense to wait until then. "Alright. If ya ain't back by then, I'm gettin' out myself," Link said. "And one more thing." She looked at him. "I-I still wanna finish the food ya brought me." He was probably going to regret this, but if she was telling the truth, he needed all the strength he could get.

   Farrah smiled gently. "Of course. And thank you for trusting me." Link still didn't completely, but he was willing to put in an ounce, if only for Zelda's sake.