Art Credit: Ernovan Studios

"You're already growing used to the village."

Rebecca nodded at Nabooru's words while slurping on a spoonful of lamb soup. She enjoyed every taste of the delicacy. It even had a chunk of meat sticking out from the broth. Rebecca chewed on it vigorously before it also went down.

"It's nice," Rebecca said. "But really hot. Like the food." Some of the lamp soup dribbled down Rebecca's chin and sprinkled onto her dress.

Nabooru pursed her lips. She brought dinner to Rebecca's cell, on a tray that actually had two bowls along with a large loaf of golden bread. Nabooru thought it best if the two ate together and did so at a small table the Gerudo guards provided for them. They sat across from each other on humble stools.

"Do they teach manners in Oak Shire?" asked Nabooru.

Rebecca swallowed her food, embarrassed. "Sorry."

Nabooru waved off the mild error and moved on. "I know it's hot out here, but it's better than your winters in this Illinois, right?"

"True."

"You'll grow accustomed to the heat then. Once you become one of us, it will be an easy transition."

"But I'm going to leave the village."

Nabooru looked up from her bowl, letting her spoon fall in. She had a look on her face Rebecca didn't like.

"A...condition of keeping you alive," Nabooru sighed. "Was making sure you wouldn't be released out into the world. Ever."

Rebecca dropped her own spoon. The soup was spilling onto the table. Nabooru briefly scolded Rebecca and at the same time stood up. A pair of guards rushed into the room and Nabooru turned her attention to them.

"Do you see her getting angry?" she said. "She's just a little surprised by what I have to say. Stand down, now."

The guards looked like they were ready to disobey, but kept themselves by the door. It didn't stop either of them from pointing their spears in Rebecca's direction. Rebecca sensed their shining tips baring themselves like fangs. She wanted to snap the points from the weapon and shatter them into pieces. She wanted to do the same to Nabooru as well and wondered how her powers worked.

"That's not fair," said Rebecca, her voice straining.

"Life never is, Rebecca." Nabooru put her hands up, as if she were trying to push down on the storm swelling in Rebecca's chest. "But this is as fair as it gets. You live and if you play nice, you even lose the shackles. You can become a Gerudo. Prove your worth in the eyes of the thieves."

"What if I don't want to be a Gerudo?"

"Rebecca, you—" Nabooru pressed a hand to her brow. "—You'll get used to it. I can see the spark of a Gerudo in you, just understand—"

"I don't belong here."

"I don't think you have a choice in the matter, kid."

"You all want to be free but want to own everyone at the same time? How does that work?"

"It doesn't. It's just the best we can do."

"I think your way sucks." Rebecca stood up from her stool and stepped away from the table. She dared to take a step toward Nabooru. Nabooru held her ground but the guards stepped towards the conflict.

"Stay away from her, demon!" shouted one of the guards.

"I SAID BACK DOWN." Nabooru glared at the guards. "Try to disobey me. Just try, I dare you. You stood by me on this vote and you contradict me and yourselves now?"

"No," said the guard. "We just wanted to keep ourselves from sinning while it wasn't justified. This is a sin we may have to commit. Din will forgive us."

"I won't. Dammit, back down."

"Work quickly to calm her, Nabooru."

"What if my friends come looking for me?" Rebecca asked. "The ones I told you about? Are you going to tell them they have to leave because you found me first and think I'm dangerous? It's all 'finders keepers' for you?"

"If one of your friends were actually here, they would have found you. It's not that hard to find the desert."

"When you putas close yourselves off from the rest of the world, yeah it is!"

"I remember the meaning of your Spanish words. I suggest you stop."

"Puta, puta, PUTA!"

Nabooru stomped a foot on the prison cell's floor. Some of the ground shook. Rebecca pretended to stay brave, though she knew they all saw her tremble.

"I will not be disrespected! I'll clear everything out and hold you in contempt in an instant, girl! The sacrifices I made...the words I spoke so you could be spared. I regret them right now."

Rebecca showed her chains, as if Nabooru had never seen them before. "I wish I landed anywhere but here. No one else would lock me up and make me feel like trash. They wouldn't trap me."

"I highly doubt it. Need I remind you of the crater?"

"You did that every time we talked! I don't know what you're talking about! You're always scared of things, but you don't stand up for anything good! That's why you let a mean guy rule over all of you! You don't want to be better. You want everything to be the same."

"Maybe it was better that way. All of it was bearable before you came and became a damn burden on our lives—"

Nabooru clasped a hand over her mouth. Rebecca already started weeping before Nabooru could take the words back. The cell was silent. Even the guards were still, dropping their alarm at the last of Nabooru's words.

Then, they heard the shouts.

The women thought the fortress was under attack at first. One of the guards said to Nabooru and Rebecca "wait here!" before rushing out. They shut the gate behind them and even locked the two of them in for safe keeping. Nabooru seemed to understand the rules. Rebecca never felt more trapped. They were frozen in their spots, awaiting what was to come. Rebecca found relief at the familiar cadence of footsteps that stopped at the cell's gate.

The guards flung the door open. Both of them fixed their gaze on Rebecca. The feeling in their eyes wasn't anything Rebecca had seen before.

"You're an omen," one of the guards said. "A bad sign..."

"We should have exiled you," said the other guard.

"Cowards," Nabooru said. "Talk to me. What is it?"

"Another one," said the first guard. "Another child has arrived. This time in the valley. It's a voe, Nabooru. An actual voe, other than the King."

Nabooru glanced at Rebecca and the same unknown feeling seemed to overcome her as well. She grabbed Rebecca by the chains and yanked her through the fortress, following the guards. The guards led them out into the village to a series of steps that brought them all down to a golden path. They rushed where the other Gerudos had gathered, to a ledge outside the village area.

The Gerudo Valley oversaw a grand waterfall. The waterfall fell many meters down to a gorge with rapids that rushed into the distance. Rebecca wasn't sure where the rapids led. There was another ledge on the other side, a twin that represented the freedom Rebecca needed from the Gerudos. These women didn't want her. She didn't want them either. They were better off separated, no longer a part of each other.

Every Gerudo woman and girl gathered around an unknown sight. They made a circle, but nobody wanted to get closer to what they stared at. Nabooru pushed her way through the crowd, keeping Rebecca in her grasp. When they made it into the middle of the circle, Nabooru stood still. Her eyes widened and she gazed at Rebecca again.

"Are you a bad omen?" asked Nabooru. "Are you the cause of this...?"

Rebecca looked down at the sight and gasped. She suddenly had a feeling about the meaning of the word voe; it meant a type of person you'd never find in the Gerudo Village, the type of person who almost never belonged there. A voe was an outsider. Worst yet, it was a male, a man, a boy.

This voe was different for Rebecca though. None of the Gerudos knew who was sprawled on the sand, completely soaked from head to toe in a puddle of wayward water. They wouldn't have recognized the stupid brown hair, or known that when the boy's eyes snapped open, they'd be a captivating sort of green. None of the Gerudos knew that Rebecca knew this boy.

They had no idea that Trevor Berenson was the outsider lying before them.