Chapter Text
You had been walking through Gerudo Canyon, following an old map that Piaffe from Gerudo Canyon Stable had scrawled out for you when they found out you wanted to travel to Kara Kara Bazaar. You'd been wanting to buy some cheap arrows, and they said this would be the place to get some. You held the map away from your face and squinted, trying to make out where to turn next.
Tracing the path with your finger, you noticed a large splotch of darkness on the map.
You held up your now ink-stained hand up to the fleeting sunlight, confirming your suspicions. Whipping your head back to the map, you saw that the entire right side was smudged. Damn your sweaty palms. You tried to trace where you were in the ink blot, but eventually gave up and crumpled it into your bag.
Despite your setback, you pressed on. Whether you were walking away from or toward the bazaar was beyond you. It was starting to get dark, and cold too. Your sweat from the day quickly turned into clamminess from the nearly arctic temperatures.
Traveling in this weather would most likely end in you getting hypothermia, so you decided to set up camp for the night. Shivering, you took out some flint and firewood from your backpack and started a fire to warm up. You shook off your bag, setting it on the floor next to you before fishing through it for your camping gear.
The fire crackled in the background as you pitched your tent under an overhang. You dragged your backpack inside the tent and kicked your boots off, letting them fall sloppily next to the entrance.
Finally, you took a deep breath. Traveling had a way of really tiring you out, which you had almost forgotten about after not traveling for so long. In a way, it was almost relaxing.
The wind blowing on the outside of the tent served as a white noise. Blinking slowly, you nodded off.
…
When you woke up, you were getting tied to a chair.
You groggily blinked at the culprit, a.. Yiga. Shit. The people at the stable were warning you about them. The soldier noticed your staring and poofed away. You spotted your bag sitting on the floor, about 4 feet in front of you.
First, you tried reaching your foot out to get it. When that failed you rocked your chair forward, aiming to land on top of the bag. You teetered and tottered, ultimately falling– backwards.
You yelped as your entire weight crushed your hands, which had been tied tightly together behind your back. The rope softened the blow, but it hurt anyway.
You grunted angrily, closing your eyes and clenching your teeth. The wooden chair was digging into your back and hands uncomfortably, awkwardly jutting into your spine.
By the time you finished rolling around in dispair and discomfort, someone new was standing above you. You flinched as they reached down and pulled your chair up to stand upright. This new person was noticeably larger than the previous Yiga. If you weren't getting kidnapped right now, you would've admired their muscles. But you were, so it was just intimidating.
“Wuh..where am I? Who are you?” You questioned, looking up at them cautiously. They walked around your chair, standing on your left now. Noticing the sharp-looking blade on their back glint in the dim light, you wished you hadn't asked them anything.
“That's a secret.” They said nonchalantly.
“Oh.” You looked away, trying to remember what the stable people instructed to do when you see a Yiga. Maybe it was just to run away? Well, that's out of the question now. There was a fruit they liked, but which one? And why did the people at the stable even tell you the Yiga's fruit preference?!
You exhaled slowly to soothe your nerves, and tried to avoid looking at the person who could probably crush your skull with their pinky.
The Yiga uncrossed their arms, pushing off the wall and silently striding out of sight.
Now being left alone with your thoughts, you trace circles into the back of your hands.
...
After what felt like an hour, two Yiga entered the room. They each held a bunch of Mighty Bananas, and were grumbling to each other about something.
They circled your chair, stopping right in front of you. The one on your right peeled a banana, slipping it under their mask and taking a bite.
"You hungry?"
Looking up at them skeptically, you shook your head no. It's.. probably a drugged banana. Yeah.
They both were, apparently, appalled by your choice. They turned and whispered to each other before reaching a consensus and turning back to you.
"The boss said you needed to eat, so that's what you're gonna do. Okay? Don't make this hard." The one holding the half-eaten banana waved it in front of your face.
You felt heat crawl up your neck as they pressed the banana to your pursed lips. It awkwardly smushed onto your chin, and you decided that things would be easier (and maybe less embarrassing) to just eat it.
You parted your lips slowly, allowing the stranger to feed you the banana. The first bite was fine, but they didn't give you time to chew and swallow it before they shoved another big bite in your mouth. Tears welled up in your eyes as you gagged, forcing the new chunk of banana out of your mouth. It rolled down your torso and onto the floor with an unsatisfying plop.
They laughed, apparently amused at this. Your ears burned while you finished chewing and swallowing.
“Guys, I'll handle it from here.” A mysterious voice from behind you told the soldiers, prompting them to leave. Well, this was it. It's been a good run.
"What a waste of a banana. Yuck." They scolded, clicking their tongue.
“Do you know where you are?” The voice from behind boomed, resting a cold hand on your shoulder.
“..Gerudo desert?”
“Okay, uh.. that’s right. But like, more specifically.”
“That's all I know. I’m sorry.” You mumbled, trying hard to stay still so the stranger won't kill you (or something. you hadn't really been kidnapped before).
“Likely. Who sent you?” He asked again, and you felt a cold, sharp piece of metal graze the side of your neck.
Sucking in air, the reality of the situation sunk in.
“I.. nobody. I wasn't sent by anyone.” Your breath hitched as the blade pressed into your skin, no doubt drawing blood.
“So, I'm meant to believe you just waltzed into Yiga territory for nothing? Hah.” The man chuckled, but the sound made your stomach turn.
You stayed silent, because what he said was the truth. Also, you were afraid that if you tried talking, you would end up crying.
After what felt like a minute of no talking, he pressed the blade harder against your skin. You assumed this meant he wanted you to talk, so you did.
"I didn't– I didn't mean to intrude on your guys' territory.. I swear on Hylia! I just wanted to go to Kara Kara Bazzar, I swear.. please." You rambled, trying to defend yourself somehow.
After another beat of silence, you thought you’d said the wrong thing, and your breath got shallower.
But then, you felt the blade pull away.
He walked around the chair, stopping to stand in front of you. Oh. He had to be at least, what, 7 foot?
His height appeared to be the only intimidating thing about him, though. He didn’t look particularly strong, and it also looked like he didn't have much of a fashion sense. You stopped crying, your breathy sobs transforming into silent laughs. This confused him, and he took a step back.
“What? Why are you laughing??” He whined, stomping him foot and leaning forward to loom over you. Him trying to look scary just drew more giggles from you.
“It's just.. what are you even wearing?!” You stared at the eye on his mask, a smile on your face. Maybe getting kidnapped by the Yiga wasn't even that bad–
–and then he pressed the blade against your neck. And you stopped laughing.
“Sorry.” You whispered, looking away.
“How dare you insult me like this. Give me one reason I should keep you alive.” He crossed his arms over his chest, tapping his finger on his forearm impatiently.
Well, shit. You racked your brain for a good answer, but when he reached for his knife again, you blurted the first thing you thought of.
“I- I CAN COOK!!” You didn't mean to scream it, but you definitely did. He had flinched a little at the sudden loud sound, pulling the knife away. The man eyed you suspiciously.
“I'll be back. Try not to wander off anywhere,” he taunted, walking out of the room. You could hear him talking to his henchmen (you assumed he was in charge, the way the other Yiga responded to him so formally), probably telling them instructions on how to kill you in the most painful way possible. You couldn't discern what words they were saying, especially because their stupid masks muffled their whispers.
When he made his way back into the room, you took a deep breath, readying yourself for your head to get sliced off excruciatingly.
“We will spare your life. On the conditions that you will cook for us, and.. uh.. follow any and all further instructions I may have.” You suspected that he made up the last part on the spot, but you nodded. It was better than getting killed.
“Yes. Yeah. Okay.”
“You can stop nodding now.”
As soon as you stopped nodding, he reached down to untie you. He got so close that you could feel his breath on your neck, and you looked away to hide your face when he reached for the rope around your waist. It wasn't that you were attracted to him, it's just that anyone would feel this way if someone touched their waist. Totally.
Shimmying out of the ropes was a humiliating ritual, but having the ability to move freely was worth it. You waited for him to give you permission to stand, not wanting to upset him and change his mind on the “killing you” thing.
“..why haven't you stood up yet?” If you could see his eyes, they'd probably be glaring at you.
You stood up quickly, discreetly stretching your arms at your sides. When you were actually standing, you were, like, double the size of him. You tried not to show your surprise, keeping a somewhat straight face while staring at the eye on his mask.
“‘Kay, follow me. I think we have a room somewhere,” he sighed, walking out of the room. You followed suit, breifly looking back at your backpack before exiting the room and entering the hallway. You assumed that it wouldn't be good to keep him waiting on you.
Once you stepped into the hallway, you instantly felt out of place. Every Yiga that you saw gave you a weird look. Or you assumed they did. You couldn't really tell with their dumb masks. At least none of them were trying to kill you. They did seem to respect the guy who was leading you, further convincing you that he was their leader.
He walked surprisingly fast, and you almost had to run to keep up. You lost him a couple times in the sea of people in the red uniform, but he just stopped and waited for you to catch up. Again, you would've admired this more if he hadn't kidnapped you.
After what felt like an eternity of walking, you both stopped in front of a door. He nudged it open, revealing a small room with a canopy bed in the center. Aside from the bed, there was a wardrobe next to another door. The floors were a mix of rock and dirt, like the rest of the hideout.
“Go ahead. Sheesh.” He sighed, leaning on the doorframe while he waited for you go in. “You're acting like 'm gonna kill you or something.” The guy chuckled as you walked in, clearly finding amusement in your caution.
Wow, I wonder why you'd act that way!! Not like you have blood running down your neck!!!!!!!! The NERVE of this weirdo!
You shot a half-glare at him before further inspecting the room. Your eyes were drawn to the other door, reaching out to open it.
“Oh, that's a tunnel.” He called out, walking over to the door and pulling it open. You peeked your head in, looking over the torches that lit it up. You noticed two paths, one straight ahead and one to the left.
“Where do they lead?” You asked, looking back at him.
“My room,” he pointed straight, “and then to the left's the kitchen, since you're the new cook."
While he was pointing, he got awfully close to you. You backed away, now standing closer to the bed. He didn't seem put off by it though, and closed the door.
“If you need anything, I'll put some of my lackeys next to your door. Just yell. Not really though, it'll wake me up. Okay, g'bye.” While he was saying all of this, he locked up your doors before exiting through the tunnel with a wave.
Finally being alone, you groaned and threw yourself on the bed. This was just your luck. Of COURSE this happens to you. The one time you went somewhere without a group of people.
You screamed into the mattress, throwing a mini tantrum. You didn't deserve this.
Whatever. You went to sleep like that, your feet hanging off the side of the bed and your head burrowed under the stiff pillow.
Tomorrow, you'll escape. Or something.