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"Gmmrrph!"
Link grunted in discomfort as he was carelessly tossed into the back of one of two carriages helmed by the Yiga. He hit the hard wooden floor on his side with a thud, sending a jolt of pain through his body, which was already aching from both the battle and the tight ropes wrapped around him. He rolled over onto his other side to face the two villains who had thrown him in, his fierce blue eyes trying to muster the most defiant glare possible in the state he was in. But the soldiers just slammed the carriage doors shut, and Link could hear them fiddling with some sort of mechanism that would likely lock the doors from the outside.
Wanting to have as close to a defensive position as he could get, the bound and gagged Hylian wriggled his way over to the nearest wall, and used his bound feet to push himself up to sit against it. Faint little grunts slipped past his gag as he did so, and he took a few breaths through his nose as he leaned his head against the wall as well. He began lightly fidgeting in his bonds, not necessarily expecting to get free but looking for any weaknesses in the ropework that he could take advantage of at the right moment.
After a few minutes, the voice of one of the Yiga suddenly spoke up.
"What … who is this?"
Link turned his head to the doors that blocked his view. He tried to peak out through the cracks, but couldn't see the source of the commotion.
"I found her knocked out down the river. She look familiar to you?" another voice responded.
A few seconds of silence passed, before the original voice spoke again. "Well I'll be damned … what're the chances we just stumble upon her like this?! We've struck gold today!"
A pleased grunt of agreement followed, along with several more members quietly uttering enthused statements that Link couldn't make out. Soon another voice, one that Link recognized as Jora, chimed in. "Looks like she'll be out for a while. Bind her up and put her in the other carriage. The Master's going to be quite happy with what we're bringing home to him," she said, satisfaction clear in her voice.
Link could then hear some scuffling and movement, followed by the familiar sound of carriage doors being closed and locked. The boy listened closely and tactfully, trying to decipher the events with only the sounds being made. But there were no clues to be heard, only generic utterances like "get her in there" that gave no useful information to him. Without any way to see any of the activity outside his own carriage, all he could make out from any of this was that some poor girl had been found, presumably unconscious, and was now a captive alongside him. She sounded important to the Yiga, but that made little difference to the noble hero. All he had to know was that an innocent being was now in danger, and that alone reinvigorated his desire to get free.
He twisted his body around, tugging his arms and shifting his legs methodically yet quickly, keeping himself unfazed by the lack of any effect it had. "Rrmmrrghmm! Rrmmrrghmm!" Link shouted at the Yiga, demanding they release the new captive. But they were dismissive of his incoherent shouts, only responding with a few snickers at the legendary Hylian reduced to such a state.
Suddenly, Link's carriage began moving forward with a jolt. A startled grunt escaped the thick cloth gripping his mouth, and the momentum tipped him gently onto his side. The Yiga were clearly finished here, and were now moving out, heading to Hylia-knows-where. The carriage got into a steady rhythm, and the Hylian could hear the sounds of horse hooves trotting along around him.
Link could feel his heart begin to race, as if the full implications of what was happening were finally hitting him. He was beaten and weakened in a brutal battle, physically helpless, captured, and now being taken away without anyone knowing where he was. It probably wouldn't be until night before the Zora got concerned about his delayed arrival, and it would take even longer for word to spread to Hyrule Castle. By then, there would be almost no clues to go off of. The Yiga had done well to cover all traces of the fight; the only signs of anything wrong would be an empty stable, if Link were to assume the worst of what they did to its rightful owners.
Anger surged through the tied up hero at the treachery of his captors - calling them that only adding more fuel to his fire - and how he had failed to stop their vile deeds. He needed to escape, get away from them, and plan some way to prevent anyone else from getting hurt.
He couldn't just bust open the carriage doors and roll out. Not only did they seem too strong for that, but he could tell by listening that there were horse-riding soldiers behind his carriage. If he were still tied up when he got out, they would just put him right back in. The only way he stood a chance was by getting himself untied. But the pressure and strength of his ropes told him that was a very unlikely option.
I'll have to settle for unlikely.
It started with a numbing feeling. Every sense in her body felt as though it had to relearn everything all over again. Slowly, over the course of what felt like hours, her body started to come back to life, the hazes finally clearing up enough for her to be able to register … anything.
And yet, Mipha still felt almost no energy to move a muscle. Her eyelids heavily opened and closed, trying to return her to the world of consciousness, despite the rest of her body feeling like it was begging for her to retreat from it once more. But she fought through it, fought through the multiple aches and pains that were making themselves known in every inch of her form.
Thankfully, the Zora soon felt she had enough strength to move … and yet still couldn't when she tried. With her vision finally cleared up, she was shown the unfamiliar sight of two thick wooden doors, a similarly wooden room surrounding her. She was laying on her side, and yet it felt like she was moving. Her breathing felt horribly limited, and she felt an inexplicable sense of claustrophobia.
"... Rrrrnngg … mmmm …"
What in Hylia's name is wrong with me?!
Looking down at herself, the answer to Mipha's question turned out to be the biggest shock of her life. Her legs were bound with coils of light-brown rope winding tightly around her ankles and thighs. She kicked them impulsively, only for the aches to surge greater. She also instantly saw that her arms were bound to her sides with more rope going around her lower chest and torso, and she could feel her wrists tied together in a crossed position behind her back.
"HHHHMMMMHHH!!??!" Mipha screamed fiercely at this horrid situation, her first and only instinct to struggle madly in the ropes. She tossed and turned, bucking herself and thrashing all over her mysterious cell with no method or strategy. It gave her the appearance of a fish that had just been taken from the sea and plopped on land … which in some ways wasn't too far off from reality.
"Whnnnmmmnnn?!! Whnnhmmphnnmm?!! HRMMNN?! HRRMMNN!!"
As she shouted out and grunted hysterically, Mipha was made aware of what felt like a rag or towel wrapped over her mouth to gag her, weaved underneath the "fins" dangling from her head and tied off aggressively tightly. She also felt that there was another one stuffed inside her mouth. But that felt almost trivial at this point in her terrified state.
A million questions rose through the princess's head as she kept floundering wildly. How did this happen?! When did this happen?! Who did this?! Where am I?! Why do I hurt so much?!
Suddenly, Mipha heard soft laughter seeming to come from behind the wooden doors. "Well, it looks like our other captive is awake," a female voice said. Another voice, this one male, responded by saying, "Seems like she's going to be a bigger handful than our golden boy."
This caused Mipha to freeze, rapidly taking in what little air she could. Obviously these voices belonged to the ones who did this to her. But who were they? When would they have even had the chance to take her? What was the last thing that she could remember …
And then, like the splitting headache she sported, her memories all came crashing back to her. The Lynel battle on Ploymus Mountain, and the crushing defeat it brought upon her. And then afterwards … that's right! She jumped off Shatterback Point, somehow surviving against even her own concerns! And then, she … she …
Out of the corner of Mipha's eye, she made out some sort of symbol in the wall of what she had since realized was a mobile carriage (the constant feeling of motion and sounds of turning wheels below her enough of a giveaway). She turned her head to it, and effort greater than it should have been, and narrowed her eyes when she saw that it was some sort of eye with what looked like a tear dripping upside down. The symbol looked so familiar to her, but she couldn't quite place it …
The voices resumed again. "Ugh, how much farther do we have to go? Ghira just ate the last banana!"
"Stop whining. We just passed Batrea Lake, so we should be home in a few hours at most."
A few indignant grumbles came then, followed by silence once more.
Batrea Lake?! That's miles from the domain! How far have we traveled?!
The Zora's heart was pounding against her rope-constricted chest. She couldn't remember a time feeling this scared and helpless, having no idea what had happened to her or why. The events from her dive off Shatterback to now were still blurry, adding to the unknown surrounding her current distress.
Getting onto her stomach, Mipha used her bound legs to push off the ground and worm her way to the doors of the carriage. There was a small crack between the doors, and so she used it to peek out at a slice of her moving surroundings. She could barely make out several normal-looking Hylians riding on horseback, wearing nothing out of the ordinary for a group of travelers or folks conducting business, and carrying themselves quite casually. At a glance, one would never guess them to be kidnappers - which she was sure was intentional on their part.
Mipha mustered up as much of a regal, authority tone as she could with her mouth sealed up, and shouted out at them. "Hmm! Whnnmmnmm mmrnnnph nnmm?! Hmmmrrrnnn?!" It was so humiliating to sound the way she did, but the gag wouldn't allow her anything better.
"Silence, worm!" the woman barked back. "You're in our hands now, so don't make any efforts to escape!"
Another sound jumped in. This one was very faint, and sounded just as stifled as Mipha's currently did. It sounded furious. Are there other captives? The thought gave Mipha even more dread, as well as fury for how these captors were taking away innocent people for whatever nefarious purpose they had in mind.
The Zora screamed out into her gag and slammed her bound upper body against the doors, using as much force as she could muster in her awkward positioning. Unsurprisingly, they didn't break open, barely budging under the miniscule weight of the small girl. But that didn't stop her from trying several more times, wrenching herself against them and ignoring how this only flared up her injuries even more. "Lmmmmmnnn!! Lmmmnnn rrrrnnnnn!!"
"Yeah, keep trying!" another male voice shouted from seemingly the left of the carriage. "All you'll do is cost us a few minutes of tossing you back in!"
A few more attempts followed, with Mipha then shifting tactics and trying to kick the door open with her feet. This, predictably, was just as futile. Mipha tossed her restrained shoulders about in rage. She knew that what her captor said was true. As long as she was tied up, she could do nothing even if she did bust out.
Well then, she thought grimly, I suppose I shall have to correct that.
It was far easier said than done.
The Zora was quick to learn just how effective these captors were in their ropework. Every slight movement she made was met by some resistance from the cords. She twisted and kicked about wildly, but she remained just as securely bound as when she woke up, the ropes not budging in the slightest from her smooth, scaly form. She grunted out as she fought, the cloth holding every sound back to a quiet muffle. "Mmmgph! Mmmgph!"
After a bit of time, she took a moment to regain some strength. The countless questions that had been pushed to the back of Mipha's mind came forth again. She still had no idea what any of this was about, or how it even happened, and it was making the situation even more frightening for her. Mipha had come across many challenges as a princess, but nothing like this. Nothing that made her so scared for her life and unable to do anything about it. The weight of her distress truly setting in, a whimper emerged through Mipha's gag. Her throat was particularly sore, probably due to the cloth stuffing that soaked up all the moisture in her mouth and made swallowing nearly impossible. She squeezed her eyes shut for a few seconds, as if trying to will herself out of this mess.
It was certainly in the realm of possibility that she was being used as a hostage for her royal status or something like that, but she believed firmly that the Zoras were on good terms with pretty much everyone. Would any individual, let alone a group of people, find it worth it to take her like this?
I can't imagine so … well, perhaps except for …
A pang of dread slowly overcame the girl, and Mipha looked at the symbol on the wall again.
And suddenly, she recalled where she knew that familiar image from.
Mipha's father had informed her of a deadly clan known as the Yiga, who were known for their allegiance to Calamity Ganon, the evil force that the kingdom were rigorously trying to prepare for - the one that had caused her so much pressure and stress. They apparently once even tried to go after Princess Zelda herself, only for Link to intervene and stop them. He had shown her a photograph of one of their masks, and Mipha now put together that said mask sported the same symbol that she now saw before her.
Mipha had been kidnapped by the Yiga Clan!
"Nnnnmm!!"
The pounding in her heart quickly doubled, and she went back to the reckless, mad struggle that she had started with. As if her predicament couldn't have possibly gotten more hellish, she now found herself in the grasp of possibly the most feared group in Hyrule. The ones who were most determined to stand in the way of her and her fellow Champions' efforts to save their homes from the evil Calamity Ganon. It was more than enough fuel to reignite her efforts to be free, and she screamed wildly through the silencing cloths as a million scenarios of what was to happen pounded her mind.
"MMMPH!! GHRRRMMMPH MMMMMNNN NNNRRRRGH!!!"
No, please, let me get out! Hylia, please, don't forsake me! Let me get out!!
At least Mipha was able to spend a good chunk of the journey in darkness, blissfully unaware of her predicament. Link had been awake for every grueling moment of it.
The bound and gagged Hylian had been given no time to heal from the damage he'd sustained in his brutal fight with the Yigas, feeling jolts of pain continuously surge through his body. Compounding that was the pain and discomfort of his bondage, the tight ropes squeezing his form mercilessly. His wrists and thighs were receiving the worst of it, the sensitive areas feeling the sharp, unrelenting sting of the thin yet strong material digging into them.
The ride itself was bumpy, with his carriage frequently going over crooked terrain at a haphazard pace. The tied up hero found himself josted around regularly, throwing off his concentration or just plain annoying him. Top it off with his inability to get into an even remotely comfortable position on the rough, wooden floor thanks to his limbs being restrained, and he felt completely physically miserable through the entire trip.
Link had spent a large portion of his forced journey trying to get himself free of his bonds. He was able to keep calm and, for a while, focus on a more methodical form of struggling. Without the gear or weaponry that the Yiga yanked from him, he only had his own flexibility and strength to aid him.
Link slowly twisted his crossed wrists, grunting through his gag from the ache that shot through them each time they moved. He tried to get a feel for how they were tied, hoping to maybe find just the right position to slip out of them or snap them. The ropes around his arms and torso greatly hindered his options in that regard, his broad shoulders bulging out as he tried to get some workable angle. He shifted and pulled his legs, unable to move them much at all due to his ankles and thighs both being tied. He could hear the leather of his boots creak and stretch, the ropes digging into them as he tugged his feet. They were far too tight to even consider the possibility of slipping a foot out of its boot, not that that would be likely anyway with the ropes around his thighs.
His whole body would scream in pain throughout his efforts, but Link ignored it, only allowing his discomfort to be shown via muted grunts sneaking past the cloth. He would try to shake that material off of his face, if only to get some much-needed air and rid himself of the other fabric sealed in his mouth. It tasted bitter and gave him the constant sensation of choking, as well as drying up all moisture and leaving his mouth feeling like a sore, arid desert. But his efforts to be rid of it did no good, another testament to how expertly secured even the gag was.
With one final, futile tossing of his bound body, Link collapsed onto his back, tightly tied legs sprawling out, loud huffs coming in and out of his nose. Nothing that he did showed him any pathway that could lead to freedom. He was just too well-tied, the ropes too much of a match for even the skilled champion. And so he lay there defeated, his body immensely sore, tired from his continuous, rigorous struggling.
He wasn't faring much better psychologically. For one thing, he had the knowledge that someone else had been kidnapped, with Link unable to do anything to help her. He should be saving those in distress! What kind of chosen one was he to end up in a situation like this? To wind up as such a failure when so many were counting on him? This feeling of being so small, so weak, was only allowed to simmer more and more as his journey continued.
But then another form of mental taunting came when the carriage abruptly stopped, sending the young man rolling on the floor. "Rrrrrng!" he moaned, rolling onto his back.
Then, he heard a new voice, one that he was sure wasn't from any of his Yiga captors. He'd listened closely enough to know that much.
"Sorry to bother you folks, but we seem to be lost right now," the female said.
Listening in to the ensuing conversation, Link inched himself to stare out of the tiny hole in one of the walls of his prison. He saw that a pair of travelers, a male and female Gerudo in fairly modest garb that nonetheless still befitted their culture, were sitting on horseback less than ten feet away from him.
"We'd be happy to help!" one of the disguised Yiga said cheerfully. "Where are you two heading?"
As the Gerudo and Yiga went on with their exchange, Link's wrapped up body became tense, breathing slowly, fighting back every impulse that was begging him to scream through the gag for help and bang around, to let the would-be rescuers know that he was in need of such rescuing. It was probably unlikely a traveler would have gotten close enough to hear his muffled yells.
But Link couldn't take the temptation. It would accomplish nothing. Even if these people did hear him, they would simply end up as two extra prisoners for the Yiga. His captors wouldn't take the risk of anyone getting suspicious, and Link highly doubted that even a pair of Gerudo would be able to defeat the horde of Yiga they would be up against.
So while the disguised Yiga conversed with the unsuspecting duo, the hero stayed silent and still, much to his own dismay. He leaned away from the small opening, not giving these travelers any hints that there was a captive mere meters away from them.
Soon, the Gerudo had the information that they were looking for. "Farewell and safe travels, my friends!" the male said. And with that, Link heard the sounds of their horses trotting away, while his carriage lay still.
Once Link could tell that the Gerudo were out of hearing range, he banged his bound, booted feet against the floor in anger, letting out a soft moan of frustration. "Mrrrmmm!!" It didn't matter that it was the right thing to do; the Hylian still hated the feeling of turning away even a small chance at rescue. He hated that he even needed a chance at rescue.
And he hated it the few additional times he heard other denizens passing his captors by. But he held that hatred back.
For the sake of everyone else, Link chose to be on his own.
Funny how it always seemed to go that way. And how now more than ever, he didn't wish to be on his own.
The Legend of Zelda franchise, the image used, and all characters and settings portrayed (except named Yiga members), all belong to Nintendo.
Originally uploaded on November 10, 2019.
I remember how I tuned out a lot of outside distractions, determined to get it finished and uploaded. Ugh, stupid real life wanting me to go out and interact with actual things and people! >_<
Nonetheless, here it is. This isn't my first time having bound characters in motion, but it's the most detailed I've ever gotten with it, so I hope that detail pays off. It was great to portray Link in such a state of defeat, the mighty hero now reduced to being someone's luggage essentially. And of course, we get Mipha's first scene tied up in the story, which I'm sure many are excited to see!
And yes, we're four parts in and our lovebirds STILL haven't encountered each other! Rest assured, that's just around the corner. But I wanted this to build up to their reunion, as like many good things, part of the fun is the anticipation.
And yeah, for those of you who didn't realize it by now, this story is LOOOOONG. Easily the longest I've ever done, and the most content-packed to date.
Thanks so much for making it this far! I hope you enjoyed! Please feel free to drop down your thoughts below, and keep going for the worst reunion our lovers could have wished for!
Link's gag speech translated:
"Rrmmrrghmm! Rrmmrrghmm!" - "Let her go! Let her go!"
Mipha's gag speech translated:
"Whnnnmmmnnn?!! Whnnhmmphnnmm?!! HRMMNN?! HRRMMNN!!" - "What is this?!! What's happened to me?!! HELLO?! HELLO!!"
"Hmm! Whnnmmnmm mmrnnnph nnmm?! Hmmmrrrnnn?!" - "Hey! What is the meaning of this?! Who are you?!"
"Lmmmmmnnn!! Lmmmnnn rrrrnnnnn!!" - "Let me out!! Let me out right now!!"
Link grunted in discomfort as he was carelessly tossed into the back of one of two carriages helmed by the Yiga. He hit the hard wooden floor on his side with a thud, sending a jolt of pain through his body, which was already aching from both the battle and the tight ropes wrapped around him. He rolled over onto his other side to face the two villains who had thrown him in, his fierce blue eyes trying to muster the most defiant glare possible in the state he was in. But the soldiers just slammed the carriage doors shut, and Link could hear them fiddling with some sort of mechanism that would likely lock the doors from the outside.
Wanting to have as close to a defensive position as he could get, the bound and gagged Hylian wriggled his way over to the nearest wall, and used his bound feet to push himself up to sit against it. Faint little grunts slipped past his gag as he did so, and he took a few breaths through his nose as he leaned his head against the wall as well. He began lightly fidgeting in his bonds, not necessarily expecting to get free but looking for any weaknesses in the ropework that he could take advantage of at the right moment.
After a few minutes, the voice of one of the Yiga suddenly spoke up.
"What … who is this?"
Link turned his head to the doors that blocked his view. He tried to peak out through the cracks, but couldn't see the source of the commotion.
"I found her knocked out down the river. She look familiar to you?" another voice responded.
A few seconds of silence passed, before the original voice spoke again. "Well I'll be damned … what're the chances we just stumble upon her like this?! We've struck gold today!"
A pleased grunt of agreement followed, along with several more members quietly uttering enthused statements that Link couldn't make out. Soon another voice, one that Link recognized as Jora, chimed in. "Looks like she'll be out for a while. Bind her up and put her in the other carriage. The Master's going to be quite happy with what we're bringing home to him," she said, satisfaction clear in her voice.
Link could then hear some scuffling and movement, followed by the familiar sound of carriage doors being closed and locked. The boy listened closely and tactfully, trying to decipher the events with only the sounds being made. But there were no clues to be heard, only generic utterances like "get her in there" that gave no useful information to him. Without any way to see any of the activity outside his own carriage, all he could make out from any of this was that some poor girl had been found, presumably unconscious, and was now a captive alongside him. She sounded important to the Yiga, but that made little difference to the noble hero. All he had to know was that an innocent being was now in danger, and that alone reinvigorated his desire to get free.
He twisted his body around, tugging his arms and shifting his legs methodically yet quickly, keeping himself unfazed by the lack of any effect it had. "Rrmmrrghmm! Rrmmrrghmm!" Link shouted at the Yiga, demanding they release the new captive. But they were dismissive of his incoherent shouts, only responding with a few snickers at the legendary Hylian reduced to such a state.
Suddenly, Link's carriage began moving forward with a jolt. A startled grunt escaped the thick cloth gripping his mouth, and the momentum tipped him gently onto his side. The Yiga were clearly finished here, and were now moving out, heading to Hylia-knows-where. The carriage got into a steady rhythm, and the Hylian could hear the sounds of horse hooves trotting along around him.
Link could feel his heart begin to race, as if the full implications of what was happening were finally hitting him. He was beaten and weakened in a brutal battle, physically helpless, captured, and now being taken away without anyone knowing where he was. It probably wouldn't be until night before the Zora got concerned about his delayed arrival, and it would take even longer for word to spread to Hyrule Castle. By then, there would be almost no clues to go off of. The Yiga had done well to cover all traces of the fight; the only signs of anything wrong would be an empty stable, if Link were to assume the worst of what they did to its rightful owners.
Anger surged through the tied up hero at the treachery of his captors - calling them that only adding more fuel to his fire - and how he had failed to stop their vile deeds. He needed to escape, get away from them, and plan some way to prevent anyone else from getting hurt.
He couldn't just bust open the carriage doors and roll out. Not only did they seem too strong for that, but he could tell by listening that there were horse-riding soldiers behind his carriage. If he were still tied up when he got out, they would just put him right back in. The only way he stood a chance was by getting himself untied. But the pressure and strength of his ropes told him that was a very unlikely option.
I'll have to settle for unlikely.
It started with a numbing feeling. Every sense in her body felt as though it had to relearn everything all over again. Slowly, over the course of what felt like hours, her body started to come back to life, the hazes finally clearing up enough for her to be able to register … anything.
And yet, Mipha still felt almost no energy to move a muscle. Her eyelids heavily opened and closed, trying to return her to the world of consciousness, despite the rest of her body feeling like it was begging for her to retreat from it once more. But she fought through it, fought through the multiple aches and pains that were making themselves known in every inch of her form.
Thankfully, the Zora soon felt she had enough strength to move … and yet still couldn't when she tried. With her vision finally cleared up, she was shown the unfamiliar sight of two thick wooden doors, a similarly wooden room surrounding her. She was laying on her side, and yet it felt like she was moving. Her breathing felt horribly limited, and she felt an inexplicable sense of claustrophobia.
"... Rrrrnngg … mmmm …"
What in Hylia's name is wrong with me?!
Looking down at herself, the answer to Mipha's question turned out to be the biggest shock of her life. Her legs were bound with coils of light-brown rope winding tightly around her ankles and thighs. She kicked them impulsively, only for the aches to surge greater. She also instantly saw that her arms were bound to her sides with more rope going around her lower chest and torso, and she could feel her wrists tied together in a crossed position behind her back.
"HHHHMMMMHHH!!??!" Mipha screamed fiercely at this horrid situation, her first and only instinct to struggle madly in the ropes. She tossed and turned, bucking herself and thrashing all over her mysterious cell with no method or strategy. It gave her the appearance of a fish that had just been taken from the sea and plopped on land … which in some ways wasn't too far off from reality.
"Whnnnmmmnnn?!! Whnnhmmphnnmm?!! HRMMNN?! HRRMMNN!!"
As she shouted out and grunted hysterically, Mipha was made aware of what felt like a rag or towel wrapped over her mouth to gag her, weaved underneath the "fins" dangling from her head and tied off aggressively tightly. She also felt that there was another one stuffed inside her mouth. But that felt almost trivial at this point in her terrified state.
A million questions rose through the princess's head as she kept floundering wildly. How did this happen?! When did this happen?! Who did this?! Where am I?! Why do I hurt so much?!
Suddenly, Mipha heard soft laughter seeming to come from behind the wooden doors. "Well, it looks like our other captive is awake," a female voice said. Another voice, this one male, responded by saying, "Seems like she's going to be a bigger handful than our golden boy."
This caused Mipha to freeze, rapidly taking in what little air she could. Obviously these voices belonged to the ones who did this to her. But who were they? When would they have even had the chance to take her? What was the last thing that she could remember …
And then, like the splitting headache she sported, her memories all came crashing back to her. The Lynel battle on Ploymus Mountain, and the crushing defeat it brought upon her. And then afterwards … that's right! She jumped off Shatterback Point, somehow surviving against even her own concerns! And then, she … she …
Out of the corner of Mipha's eye, she made out some sort of symbol in the wall of what she had since realized was a mobile carriage (the constant feeling of motion and sounds of turning wheels below her enough of a giveaway). She turned her head to it, and effort greater than it should have been, and narrowed her eyes when she saw that it was some sort of eye with what looked like a tear dripping upside down. The symbol looked so familiar to her, but she couldn't quite place it …
The voices resumed again. "Ugh, how much farther do we have to go? Ghira just ate the last banana!"
"Stop whining. We just passed Batrea Lake, so we should be home in a few hours at most."
A few indignant grumbles came then, followed by silence once more.
Batrea Lake?! That's miles from the domain! How far have we traveled?!
The Zora's heart was pounding against her rope-constricted chest. She couldn't remember a time feeling this scared and helpless, having no idea what had happened to her or why. The events from her dive off Shatterback to now were still blurry, adding to the unknown surrounding her current distress.
Getting onto her stomach, Mipha used her bound legs to push off the ground and worm her way to the doors of the carriage. There was a small crack between the doors, and so she used it to peek out at a slice of her moving surroundings. She could barely make out several normal-looking Hylians riding on horseback, wearing nothing out of the ordinary for a group of travelers or folks conducting business, and carrying themselves quite casually. At a glance, one would never guess them to be kidnappers - which she was sure was intentional on their part.
Mipha mustered up as much of a regal, authority tone as she could with her mouth sealed up, and shouted out at them. "Hmm! Whnnmmnmm mmrnnnph nnmm?! Hmmmrrrnnn?!" It was so humiliating to sound the way she did, but the gag wouldn't allow her anything better.
"Silence, worm!" the woman barked back. "You're in our hands now, so don't make any efforts to escape!"
Another sound jumped in. This one was very faint, and sounded just as stifled as Mipha's currently did. It sounded furious. Are there other captives? The thought gave Mipha even more dread, as well as fury for how these captors were taking away innocent people for whatever nefarious purpose they had in mind.
The Zora screamed out into her gag and slammed her bound upper body against the doors, using as much force as she could muster in her awkward positioning. Unsurprisingly, they didn't break open, barely budging under the miniscule weight of the small girl. But that didn't stop her from trying several more times, wrenching herself against them and ignoring how this only flared up her injuries even more. "Lmmmmmnnn!! Lmmmnnn rrrrnnnnn!!"
"Yeah, keep trying!" another male voice shouted from seemingly the left of the carriage. "All you'll do is cost us a few minutes of tossing you back in!"
A few more attempts followed, with Mipha then shifting tactics and trying to kick the door open with her feet. This, predictably, was just as futile. Mipha tossed her restrained shoulders about in rage. She knew that what her captor said was true. As long as she was tied up, she could do nothing even if she did bust out.
Well then, she thought grimly, I suppose I shall have to correct that.
It was far easier said than done.
The Zora was quick to learn just how effective these captors were in their ropework. Every slight movement she made was met by some resistance from the cords. She twisted and kicked about wildly, but she remained just as securely bound as when she woke up, the ropes not budging in the slightest from her smooth, scaly form. She grunted out as she fought, the cloth holding every sound back to a quiet muffle. "Mmmgph! Mmmgph!"
After a bit of time, she took a moment to regain some strength. The countless questions that had been pushed to the back of Mipha's mind came forth again. She still had no idea what any of this was about, or how it even happened, and it was making the situation even more frightening for her. Mipha had come across many challenges as a princess, but nothing like this. Nothing that made her so scared for her life and unable to do anything about it. The weight of her distress truly setting in, a whimper emerged through Mipha's gag. Her throat was particularly sore, probably due to the cloth stuffing that soaked up all the moisture in her mouth and made swallowing nearly impossible. She squeezed her eyes shut for a few seconds, as if trying to will herself out of this mess.
It was certainly in the realm of possibility that she was being used as a hostage for her royal status or something like that, but she believed firmly that the Zoras were on good terms with pretty much everyone. Would any individual, let alone a group of people, find it worth it to take her like this?
I can't imagine so … well, perhaps except for …
A pang of dread slowly overcame the girl, and Mipha looked at the symbol on the wall again.
And suddenly, she recalled where she knew that familiar image from.
Mipha's father had informed her of a deadly clan known as the Yiga, who were known for their allegiance to Calamity Ganon, the evil force that the kingdom were rigorously trying to prepare for - the one that had caused her so much pressure and stress. They apparently once even tried to go after Princess Zelda herself, only for Link to intervene and stop them. He had shown her a photograph of one of their masks, and Mipha now put together that said mask sported the same symbol that she now saw before her.
Mipha had been kidnapped by the Yiga Clan!
"Nnnnmm!!"
The pounding in her heart quickly doubled, and she went back to the reckless, mad struggle that she had started with. As if her predicament couldn't have possibly gotten more hellish, she now found herself in the grasp of possibly the most feared group in Hyrule. The ones who were most determined to stand in the way of her and her fellow Champions' efforts to save their homes from the evil Calamity Ganon. It was more than enough fuel to reignite her efforts to be free, and she screamed wildly through the silencing cloths as a million scenarios of what was to happen pounded her mind.
"MMMPH!! GHRRRMMMPH MMMMMNNN NNNRRRRGH!!!"
No, please, let me get out! Hylia, please, don't forsake me! Let me get out!!
At least Mipha was able to spend a good chunk of the journey in darkness, blissfully unaware of her predicament. Link had been awake for every grueling moment of it.
The bound and gagged Hylian had been given no time to heal from the damage he'd sustained in his brutal fight with the Yigas, feeling jolts of pain continuously surge through his body. Compounding that was the pain and discomfort of his bondage, the tight ropes squeezing his form mercilessly. His wrists and thighs were receiving the worst of it, the sensitive areas feeling the sharp, unrelenting sting of the thin yet strong material digging into them.
The ride itself was bumpy, with his carriage frequently going over crooked terrain at a haphazard pace. The tied up hero found himself josted around regularly, throwing off his concentration or just plain annoying him. Top it off with his inability to get into an even remotely comfortable position on the rough, wooden floor thanks to his limbs being restrained, and he felt completely physically miserable through the entire trip.
Link had spent a large portion of his forced journey trying to get himself free of his bonds. He was able to keep calm and, for a while, focus on a more methodical form of struggling. Without the gear or weaponry that the Yiga yanked from him, he only had his own flexibility and strength to aid him.
Link slowly twisted his crossed wrists, grunting through his gag from the ache that shot through them each time they moved. He tried to get a feel for how they were tied, hoping to maybe find just the right position to slip out of them or snap them. The ropes around his arms and torso greatly hindered his options in that regard, his broad shoulders bulging out as he tried to get some workable angle. He shifted and pulled his legs, unable to move them much at all due to his ankles and thighs both being tied. He could hear the leather of his boots creak and stretch, the ropes digging into them as he tugged his feet. They were far too tight to even consider the possibility of slipping a foot out of its boot, not that that would be likely anyway with the ropes around his thighs.
His whole body would scream in pain throughout his efforts, but Link ignored it, only allowing his discomfort to be shown via muted grunts sneaking past the cloth. He would try to shake that material off of his face, if only to get some much-needed air and rid himself of the other fabric sealed in his mouth. It tasted bitter and gave him the constant sensation of choking, as well as drying up all moisture and leaving his mouth feeling like a sore, arid desert. But his efforts to be rid of it did no good, another testament to how expertly secured even the gag was.
With one final, futile tossing of his bound body, Link collapsed onto his back, tightly tied legs sprawling out, loud huffs coming in and out of his nose. Nothing that he did showed him any pathway that could lead to freedom. He was just too well-tied, the ropes too much of a match for even the skilled champion. And so he lay there defeated, his body immensely sore, tired from his continuous, rigorous struggling.
He wasn't faring much better psychologically. For one thing, he had the knowledge that someone else had been kidnapped, with Link unable to do anything to help her. He should be saving those in distress! What kind of chosen one was he to end up in a situation like this? To wind up as such a failure when so many were counting on him? This feeling of being so small, so weak, was only allowed to simmer more and more as his journey continued.
But then another form of mental taunting came when the carriage abruptly stopped, sending the young man rolling on the floor. "Rrrrrng!" he moaned, rolling onto his back.
Then, he heard a new voice, one that he was sure wasn't from any of his Yiga captors. He'd listened closely enough to know that much.
"Sorry to bother you folks, but we seem to be lost right now," the female said.
Listening in to the ensuing conversation, Link inched himself to stare out of the tiny hole in one of the walls of his prison. He saw that a pair of travelers, a male and female Gerudo in fairly modest garb that nonetheless still befitted their culture, were sitting on horseback less than ten feet away from him.
"We'd be happy to help!" one of the disguised Yiga said cheerfully. "Where are you two heading?"
As the Gerudo and Yiga went on with their exchange, Link's wrapped up body became tense, breathing slowly, fighting back every impulse that was begging him to scream through the gag for help and bang around, to let the would-be rescuers know that he was in need of such rescuing. It was probably unlikely a traveler would have gotten close enough to hear his muffled yells.
But Link couldn't take the temptation. It would accomplish nothing. Even if these people did hear him, they would simply end up as two extra prisoners for the Yiga. His captors wouldn't take the risk of anyone getting suspicious, and Link highly doubted that even a pair of Gerudo would be able to defeat the horde of Yiga they would be up against.
So while the disguised Yiga conversed with the unsuspecting duo, the hero stayed silent and still, much to his own dismay. He leaned away from the small opening, not giving these travelers any hints that there was a captive mere meters away from them.
Soon, the Gerudo had the information that they were looking for. "Farewell and safe travels, my friends!" the male said. And with that, Link heard the sounds of their horses trotting away, while his carriage lay still.
Once Link could tell that the Gerudo were out of hearing range, he banged his bound, booted feet against the floor in anger, letting out a soft moan of frustration. "Mrrrmmm!!" It didn't matter that it was the right thing to do; the Hylian still hated the feeling of turning away even a small chance at rescue. He hated that he even needed a chance at rescue.
And he hated it the few additional times he heard other denizens passing his captors by. But he held that hatred back.
For the sake of everyone else, Link chose to be on his own.
Funny how it always seemed to go that way. And how now more than ever, he didn't wish to be on his own.
The Legend of Zelda franchise, the image used, and all characters and settings portrayed (except named Yiga members), all belong to Nintendo.
Originally uploaded on November 10, 2019.
I remember how I tuned out a lot of outside distractions, determined to get it finished and uploaded. Ugh, stupid real life wanting me to go out and interact with actual things and people! >_<
Nonetheless, here it is. This isn't my first time having bound characters in motion, but it's the most detailed I've ever gotten with it, so I hope that detail pays off. It was great to portray Link in such a state of defeat, the mighty hero now reduced to being someone's luggage essentially. And of course, we get Mipha's first scene tied up in the story, which I'm sure many are excited to see!
And yes, we're four parts in and our lovebirds STILL haven't encountered each other! Rest assured, that's just around the corner. But I wanted this to build up to their reunion, as like many good things, part of the fun is the anticipation.
And yeah, for those of you who didn't realize it by now, this story is LOOOOONG. Easily the longest I've ever done, and the most content-packed to date.
Thanks so much for making it this far! I hope you enjoyed! Please feel free to drop down your thoughts below, and keep going for the worst reunion our lovers could have wished for!
Link's gag speech translated:
"Rrmmrrghmm! Rrmmrrghmm!" - "Let her go! Let her go!"
Mipha's gag speech translated:
"Whnnnmmmnnn?!! Whnnhmmphnnmm?!! HRMMNN?! HRRMMNN!!" - "What is this?!! What's happened to me?!! HELLO?! HELLO!!"
"Hmm! Whnnmmnmm mmrnnnph nnmm?! Hmmmrrrnnn?!" - "Hey! What is the meaning of this?! Who are you?!"
"Lmmmmmnnn!! Lmmmnnn rrrrnnnnn!!" - "Let me out!! Let me out right now!!"
Category Story / Bondage
Species Unspecified / Any
Size 1280 x 662px
File Size 108.2 kB
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