Rain's Writing Archive

A Gift of Nightshade

Originally posted to Ao3 on 4/30/2024.

A/N: i wish there was a quest that let you actually tell Perda that her husband is in the jail, instead of just telling Wabbin where his wife works now. it couldve been a really sweet cutscene or something. anyway this is what it would be like if i was in charge

The little blond Hylian voe is in the Secret Club again.

He comes around fairly often. Far too often, in Perda's opinion. He's going to get himself caught one of these days, always sneaking into town like this. He's a very good customer and secret-keeper, considering he doesn't talk, and she'd hate to see him thrown in jail.

Nevertheless, he consistently shows up around once a month to buy any new clothes they stock. Greta has even started setting aside items for him, specifically. Perda knows he's one of her favorite customers.

Though, this time, he's acting different. He very quickly bought a new dress they had just stocked, and foregoes looking through the rest of their collection the way he usually does.

Instead, he packs away the dress in a bag and approaches Perda.

"Come," he signs, looking up at her with pleading eyes, "Follow."

Perda just blinks down at him in surprise. She didn't know he knew Gerudo sign.

"Please follow," he signs again, eyebrows furrowing. He looks desperate. In that moment, he almost reminds her of the young voe who helped her find her true love five years ago, right before the end of the Great Calamity.

And by the Seven, she can't say no to that face.

"You want me to follow you?" She asks, just to be sure. He nods vigorously. "Well then, lead the way, little voe."

With her confirmation, he spins around and marches right out the door of the Secret Club.

He's absolutely about to get himself caught by the guards. Perda huffs, but dutifully follows him. Maybe if she sticks nearby, she can vouch for him to just be thrown out of the town instead of into jail. It would be bad for business to lose their best customer, after all.

The little voe doesn't even make an attempt at sneaking. Perda thought with how often he got into town, he'd be a little more stealthy.

But even as the two of them walk directly onto the main street of town, no one bats an eye at the voe. He even waves to one of the shopkeeps, and she waves back, unperturbed by his presence.

Did the laws change while she was working in the Secret Club?

She would have heard about that, right?

The voe leads her into the underground shelter, and the guard there – Reeza, if she remembers right – lets them past without a fuss.

Maybe the whole town has succumbed to madness.

As Perda crosses the threshold of the gate and enters the shelter proper, a small weight barrels into her legs at full speed. Her warrior instincts almost cause her to kick the weight off, but her motherly ones trigger instead when she looks down and sees Aaqlet clutching her leg.

"Mommy! You're back!" Aaqlet beams up at her, and Perda can't help but smile back. She leans down and picks up her daughter, resting her on one hip the way she did before she left to work at the Secret Club.

"That I am."

The Hylian has paused to watch the mother and daughter reunite. Perda raises an eyebrow at him.

"Did you tell her to come here?" He nods. "Was this what you were leading me to?"

This time, he shakes his head. He waves for her to keep following, so she does.

They head down the right-most path, towards the sleeping quarters and the canteen. Though, instead of going into either of those places, the voe takes a sharp right and stops in front of Katta, the jail's guard.

Why in the name of the Seven would he bring her and Aaqlet here, of all places?

He signs something to Katta that Perda can't see, and Katta lets out a long-suffering sigh.

"I'm only letting this happen because Lady Riju has allowed it, understand?" The little voe nods seriously, and Katta sighs again, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Go on in."

She opens the cell door, and the voe beckons her to follow once more. Perda shoots a confused look at Katta, who shrugs at her.

"Lady Riju and Link have informed me that our prisoner here is someone you know, and he and the Chief insisted on me allowing you to see him."

Very informative.

The voe, Link (how had she never caught his name before?), beckons again, more insistent this time. Aaqlet tells her that Link wants her to go inside, and while Perda already knew that, she thanks her anyway.

With a fortifying breath, Perda walks into the prison cell.

"Perda? Aaqlet?"

Perda must be dreaming.

That's the only explanation, because her husband, her Wabbin, is standing right in front of her. He's here, in Gerudo Town – admittedly, in a prison cell – and he's safe.

Aaqlet wiggles free of her mother's hold to run to Wabbin instead. He breaks into a brilliant smile that Perda thought she might not see for several more years. He scoops Aaqlet up under her armpits and spins her around as well as he can in the tight space while she laughs and squeals in delight.

Perda breaks out of her stupor when Wabbin settles Aaqlet on his hip and opens his other arm to her.

The cell is small, it only takes two steps to reach him, but the time it takes to clear that distance feels like an eternity.

When she can finally wrap her arms around him, everything clicks into place. Like placing the final piece in a puzzle and getting to see the full picture. He practically melts in her arms, and it takes Perda everything she has to stay standing and not sink to the floor.

It's a losing battle. She and the rest of her little family all end up in a puddle on the floor anyway.

"Thank you, Link," Wabbin says, and wow, his voice is so nice to hear again.

Link – she had kind of forgotten he was there – must sign something in reply, because she hears rustling fabric, and then Wabbin sputters.

"What do you mean "wouldn't be the first time"?"

Perda turns her head to look at Link, still standing in the open doorway, just in time to see him pull out a blue nightshade and toss it to them. She catches it on pure instinct because she's certain all higher brain functions have ground to a halt.

Link didn't just remind her of the voe that got her and her husband together, he is the voe that got her and her husband together!

And now he's gone and done it again.

"From the bottom of my heart, little voe," she says, passing the nightshade to Wabbin, "thank you."

A/N: thanks for reading! kudos and comments are always appreciated, and have a nice day/night <3