Fan Fiction ❯ Never My Destiny ❯ Forbidden Feelings ( Chapter 3 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Never My Destiny
A Ganondorf/Impa Romance
by Galaxy Girl

A/N: Okay... I like that spacing. So it goes into effect! Yahoo! Wowee, thanks for all the great feedback, everyone! I'm really happy that you all (well... most of you) like the world's first serious G/I romance... Well, not really a romance yet... BUT THAT ALL HAPPENS THIS CHAPTER! This chapter is a little long, since it rounds out the rest of the pre-OoT storyline, and a little bit DURING the OoT storyline. Ahem... okay. Let's GO!


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CHAPTER THREE: Forbidden Feelings (A/N: JEEZ, could the titles get any more cliché?)

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Both days of meetings seemed to pass by in the blink of an eye to Ganondorf, who was feeling immensely relieved having found a friend. Perhaps it was the fact that she was somewhat in the same situation he was, or the fact that he had been desperately looking for someone- ANYONE who was his same age. But whatever the reason, he felt that he and Impa had some kind of connection that he'd never had with anyone else before.
He felt a bit silly, though following Impa around constantly for the whole first day of talks. He wondered if perhaps she thought him irritating. Apparently not, though... She seemed just as relieved to have found someone to talk to.
As Ganondorf laid back in his bed on the second night, staring out the window at the sky above, he found it a bit strange that two stars seemed to be circling around each other, just in his field of view.
Maybe that lone star he'd seen a few nights ago had finally found a friend.
He couldn't sleep. He'd been lying here in the same position for at least an hour... He was too nervous to sleep. Added with a bit of homesickness, and a little bit of loneliness as he missed his aunt and cousin, and the young Gerudo had been hit with a full-out case of insomnia.
Ganondorf wondered if it was normal to think about someone as much as he did. He couldn't seem to stop thinking about Impa. How kind she'd been when they were in the meetings... Jumping into the middle of an argument between he and Darunia. Perhaps she was just diplomatic by nature.
She even tried to stop him before he...
If only he'd listened to her.
Ganondorf knew that he'd messed up badly. He just couldn't hold in his temper any longer. The boredom, the frustration, the want to get the meeting over with, and the want to talk to Impa had just exploded.
He'd almost ruined the entire treaty.
The celebratory ball was dancing on down in the grand ballroom, and everyone else in the castle was there. Ganondorf figured it would have been a terrible faux pas for him to show up. He knew that none of the other dignitaries were really wanting to talk to him.
Part of him, though, wondered if Impa was there. Maybe she was off in a corner by herself, alone.
Maybe she was waiting for him to come.
But... the others...
Any minute now, Ganondorf was sure that Harkinian would be here to talk to him about his behavior at the meeting today. He was NOT looking forward to that.
Perhaps he should head down to the ball... It would give him an excuse to avoid talking to Harkinian.
He stared out the window again, at those two stars that seemed to have gone closer together within the last week.
If he did find Impa... would she even want to talk to him after today?




They'd broken for the first day at dusk, returning to the Great Hall for a grand feast in celebration. The echoing stone halls had been decked in the flags of every race- The tulip-like Goron symbol, omnipresent in their tattoos; the Zora's three-edged clover, the Gerudo's crescent and star, and the intricate red eye of the Sheikah; the "swoosh" of the Kokiri and Deku. The dining hall had been lined by hundreds of servants, standing in line like a pack of tin soldiers.
Even the table was grand in size and elaborate in decoration. It extended nearly the full length of the room, with at least fifty chairs lining it. An intricately woven tablecloth covered it entirely, and Ganondorf mused about what a chore it would be to fold it up.
The servants massed around the table in a flock, taking orders and carrying in dish after dish, piled high with piping hot food. They circled, filling up empty wineglasses faster than anyone could drink from them and replacing soiled napkins.
With all the servants around, he felt too uneasy to eat much, worried that as soon as he began the next course would come around and he'd be caught in a faux pas. He found himself mostly drinking a strangely brewed sort of tea, and becoming frustrated that the glass seemed bottomless with all the servants around.
Ganondorf felt he preferred the simpler, but much rowdier dinners at home in the valley.
In Gerudo Valley, when meals were served, they'd all gather in the dining room, a larger room in the center of the fortress decorated by miscellaneous stolen flatware and china. Though the food was usually scarce to feed so many hungry women, no one ever complained about the quality.
Gerudo dishes were spicy and hearty, and always prepared with the very best in stolen food. Long ago, his mother had told him that stolen food tasted twice as good as food that had been paid for. "You can taste the work that went into it," she'd say, laughing.
Here (Ganondorf didn't want to say anything, but he definitely noticed that it was the truth) the food tasted like it had been prepared in great quantities to feed many people. If it had been just him and the king, he guessed that it would have been much better.
But then again, Ganondorf would never agree to meet with the king by himself.
They were in between courses. He had begun to fold his napkin with a blank look, drifting into boredom as he listening to King Zora droning on about scale disease to one of his entourage nearby.
None of the other Gerudo had been invited to come. It was as though the king wanted the Gerudo to be represented, but not by more people than were necessary.
The napkin became a bird. He crumpled it up and it became a fish. Next it took on an amusing caricature of the Deku representative, who was giving a spirited speech on an encounter he had with a Wolfos down at the other end of the table.
Suddenly, a hand reached over his shoulder and snatched the napkin away from him. He froze as a large platter of bread was set down in the center of the table.
"Hylian Sweet Bread, your graces," the servant said, replacing a stack of napkins next to the platter and sweeping a bow.
"Oh, one of my favorites!" chuckled King Zora pleasantly. "The food here is marvelous! Wouldn't you agree, Lord... what's your name again, sir?"
Ganondorf snapped to attention and pulled his hand back from where it had been trying to grab another napkin. "Huh? Oh... yes. It's Ganondorf."
"It's a pleasure to finally have a Gerudo king to negotiate with, my friend," King Zora blubbered as one of his entourage filled his plate with bread. "I am hoping we can come up with some new property rights in the river."
"Oh... yes, sir," Ganondorf answered uneasily.
"You know how it gets, I'm sure... Whose fish are they, when we catch them in a certain part? Ho ho ho ho," he went on.
"Uh... yeah," Ganondorf stammered, looking around anxiously for someone to change the subject with.
"You've eaten very little, I couldn't help but notice. Do you perhaps not feel well?" King Zora questioned.
"No, sir."
"No as in yes, or no as in no?"
Ganondorf blinked in confusion. "Excuse me, sir?"
"You do feel ill?"
"No, sir!" Ganondorf said quickly. "I'm sorry..."
"No need to apologize, Lord Ganondorf!" King Zora chuckled. "You just seemed a little uneasy, that's all!"

Ganondorf wasn't hungry anymore. His napkin sat on his plate, currently folded into the shape of a large Gerudo-style sword. He was staring at Harkinian, at the head of the table about seven chairs away.
The king was having a conversation with the man who'd served as the Kokiri's representative. He was smiling pleasantly and nodding.
He didn't look like the type of person responsible for the death of an innocent woman.
Don't let that smile fool you, Ganondorf told himself over and over again in his head. He could feel the fury rising inside of him as he watched Harkinian talk. You know it's his fault... You know she's dead because of him.
He could visualize his mother, soaked in her own blood, dying there on the cot. He could imagine how she'd screamed when the rocks began flying... The hooting jeers of the crowd as she'd been pummeled down. The cruel smile on the face of the guard who'd brought her in as she was flung into the moat, a cloudy shape staining the water around her limp form. And the naïve face of Harkinian, unaware that any of this was going on in his kingdom, caused by his people... Even if he hadn't been the king when it happened, he'd taken over now... And Ganondorf hated all Hylians, and especially their leader, no matter who he was.
Gerudo-hating bastards.
He didn't know how he would exert his revenge. But he wanted to, desperately. At first he'd decided just to have nothing to do with his mother's killers. But now that he was here... He could feel his hatred growing. He wanted to see them suffer like she did. But just how to do that...?
"Lord Ganondorf?"
He snapped out of his violent daydream, looking around quickly. King Harkinian was smiling at him. "Are you enjoying the meal so far?"
"Y-yes," he said shortly.
"Happy to hear it. It's been so long since we've been able to welcome your people to the castle. It's nice to have everyone here again," he commented.
"Y-yes," Ganondorf said again.
"So... formalities should be saved for negotiations. Let us talk like friends now," Harkinian smiled again. "Tell me a little more about your people... I find your ruling system fascinating. How does it work?"
Great Din! Could he get any more irritating? Ganondorf thought. It's not enough that Ganondorf already hated Hylians. Now their leader, the one that he hated most of all had to be asking him about the other thing that he couldn't stand- being the only male Gerudo.
Keep your cool, he kept telling himself silently. Don't get upset...
"Well... um..." he stuttered. "We're all female... Except the one, um, male... born every hundred years."
Ganondorf was turning as red as his hair. It didn't help that other people at the table had stopped their own private conversations to listen in, and now nearly everyone was watching him again.
"Every hundred years? That's what I'd heard... How do you survive up to that point?" Harkinian asked. "Does the male often live that long?"
Ganondorf stared at him suspiciously, telling himself to ignore the others watching him. "The women, they... um... Go out into the cities and..."
Several of the dignitaries looked back and forth from one another disapprovingly. Harkinian's eyes widened, as though that wasn't the answer he expected.
"Oh! Well..." he murmured uncomfortably. "Yes... I'd heard about that too. Tell me, Lord Ganondorf... your father... A Gerudo?"
This conversation was quickly heading even further into hell, Ganondorf thought. Another thing he didn't like to discuss. He was technically half Hylian. He hated Hylians. He hated half of himself.
"A Hylian," Ganondorf mumbled.
"That's wonderful!" Harkinian beamed. "Another bridge to join our people!"
Ganondorf felt like he was going to vomit.
"Perhaps I know your father. What's his name?"
"I don't know," he grumbled. "I'm not supposed to know."
The king picked up on Ganondorf's disdain, and changed the subject. "I see. Well... Your mother, then. Gerudo?"
"Yes," Ganondorf said quickly. He could feel bile rising into his throat. It was honestly making him sick. How DARE he bring up his mother?
"Is she the woman who was with you today?" asked the king. "Pleasant woman... Very beautiful."
"That was my aunt," Ganondorf stated. "My mother is dead."
"Oh. I'm sorry to hear that..." Harkinian stated, nodding. "I'm sure she was a very noble woman."
"She was killed," he went on, before he could stop himself.
Harkinian's eyes widened. "Good heavens... In the war?"
"Before the war," Ganondorf went on, silently cursing his lack of control. "She was stoned to death."
"Oh my!" the king sighed.
"By Hylians," Ganondorf snorted.
The hall fell silent.
He knew before he had even finished that he had said something very, very wrong.
Everybody was staring at him in disbelief now. But one person in particular caught his eye.
Impa was leaning over the table from the chair immediately to the king's right, staring at Ganondorf with wide, shocked eyes.
Good, Ganondorf thought haughtily. I'm glad he's surprised.
Harkinian's eyes were very wide. What impudence!
He didn't show any remorse as he smiled at the king and held out his hand. "Your majesty, could you please pass a piece of bread?"




Other dignitaries seemed to have adopted a cool attitude towards Ganondorf the next day during the meetings. They only spoke to him when he was directly involved in whatever they were currently negotiating.
Darunia in particular seemed to have a deep dislike of Ganondorf. The Goron king adopted a harsh dislike of anybody who insulted him or his Sworn Brothers. Not that Ganondorf cared, after all. He was glad he'd said that.
One person he did care about hearing his denigration of the king was Impa. She hadn't talked to him with the same comfort as the day before. He still felt glad that she was there to talk to him... But she seemed a little more distant today.
For some reason, her ignoring him bothered him more than the others.
So Ganondorf sat in his chair a little distance away from the king, sighing and listening to the monotonous humming of voices. He was beginning to wish that he had a napkin to fold up.
A few of the other dignitaries seemed to believe that Ganondorf's comments at dinner had torn down the racial relations that the first day of meetings had begun to build up so well. Things were very tense in the meeting room today.
"Well..." Harkinian began, breaking the tense silence by clearing his throat. "If we've got the borders established... then perhaps we should move on to trade issues, correct?"
The other dignitaries glanced back and forth to one another, no one really wanting to speak.
Harkinian laced his fingers together and tapped his fist on the table a few times. "Does anyone have anything they'd like to bring up?" he said quietly.
Ganondorf was leaning back in his chair in a rather undignified manner. Slumped back, resting his feet on the crossbar beneath the table, his arms back creating a cushion for his head, and his eyes darting around the tiles of the stone ceiling. He took a deep breath and moved his left hand from behind his head, raising it only slightly.
The other dignitaries turned to him nervously as Harkinian immediately seemed to pipe up. "Ah, Lord Ganondorf. Speak."
The Gerudo sat up, taking another deep breath. "I want more gold coming into Gerudo Valley."
Harkinian sighed with relief, having been expecting another comment like the one last night. "Ah, yes... even before the war, trade with the Gerudo was alarmingly low. That's a good topic, Lord Ganondorf... yes, what are we going to do to increase the imports and exports from the Gerudo?"
"Don't Gerudo STEAL things?" Darunia muttered in a lowered voice from across the table.
Ganondorf sat up quickly, his feet slamming into the floor as they tumbled off of the crossbar. "That's not-" he began, his voice raised.
"There's no need for such bluntness, Brother Darunia," Harkinian scolded. "Now, please... things went so smoothly yesterday. All of a sudden we're tense and arguing. I'd like everyone to please relax and figure out what's going on."
No one spoke.
"This is IMPORTANT," Harkinian said, his eyes narrowed at all of the others. "You're all acting immaturely. It's ridiculous. If anyone has any problems here, I'd like to hear them now."
"It's hard to set up a treaty when your dignitaries hate each other," Ganondorf said lazily.
He was keeping his eyes on Impa as he said it. She had been sitting quietly this whole time, and now, she turned to him with her eyes stuck in a look of concern.
"There is no hatred here, Lord Ganondorf," Harkinian interjected. "We are here because we wish to prevent the effects of hatred. We've just been delivered from the grips of a terrible war, and it's our job to ensure that that doesn't happen again."
"Speak for yourself," Ganondorf shrugged nonchalantly, though he was still watching Impa.
"Do you doubt our intentions, Lord Ganondorf?" Harkinian asked crossly.
"I doubt your sincerity, your majesty."
There was a collective gasp as all eyes fell on the Gerudo king for at least the hundredth time that weekend.
"You little punk!" Darunia gaped, narrowing his beady black eyes in a glare. "What are you tryin' to say? Don't you insult my brother, you..."
"Ah, go eat a brick."
"Lord Ganondorf," Impa interrupted in a soft voice. "Please..."
Ganondorf stopped his tirade for a moment and stared at her, looking confused.
Impa shook her head at him when she had caught his attention. "Don't," she mouthed silently.
"You little punk, I'll rip you apart!" Darunia boomed loudly.
Ganondorf turned away from Impa and back to the Goron king, ignoring her warning. "Go ahead and try it you big fat-"
"Really, Lord Ganondorf, please behave yourself!" Harkinian razed, slowly rising to his feet. "This is a meeting of acceptance and mercy. Such open hostility is precisely what we're trying to-"
"You're all really ones to talk about open hostility!" Ganondorf interrupted, slamming both of his fists on the table.
The room fell silent once more.
"Open hostility... like what you've all been showing my people for YEARS now?!" he went on, his voice dark and his head lowered. "You're a bunch of hypocrites... How DARE you even invite me here to talk about your peace and your brotherhood? Do you think I'm stupid?! Do you think I don't know what kind of reputation my people have with you? Do you think I haven't seen what happens to Gerudos caught stealing from you people? I held my mother's bloody hand as she died, with scars from your 'acceptance' and 'mercy' all over her body."
Impa stared at him, her mouth wide open in a shocked gasp.
"If there was such a hope for peace..." Ganondorf continued, "Then I wouldn't have people staring at me all the time like I'm some kind of outcast. I wouldn't have to stay quiet all the time to avoid pissing someone off. I wouldn't have to hide from the world. Your bloody 'acceptance' and 'mercy' holed me up in the desert for all these years, and now you have the gall to call me out for your damn treaty."
He look up and glared without remorse at every other person in the room. "You all don't give a shit what happens to the Gerudo. I'm just here for decoration. All of this is decoration, like a damn giant banner!"
"Lord Ganondorf..." Harkinian said, his eyes wide with surprise.
"This whole damn thing just reeks of a pretty little decoration. A peace treaty on the wall to make it look better. You talk about your bloody acceptance and shit, but do you actually think anyone will listen? You actually think there will be mercy for a Gerudo caught stealing? Things will exactly the same as before, but now there will be a cute little decoration to go along with it, just so if anyone asks, you can tell them that it was there, written in blood."
He rose to his feet and stepped out from in front of his chair, one hand gripping the back of it until his knuckles turned pale.
"I'll sign your piece of shit treaty. But I'll be damned if I'm going to sit here and listen to you all making your bloody false promises of 'acceptance' and 'mercy'."
And with that and a swoosh of his cape as he spun around, Ganondorf stomped out of the room and slammed the door behind him.





That evening, the treaty was signed.
With solemn handshakes and deep nods, each of the dignitaries scribbled their signatures at the bottom of the parchment, carefully inscribed with every agreement that had been reached.
Impa quietly stood with the quill once she had signed, not really knowing what to do with it now.
She and the rest of the dignitaries were silent as a thick olive hand took the quill from her and quietly wrote its owner's name at the bottom of the page.
Then, with a quiet nod, the king of the Gerudo folded his arms at his chest and pushed open the door of the great hall with his shoulder, once again leaving the rest of them to watch him.


"I'm dreadfully sorry, your majesty..." a calm voice said apologetically as she kneeled before the king. "I'm truly sorry... I thought my nephew had more manners than that."
"Yes, well..." Harkinian sighed, motioning for Marya to rise. "I understand, under the circumstances, it must have been very stressful for him. He mentioned that his mother was killed by Hylians when he was young."
"Yes," Marya nodded quietly, her arms folded behind her back respectfully. "He's very sensitive about it... and he's always had a bit of a temper. But truly, to put the entire treaty in jeopardy like that... From the depths of my heart, your majesty, I apologize for young master's behavior."
The king and the Gerudo woman were in the now empty throne room, shadowed and lit only by the sconces on the wall. Everyone else was down in the grand ballroom, as the celebratory ball had begun a little less than two hours ago. Harkinian had called for Marya to speak with him soon after it had begun, when there were no other dignitaries to interrupt him.
"I am truly saddened by what he said," Harkinian sighed. "Because I have had the same thoughts... Thoughts that perhaps, this treaty is futile."
"I don't believe that, your majesty," Marya shook her head. "It's true, it is difficult to convince people who have hated for so long to finally begin to love again. But I know, with time, things will be forgiven... Perhaps even young master will realize that he isn't helping any with his bitterness."
"He said he was only here as 'decoration'," Harkinian told her, glancing off across the throne room at the banners that had been hung in celebration of the treaty. The black Gerudo crescent and star was illuminated especially brightly by the torch below it. It was rather symbolic.
"He believes that no matter what agreements we reach, the Gerudo will always be treated unfairly," the king continued, gazing back to Marya.
"He's believed that for a long time... and it's understandable," Marya sighed. "After the death of his mother... He's had a hard life. The male Gerudo is treated like a god... But Ganondorf isn't the kind of person who necessarily likes that. Since he was young, we've had to deprive him of things that normal boys cherish... Things like friendship, freedom... a childhood, even. All in preparation of his kinghood. He gets frustrated..."
Marya smiled just a little bit, and closed her eyes, her thick golden eyeshadow sparkling in the dim light of the room and her red hair cascading over her shoulders, rippling as she shook her head. "Since his mother died, I've had to be the one to take things away from him. It's painful for me to watch him get frustrated like that. He has no idea how he's supposed to behave sometimes. He's like a son to me... but I feel like the worst person in the world when I have to take things from him."
Harkinian smiled a little. "Yes... it's hard to be in a position like that... Things were a little different for me, but I know how it feels to be trapped by power."
"Your mother probably felt guilty about it too," Marya chuckled. "It's not easy to be the parent of a god."
The throne room fell silent as Harkinian continued to gaze off at the banner across the room. Finally, Marya spoke again.
"I'll talk to him, your majesty. Again, I truly apologize for Ganondorf's behavior today... If it's not too much trouble, perhaps we could return in a month or two for some private talks?"
"That would be fine," Harkinian nodded. "I would be happy if the two of us could learn to get along... That way, our races would be united as well."
"Do you know where he is, your majesty?" Marya asked, bowing to Harkinian once more.
"I believe he retired to his chamber after the treaty was signed," the king replied. "Allow me to call some guards, and I will escort you there myself. I'd like to at least make peace with him before you leave to return to the desert."





A few minutes later, Marya and Harkinian, with an entourage of palace guards, were making their way through the twisted corridors of the castle to Ganondorf's chamber.
"Niiiice plaaaaace," Marya whistled, done with her formality. "You got some niiiiice stuff here!"
Harkinian looked a little bit nervous as he chuckled a reply. "It's mostly leftover from when my father was king... I've always loved it here. The castle is quite a place for a little boy to grow up, what with all the secret passages and-" He stopped.
Marya had disappeared from beside him. He and the guards gasped when they saw her further down the hall, carefully examining a golden candle sconce on the wall.
"Fan-cy!" Marya cooed, rubbing off a spot with her finger. "Really nice! 15th century Goron craftsmen! That is one nice-"
"M-Miss Marya, your nephew?" Harkinian reminded her tensely, as the guards rushed up to protect the candle from the thief.
"Oh yeah," she giggled, placing her hands at her side quickly.
The three guards watched her like hawks as they turned down the last corridor before Ganondorf's chamber.
"Here we are," Harkinian said, lowering his voice. "You may go in first, Miss Marya."
Marya nodded, stepped up to the door (Which was veeeeery niiiiiice, she noticed), and knocked on it with her thin knuckles. "Ganondorf? Hey kid, it's me, Marya. Come on and open up."
There was no answer from inside.
"Ganondorf, I'm coming in now, okay? The King wants to speak with you," Marya called again, pushing on the door and sliding it open, slipping inside.
The king and the three guards waited outside as the door clicked shut, waiting for Marya to convince Ganondorf to let them in.



There was suddenly a terrified scream from inside Ganondorf's chamber.




Harkinian's eyes popped open and he reached down to push the door open, when suddenly the mahogany swung open rapidly and a lavender-clad Gerudo woman threw herself out, her eyes wide and horrified and her voice a shrill scream.
"WHERE IS HE?!" she shrieked. "WHERE IS MY NEPHEW?!"
"What?" gasped Harkinian, reaching out to catch the door and hold it open. He stopped when Marya tackled him back against the wall, clutching at his robes.
"WHAT DID YOU DO TO HIM, WHERE IS HE?!" she screamed. "WHERE IS GANONDORF?!"
The guards grabbed Marya by the arms and pulled her off of Harkinian, whose first free reaction was to push by them and into Ganondorf's room. "Lord Ganondorf!" he called.
His mouth dropped open.
The window of the bedroom was wide open, with splinters of the shutters around it torn down, a slightly ripped tan Gerudo cape hanging off of them. The bed was a wreck, with many of the blankets pulled off into a wrinkled heap on the floor.
Most terrifying of all, there was a streak of red liquid that looked suspiciously like blood going from the open window to the bed, with a big red handprint on the bed next to the pillow.
"Sweet Nayru..." gasped Harkinian, clamping one hand over his mouth. "Oh sweet Nayru..."
"WHERE IS HE?!" screeched Marya, shoving the guards away from her and stumbled back into the bedroom. "WHAT HAPPENED IN HERE, WHERE IS HE?!"
"Miss Marya... I... I..." Harkinian stammered.
It certainly looked grim. There was unmistakable suspicion of foul play scattered all over the room.
Marya was shaking in fear as she raced over to the window, yanking the ripped cape off of the splintered shutter and clutching it to her chest. "Ganondorf... Oh Din, Ganondorf!" Marya shrieked, squeezing the cape. "Yo-your majesty, he... he..."
Harkinian spun around to his guards and boomed out an order. "Search the palace! Find Lord Ganondorf immediately, and arrest anyone with him!"
"Yes, your majesty!" saluted the guards, racing off down the corridor.
Harkinian bit his lip darkly.
After what Ganondorf had said... After what he'd almost done to the treaty... Did someone actually come into his room and attack him?!
"If he's dead..." Marya burst out, a hint of rage in her voice. "Our people are doomed... And we will make you bastard Hylians PAY!"
"Miss Marya, I promise, we will do all in our power to get to the bottom of this!" Harkinian said, though her threat had made him very nervous.





Even though all of the clues pointed to foul play or an attack, there was actually a perfectly innocent, and true, explanation for what had happened in Ganondorf's room.
In order to understand it, we must return to where we left Ganondorf in the present time- the evening of the second day, as he lay on his bed.
After a lot of thought, the Gerudo King had decided that he should go and see Impa. He wondered if she, like the others, was angry at him. There was only one way to find out.
He rose to his feet and strolled around his room, trying to think of some way he could escape without anyone seeing him. He was too nervous about getting into a confrontation with one of the other dignitaries to go out the door... The window would have to do.
The wide window of the room had been narrowed down to a space about a foot wide and three feet tall. A pair of mahogany shutters that had been fastened to the stone on both sides helped filter out the harsh sun that came into this east-facing room in the morning, but now they were in his way.
If Ganondorf could get one of those shutters off, he could squeeze through the space and drop down to the castle grounds, where he could sneak around to the west part of the courtyard to the ballroom.
Reaching up and wrapping his hands around one of the slots of the shutter, Ganondorf placed his boot up against the wall and pulled with all his might. It wasn't budging. He tried kicking off of the wall in small bursts of strength, but that didn't seem to work either.
Finally getting frustrated, Ganondorf concentrated all of his energy into yanking at the shutter with one tremendous kick.
There was a loud splintering noise, and a burst of pain shot through Ganondorf's hand. "OW!" he cried, falling backwards and onto the floor.
He'd finally managed to break that part of the shutter off. Unfortunately, it had splintered, and one large sharp piece of wood had become lodged in his hand.
Wincing as he pulled it out, Ganondorf panicked when he began to bleed heavily. Drops of blood splashed to the stone floor, ironically missing the blood-red carpets. He jumped to his feet and looked for something to wipe his hand on.
The top quilt on the bed was fine maroon velvet, and he didn't want to ruin such a nice fabric. With his other hand, he ripped the quilt and the cream-colored silk sheet beneath it off of the bed and flung it onto the floor next to the bed. Without much more of a choice, he wiped his bloody hand that had been dripping on the floor off on the linen-covered mattress, just to the left of the pillow.
He sat there for a while, cursing every time his hand would drip blood on the mattress. Dammit, as though it weren't enough that he'd nearly ruined the treaty, now he was bleeding all over Harkinian's sheets too!
The cut finally began to slow its bleeding, and Ganondorf felt confident enough to leave the mattress and continue his work of removing the shutter.
Slamming the armor over his elbow into the broken part of the shutter, he managed to snap off a few more rows of it until finally, he could pull the whole thing off, leaving jagged splintered pieces of wood sticking out where the shutter wouldn't pull away from the stone.
Using his good hand to pull himself up into the window frame, Ganondorf carefully slid his body through the space. He was constantly feeling below the window for the blocks of stone that jutted out enough to make a fine place for him to stand as he climbed out.
Finally, his body was outside, standing on the blocks of stone below the window.
He tried to step backwards and begin his descent to the ground, when he realized that his cape had become caught on one of the splintered pieces of the shutters.
"CURSES!" he snarled, yanking on the stupid thing with both hands.
This, however, was not a good idea, as he lost his balance and tumbled over backwards.
The Gerudo King was now hanging from the window by his cape.
Choking as the thing almost strangled him to death, Ganondorf reached up to his neck where the cape was secured by a steel and ruby brooch. He carefully played with the clasps, until it finally loosened and snapped apart, freeing him from his predicament.
Unfortunately, this was when Ganondorf remembered that his room was on the second floor.




After an ungraceful landing, Ganondorf picked himself up and brushed himself off, gazing begrudgingly up at the window, his cape now fluttering from the broken shutters like a flag. So much for disappearing without a trace.
He trudged off across the castle grounds, hoping no guards would see him, on his way to the ballroom.





Impa was sitting on the windowsill of the ballroom's largest window, it having been slid open to let in the glorious night air and the ever-present full moon outside.
A grand orchestra was playing off to one side of the ivory-bespangled room, a mish-mashed group of Gorons, Zora, Hylians and Deku, strumming away at makeshift guitars and playing clay ocarinas. People were dancing merrily on the floor, and a wide table at the head of the room was filled with delicious-looking food.
The dignitaries and all of their guests were back, as well as a good number of the castle town's population. It seemed like everyone in Hyrule was here.
Harkinian had given her the night off to come here. He had been terribly kind about all of this treaty business, Impa thought. She didn't really want to dance, and she wasn't hungry. For now she was content to sit and think near the window.
Off in one corner of the ballroom were the Gerudos who had accompanied Ganondorf to the opening ceremonies. Most of them were eating off of small plates they'd taken from the table up front, but none of them seemed to be talking to anyone else. They all sort of stayed in their big group.
One young Gerudo who looked about Impa's age, was impatiently staring at the grand doors in the north part of the room, as though she were waiting for someone (Ganondorf, probably) to come in.
That must be his cousin Nabooru, Impa thought.
The day before, at the lunch break, Ganondorf had been telling Impa about his family. His closest family members were his Aunt Marya and her daughter, Nabooru. The rest of the women were not blood related to him; either that or they were so distantly related he couldn't acknowledge them as family.
They were all so beautiful, Impa mused. Living away from the rest of Hyrule in Kakariko, Impa had never heard of the Gerudo and their lives as thieves. But apparently, after what Ganondorf had said at the meeting, they weren't very popular.
Impa had a hard time believing that such graceful, powerful, beautiful women could be so terrible. She also thought that she was beginning to understand what Ganondorf had meant about it being strange to be the only male Gerudo.
Even if the Gerudo weren't well-liked, at least they were beautiful. Ganondorf, though certainly handsome in his own way, was not beautiful like the female Gerudo were. He was a little anomaly, something weird to everyone else. And what are you if you're considered an anomaly out of a group of outcasts?
Impa's thoughts occasionally drifted to her own family.
She wondered where they'd gone. She still wondered why she didn't go with them.
It hurt to think that her mother had left her behind on purpose. Impa could visualize the scene: Her mother, waking up her little brother and clutching her baby sister to her chest. She led the boy by the hand towards the door, then gave one last glance back to Impa before she stepped outside and vanished into the shadows.
Whatever happened to them, Impa didn't think they were ever going to come back. The palace was going to be her new home permanently. Not that that was so bad anymore, of course.




Suddenly, she felt a hand on her back.
Impa let out a quick gasp and spun around, nearly toppling off of the windowsill and onto the owner of the hand.
"Hey!" Ganondorf hissed, loud enough so she could hear him but not so loud that anyone else would.
Impa took a deep breath and sighed. "You scared me!" she snorted, smiling.
"Are you doing anything important?" asked Ganondorf in the same hissing voice.
"Me? ... No," Impa shrugged. "Why?
"Let's go out in the courtyard and talk," he suggested.
Impa gave him a funny look. "Why can't you come in?"
"Please?" he asked.
Impa gave a quick glance to make sure that no one was looking, then lifted her body up and slid out the window and into the bushes where Ganondorf was hiding. Once she had ducked below view of the window, Ganondorf nudged her and pointed in the direction of the courtyard.
The two of them ran off just before the guards arrived in the grand ballroom.
"WHERE IS LORD GANONDORF?" the head guard cried as he opened the door.
Everyone in the room paused and stared at him, not quite knowing what he was asking.
"Whaddya mean, where is he? Isn't he coming?" asked one of the Gerudo in the corner.
"He's missing, and we've been ordered to find him!" the head guard answered her in a serious voice.
The response from the Gerudo was amazing. All fifteen of them let out terrified gasps, and raced towards the guards.
"Find him, please!"
"Lord Ganondorf! Oh, Lord Ganondorf!"
"WHERE IS HE, YOU BASTARD?!"
"What have you Hylians done to Lord Ganondorf?!"
"Ganny!" burst out Nabooru, looking frightened. "G-Ganny's GONE!?"
The Gerudo immediately joined the search, causing quite an uproar as they began shoving people aside searching for their king.





"To tell you the truth," Ganondorf began, as he had a seat on a low ivy-covered wall in the central courtyard of the castle, "I didn't want to come in because I don't think anyone else really wants to see me."
"Ah," Impa nodded, having a seat on the well next to him. She leaned back and wiped strands of her silver hair out of her face. "That's being a little hard on yourself."
"But it's true," he pointed out in a low voice. He shuffled his feet in the dirt down below the wall, tracing a circle and then erasing it over and over again. "I was a little out of line today... And I guess I wanted to know if I insulted you at all."
Impa looked at him out of the corner of her red eyes, a little bit surprised. "Huh?"
He glanced at her with his eyebrows raised. "I really insulted a few people today. I wanted to know if I insulted you."
There was a brief moment of silence as Impa thought.
"Well..." she said quietly. "I... I don't really like how you were rude to Harkinian."
Ganondorf gave a little chuckle and nodded. "Okay... I thought so too. The way you looked at me right then gave it away."
"I don't really understand why you're so short with him," Impa went on, feeling like she owed him more of an explanation. "He really is a wonderful man. When my people all disappeared, he took me in. He gave me a job... and he takes really good care of me. And he's a good king."
Ganondorf scowled at the last part of that, but he didn't say anything.
"So I guess I don't get why you're so rude to him anyway."
"I... don't like Hylians, you know," he reminded her.
"Because of your mother?"
"Yeah... and for other reasons," Ganondorf went on, still tracing patterns in the dirt. "They've really never been fair... to anyone. Not just Gerudo, but to everyone. I mean, they show up here in Hyrule, and suddenly it becomes THEIR land. And they don't really do anything for it. The Gorons dig in the mines all day, and the Zora guard the water, and the Gerudo guard the desert... But the Hylians are the ones who really get everything."
He stopped suddenly and glanced at Impa, who was listening to his every word. He hadn't meant to be that open.
"So you don't like Hylians... But Harkinian wasn't the one who threw the first stone at your mother," Impa reasoned.
Ganondorf turned red and fidgeted. Yeah, he knew that, but...
"And Harkinian isn't the one who hates Gerudo."
"I think a king should be able to control his people enough so they wouldn't hurt other people," Ganondorf snapped, a little ruder than he'd intended to.
"You can't judge a king by the behavior of the people he leads. You of all people should know that," she said sagely, closing her eyes and nodding as though to confirm it.
Ganondorf fell silent.
"Everyone's been calling you a thief and a scoundrel, you said," Impa continued. "So they're doing to you what you're doing to Harkinian. It's not his fault when his people go out of control... In fact, that's what all this treaty business is about. He's trying to help his people become good people. And besides... you judge a king on how well his people are living. The Hylians are happy, and healthy, and they have safe places to live and plenty to eat... Harkinian is a good king."
Impa glanced over at Ganondorf, who looked like he was thinking very hard. "So... With all due respect, Lord Ganondorf, I don't think you should take out your anger towards Hylians on their king. It's not his fault."
Ganondorf was blushing furiously. He turned away so Impa wouldn't see, but he knew that she was absolutely right.
"I'm..." she began again. "... sorry to sound so preachy. But that's what I think."
"It's okay... you're right. And I did ask."
Silence invaded their conversation. Well, as silent as it could be. There was some kind of uproar from the castle, and crickets were chirping all over the place.
"So... what kind of a king do you think I'll be?" Ganondorf asked.
"I've only known you for two days," Impa giggled.
"Well, yeah... but..." he stammered, shuffling around. "You seem to be a good judge of character... Do you think I'll be a good king?"
Impa sat for a moment, studying Ganondorf carefully. His expression kept changing as she examined him with her eyes, and seemed to be thinking.
"You're very passionate," Impa pointed out. "That's good for a king. You have a lot of emotion, and you know what you feel and why."
Ganondorf laughed.
"And you're pretty strong, so you'd be good in case of a battle," she went on. "And you seem pretty compassionate too... that's a wonderful trait for a king, Lord Ganondorf."
"Funny... my aunt tells me I need to shape up before I'm the king."
"Why?" asked Impa.
"I don't like people to worship me like they do," Ganondorf explained, kicking in the dirt.
"They worship you?" Impa repeated.
"There's only one male Gerudo born every hundred years. And he's treated like a god," Ganondorf went on bitterly. "It's weird... I really don't like it. Ever since I was a kid, they've all called me 'young master' or 'Lord Ganondorf'. Even my friends had to call me that. When we'd play together, it would never be a group affair really. The girls always asked me what I wanted to do, and that's what we did. It was always up to me to decide everything."
Impa looked impressed. "That sounds strange."
"It got worse as I got older. Suddenly, all these things I'd been doing since I was a kid... they got really serious," he continued. "When they'd go hunting, the others would start bringing me things. Sacrifices. I'd never know what to do with them, so I'd always just give them back. On my birthdays, they'd have this bizarre rituals where they'd all bow to me and chant... I hated it. And even worse..."
He paused, checking to make sure Impa was still listening.
"Even worse... I can't be with my friends anymore. Last time I had an afternoon to myself, I went to see them and we decided to practice horseback archery... but none of them would speak to me. Whenever I'd speak, they'd all bow down... and they wouldn't address me by my name."
Ganondorf sighed and stared up at the sky. "My grandmothers have to start teaching me sorcery... My aunt is the one who has to tell me what I can and can't do... My mother was really the only one who treated me like I was a human being and not some kind of sacred object."
Impa smiled.
"She never called me 'lord' or 'master'. She always insisted that her friends treat me like a normal kid too. I don't think she wanted my role to go to my head... and I'm really grateful to her for that. If she wasn't the way she was, I'm afraid of who I'd be. Some kind of power-hungry monster... Someone like the other Gerudos seem to want me to be." (A/N: T.T The foreshadowing is really starting to get to me.)
"After she died..." he sighed. "After she died, everything starting going wrong... and it still is. Next year I'll have to start..." He cringed at the very thought. "... Start... having... children. With my friends... I love them but I don't love them like that. And the worst part..."
Impa was still watching him, her shock at his story evident on her face. She'd had no idea...
"The worst part is... even though I'm supposed to be some kind of god... I really don't have any power at all. I can't control the one thing I want to... my own destiny. I can't even control myself..."
He glared up at the sky, his yellow eyes staring up as though to challenge the person who put him in this position. "What kind of a king can't control his own destiny...?"
"Lord Ganondorf..." Impa whispered, stunned.
"Just Ganondorf!" he corrected quickly, glaring at her. "Just Ganondorf... Not lord. I don't want to be a lord... I don't want to be a king. The only thing I want is enough power to make things the way I want them to be... And if that means I have to become a god, then so be it. I'll be a god if I have to... as long as I get the power to control my own self."




The silence returned, full-force. Impa sat on the ivy wall awkwardly watching Ganondorf, who had stood up and was walking slowly back and forth.
"Are you lonely?" he suddenly asked her.
"Me?" Impa squeaked, then cleared her throat. "Me... lonely? Well... I..."
"Because I am," Ganondorf said, lowering his voice a great deal. He didn't sound angry anymore. His eyes were solemn as he walked slowly towards her.
Impa felt her cheeks burning. "I AM alone..." she said quietly. "But... I'm not going to let that stop me..."
"From what?"
"Stop me from being happy," she said fiercely, but she wasn't angry at him. "I don't know why I'm alone... I don't know where the rest of my people went. But no matter what, I'm not going to let it destroy me."
"That's very noble," Ganondorf said. "I'm alone in the whole world... Nobody understands what it's like for me... Except for you, Impa."
Impa let out a little squeak and stared at him with wide eyes. "What do you mean by that?"
"I'm not going to let it destroy me, either... I'll find a way. We'll find a way, Impa. We'll find a way to get what we want. You want to be happy, and I want to be myself... You're on my side, aren't you Impa?"
"Your side...?"
"You know what it's like... you know what I mean when I say I want control, don't you?" he asked quickly.
"You want control over your own life... You're alone, and the only person who can steer you in the right direction is yourself..." Impa said, her eyes widening at him.
"Exactly!" he burst out. "You do understand... you are on my side, right?"
"I'm on your side!" she said spiritedly.
"And you'll always be on my side, right?"
"Always," she nodded officially.
"We'll get what we want, no matter what..." Ganondorf said, his voice beginning to sound distant. Like he was thinking about something else. "No matter what... we'll be happy..."
He stopped pacing in front of Impa, who was gazing at him. "Ganondorf?"
"You do understand me..."
"Yes... you understand me too... right?" she asked.
"Yes... we're on the same side... we're on each others' side..." he mumbled, having a seat next to her on the left. He was closer this time than before, though.
"Ganondorf...?" Impa muttered nervously.
"It's us against the world..." he continued to mumble, reaching over with his left hand.
Impa flinched as Ganondorf placed his left hand on top of hers, which were folded together neatly in her lap. A little shiver went down her spine and she gasped, gazing up at him like she didn't get what he was talking about. "Ganondorf...?"
He squeezed her hand. "It's just you and me... against the whole world... We will get what we want... right?"
"Right..." Impa murmured, her heart pounding. He was squeezing her hand... but why? What exactly was he doing...?
"When I talk to you, I feel more free than with anyone else..." Ganondorf went on, moving closer to her.
Impa froze in place. "Ganondorf... what are you doing?"
To see if she'd let him, he placed his trembling right hand on her shoulder. "You're a part of my freedom, I guess..."
"Ganondorf..." Impa stammered. "Ganondorf... what are you trying to do...?"
Suddenly, he was leaning towards her, staring at her with soft yellow eyes. "Impa... I don't know how, but..."
He kissed her on the cheek, then let his forehead fall down and rest on her shoulder with his hand. "But you really... really got to me these two days..."
Impa was absolutely stunned. He just... "G-Ganondorf...?" she stuttered, not knowing what to say next. "I... I think... we... we'd better..."
She was interrupted when the fingers of his hand caught her chin. "You understand, don't you?" he whispered as he leaned in, heading for her lips this time.
He was kissing her. Impa felt like something was exploding in her chest. Her heart was pounding, and her fingers were trembling as he squeezed her hands with his other one. This... this was what it felt like to have your first kiss...
She didn't fight anymore, and the trembling began to slow down when she decided that she liked it. She was comfortable... It was nice, here in the courtyard, kissing this boy king, holding his hand, letting him play with strand of her hair with one hand...
What is this? she thought.
This can't be... It's only been two days...
I don't LOVE him, do I?




The noise of a large door slamming shut, and a lot of metal boots clanking towards them interrupted her thoughts.
"LORD GANONDORF!" someone yelled.
With a yelp, Ganondorf released Impa, nearly tumbling over backwards off of the wall and into a patch of ivy below them. As he recovered, he let out a huge gasp and forced himself to do just that, landing on his back in the ivy and yanking Impa down with him.
"OUCH! What-"
"They're looking for me!" he hissed out. "Oh shit... shit, I'm going to be in HUGE trouble for this..."
"What?!" she gasped. "Why?!"
"I'm not... I'm not supposed to..." he began, then suddenly fell silent when the shadows of the castle guards searching for him landed against the courtyard wall behind them.
"Check over there, behind those bushes!"
"We've GOT to find him... the peace between the Hylians and Gerudos depends on it!"
Ganondorf felt sick when he heard that. Oh DIN... What have I done THIS time?
A different shadow joined the guards; one of a Gerudo woman. A familiar one, with dangling charms all over her clothing and jewelry. "GANONDORF!" she yelled frantically. "GANONDORF!"
His AUNT was looking for him.
Ganondorf reached over and yanked Impa towards him, the two of them crumpled up in a bit of a heap in the ivy, trying to be perfectly silent. He could almost HEAR Impa's heart pounding, if it weren't for his own. If they were found...
Ganondorf closed his eyes and silently prayed that they would just walk by, they wouldn't see or hear anything, they'd just keep moving and miss them entirely.
He heard footsteps coming towards them.
Please, please just miss us... he pleaded to no one in particular in his head. PLEASE... WALK BY...
His prayer was answered when the footsteps began to move away. He let out a deep breath.
But a little prematurely, unfortunately.




A skinny hand reached down and grabbed Ganondorf by the wrist. He let out a cry as he was yanked to his feet, dropping Impa rather cruelly into the ivy where she slowly sat up and gazed at his predicament.
Just as he gained his balance, he was sent reeling by a hand slapping him HARD across the face. He clutched at it with one hand and tripped, stumbling down onto his knees, wincing and listening to his ears ring.
He opened his eyes and stared at the grass just as she began to scream.
"GANONDORF DRAGMIRE!" shrieked Marya, in full rage. "DON'T YOU EVER DISAPPEAR LIKE THAT AGAIN! IF SOMETHING HAD HAPPENED TO YOU, WHAT WOULD WE DO?! YOU IRRESPONSIBLE LITTLE BRAT, WHAT ARE YOU DOING SNEAKING OUT OF YOUR ROOM LIKE THAT!?"
"Aunt Marya!" Ganondorf interrupted, glancing over his shoulder at Impa as she was pulled to her feet by one of the guards. The guard also felt compelled to dust her off. She was staring at him with wide eyes, apparently worried.
"YOU KNOW YOU'RE NOT SUPPOSED TO BE FRATERNIZING WITH OTHER GIRLS!" Marya screeched. "YOU KNOW THAT! YOU KNOW THAT DAMN WELL! YOU ARE TO BE KING OF THE GERUDO AND YOU'RE SNEAKING AROUND SCARING THE HELL OUT OF ALL OF US TO SEE SOME... SOME... SOME GIRL!"
"M-Miss Marya, please! It was my idea to-" Impa burst out, in an attempt to save Ganondorf from his aunt's rage.
"THE ENTIRE CASTLE IS IN AN UPROAR OVER YOU, YOUNG MAN! THE ENTIRE CASTLE! YOU CAME THIS CLOSE TO STARTING ANOTHER FRIGGIN' WAR, YOU FOOL! HARKINIAN'S NEARLY PULLED ALL HIS HAIR OUT WORRYING ABOUT YOU! HERE WE ARE THINKING YOU'VE BEEN ASSASSINATED WHEN YOU'RE JUST OUT FOR A MIDNIGHT STROLL WITH A SHEIKAH GIRL!"
Ganondorf was speechless as his aunt grabbed him by the back of the shirt and yanked him to his feet again, pulling him after her. "GET in here and APOLOGIZE TO THE KING RIGHT NOW! AND WHAT'S THIS BUSINESS WITH YOU INSULTING DIGNITARIES, YOU UNGRATEFUL LITTLE FOOL?! YOU'RE GOING TO HEAR ABOUT THIS ALL THE WAY BACK HOME, I DON'T BELIEVE HOW SELFISH AND IRRESPONSIBLE YOU'RE BEING!"
Impa met Ganondorf's worried eyes one more time before his aunt yanked him around the corner of the courtyard and back towards the castle.





The next morning, he left.
Impa stood outside the gates of Hyrule Castle with the sleeping Princess Zelda in her arms, as Harkinian bowed gratefully to Marya at the front of the carriage with her daughter.
"I'm terribly sorry for all of the trouble he caused, your majesty," Marya said apologetically. "I promise next time you invite us, he will be on his best behavior... Perhaps behavior fitting to the king of the Gerudos," she said, throwing a vicious glance into the back of the wagon.
Harkinian shook his head. "It was no trouble at all, Miss Marya... I'm only sorry that we couldn't reach a full, peaceful agreement before you had to go."
"I'm sorry to leave early... But it seems our little king here is getting too big for his britches," Marya said, throwing another icy glare back into the wagon.
"Mom..." Nabooru hissed. "Please..."
"We'll teach him how to behave at events like this, I promise, your majesty," Marya promised, bowing to him one last time before she whipped the horses, and they began their steady trot down the road leading away from the castle.
The last time Impa saw him, he was staring at her through a hole in the canvas on the back of the wagon, the same way he had been when she first saw him.
Impa couldn't help but notice, as she rocked Zelda and hoisted her over her shoulder, how sad he looked as the wagon carried him back to the desert...