Fan Fiction ❯ Never My Destiny ❯ The Darkening ( Chapter 5 )

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

Never My Destiny
The World's FIRST Ganondorf/Impa!
by Galaxy Girl

A/N: Oh, I am so grateful to all of you who take the time to read my demented little idealistic fan fiction... I'll try to update more often now that I finally got my butt in gear for last chapter. Aaaaright, now the fun part- CRAZY GANONDORF!

SUPPORT GISOA! GANONDORF/IMPA SHIPPERS OF AMERICA! (and the rest of the world too, really, we don't mind!)
A Galaxy Girl and Zel the Stampede Organization
http://www.angelfire.com/games4/gisoa


CHAPTER FIVE: The Darkening (Bum bum buuuummm.)

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Troubled.
That's how Impa now felt whenever she saw Ganondorf smile, the way he was now from across the banquet table. He wasn't eating much; he seemed to be wrapped up in talking to King Harkinian and smiling at Impa with that strange new smile of his. A silver fork was folded in one of his fists, the other one set on the table in a permanent clutch as he spoke.
"I'm hoping we'll finally be able to get our races to cooperate together, Lord Ganondorf," King Harkinian said brightly from the head of the table, where he lifted a glass of wine.
"Yes... it's been my hope as well," Ganondorf replied, nodding a very small bit.
"It seems like it's been so long since the last time I saw you... you were but a boy then, Lord Ganondorf. Now you've become a fine king," Harkinian commented as he took a sip of his wine. "Your entourage couldn't stop talking about how wonderful you are."
"They flatter me, your majesty," Ganondorf chuckled, a bit of an uppity edge to his voice. His yellow eyes widened just a little bit and a sparkle came to them. "I try my best... I fear I'll never become a ruler such as you."
Zelda was seated next to Impa, across the table from Ganondorf. She was holding her fork like a harpoon, repeatedly spearing the same small piece of fish on her plate as she waited for the meal to be over. Every so often she would give a bored sigh and stab the fish especially hard, rolling her eyes at something either her father or Ganondorf had said.
Impa wasn't paying enough attention to Zelda to stop her fish-spearing. She was ripping her dinner roll into smaller pieces and nibbling on them, listening blankly to the conversation between Harkinian and Ganondorf, and busily watching the latter's every move.
Ten years ago, she'd developed a crush... Well, perhaps it was more than that. A strong crush, on the young king of the Gerudo. She'd only known him for two days, so it was silly to say that it was love... but he was so different now.
His skinny teenage body had been almost completely replaced by hard muscle, and along with it came a new strength, a stronger and more confident method of movement. As a youth he'd been more fidgety, seeming unable to hold still for very long. Now his every motion expressed a noble strength fit for a king like him.
The greatest change came in his eyes.
Before they'd been young. Calmer, happier, like they were used to smiling. There was sadness in them even then... Now the sadness was gone. And he still smiled often, but Impa noticed a threatening, cynical sort of glint in his eyes whenever he did.
"Father... may Impa and I go to the market tomorrow?" Zelda finally said, cutting an awkward silence that had appeared out of nowhere.
"Have you any spending money, Zelda?" asked her father.
She sighed, having already had to convince her nanny of the fact. "I've saved 54 Rupees in my jar."
"Good for you, my dear. Impa, if you wouldn't mind taking her tomorrow?" Harkinian asked her, chuckling a little.
"Of course, your majesty," Impa nodded, the first thing she'd said in this entire meal.
"Your daughter is quite charming, Harkinian," Ganondorf cut in, smiling at the princess. Impa noticed her charge give a little jump as he did, followed by a blank, sort of confused stare at him. A squeak sounded as Zelda moved her chair closer to Impa.
The Gerudo King had seen her do it. He burst out into a laugh, loud and deep, setting his fork down on the side of his plate. "She's marvelous! Why don't I give you an extra 50 tomorrow, princess?"
"Oh, that's not necessary, Ganondorf," Impa said quickly, a nervous smile on her face as she shook her head.
"Nonsense, Lady Impa. My treat," Ganondorf interrupted her, chortling. "Every girl needs plenty of spending money... And she's such a pretty little girl... reminds me of my dear cousin Nabooru at a younger age."
"Thank you, Lord Ganondorf... Impa has done a wonderful job of taking care of her," Harkinian smiled. "Zelda, what do you say to him?"
His daughter stared at him like he had asked her to jump out the window. She turned to face Ganondorf, her eyebrows folding themselves into a twisted query.
Ganondorf smiled once more, almost expectantly. He kept both eyes on the princess and just kept on smiling as he waited.
Zelda still didn't say anything, she just continued giving him that queer little glance.
"Zelda," Impa cleared her throat.
"Thank you, Lord Ganondorf, sir," Zelda finally forced out.
Ganondorf laughed once more, removing the napkin from his lap and setting it on top of the table. "The hospitality here is wonderful, your majesty... Thank you kindly for the warm welcome. It pains me to say that I must be heading for bed, now..." He rose to his feet to leave the table.
"No trouble at all, your majesty," the king nodded, also rising to his feet. "We will begin our meetings tomorrow morning at 9 sharp... agreed?"
"Agreed. Good night, your majesty. Good night, princess... and good night, Lady Impa," Ganondorf smiled, giving a low bow, sweeping, and with a swish of his cape, stepping out of the banquet hall doors.


"Impa, he gives me the creeps!" Zelda shivered as the two of them headed down the hallway towards Zelda's bedroom. "He's CREEPY!"
"That's not a very kind thing to say," Impa scolded as she walked with a brisk pace.
She had to admit though, Zelda did know what she was talking about. He was still the same man, there was no doubt about it... That smile was the same as ten years ago. His laugh was the same as well... he even vaguely resembled that awkward boy from the courtyard.
But still... it shocked her how different he seemed. Impa couldn't quite put her finger on it, but the feelings she'd had for him ten years ago had been changed by something.
Her heart still gave a little leap when he spoke to her... But something was wrong.
"But it's true!" Zelda proclaimed, tugging on Impa's arm. "I noticed you doing it too. There's something scary about that man... he has cruel eyes!"
"He's not a cruel man," Impa said seriously. "He's a compassionate man... and a good king, I'm sure. I met him ten years ago when you were just a baby... he is a good man, Zelda. Appearances are deceiving."
"He's scary," Zelda argued back. "Did you see the way he was looking at Father and me?"
"Do I know this unpopular gentleman?" a deep voice cut in from behind them.
Zelda let out a terrified squeal and spun around and Impa nearly jumped a foot in the air. She turned to see Ganondorf, leaning smugly against the wall, the familiar smile still crossing his face.
"Oh, Lor... Ganondorf!" Impa let out a deep sigh, placing one hand on the princess's shoulder and bowing to him. "You startled us... I apologize for our reactions."
Zelda glared at him, biting her lip.
"No, I apologize... I shouldn't have snuck up like that," Ganondorf chuckled, shaking his head. "I'm sorry to interrupt your conversation, but I seem to have gotten lost... perhaps you could show me to my chamber?"
Impa's eyes opened wide as he said this, suddenly remembering. "Oh, I'm sorry! I was supposed to take you to your chamber after dinner... the princess distracted me. I'm terribly sorry, your majesty."
"No trouble at all," Ganondorf chuckled, stepping out into the hallway to stand on the other side of Zelda from Impa.
"I was just taking the princess to bed... then I'll show you to your room," Impa promised.
"Absolutely no trouble... I'd actually like to have a look around before I retire. Last time I was here, I didn't get a chance to sightsee... perhaps you remember?"
Impa smiled nervously and nodded. "Yes, your majesty..."
"No need for formality. We're old friends, aren't we?" he said, raising an eyebrow at Impa. "Just Ganondorf, Lady Impa."
"Yes..." Impa nodded again, cursing silently as she felt blood rushing into her cheeks and turning them an embarrassed red. "Ganondorf."

They walked down the twisting corridors of the castle, a strange procession. Ganondorf was glancing around amusedly at the things he saw, the valuable golden pieces and the elaborately carved wooden doors. Zelda clung to Impa, honestly scared to be near the man.
She seemed only too glad once they had reached Zelda's bedroom.
"Zelda, I need to go take L- ... Ganondorf to his chamber. I'll be back to put you to bed," Impa instructed.
"I-It's okay... I can do it myself," Zelda said, peeking out from behind her bedroom door meekly.
Ganondorf smiled at her again from where he stood behind Impa, and she shrank back into her room.
"Are you sure?" asked Impa, Zelda's independence a fairly new development.
"Yes... thank you anyway," she said quietly. "G-goodnight, Impa. Goodnight... L-Lord Ganondorf."
"Goodnight, Zelda" Impa replied softly, her voice a bit concerned, but still warm.
"Goodnight, Princess Zelda," Ganondorf echoed in his deep sort of growl.
Zelda's eyes widened considerably and she shut the door quickly.

There was a slight pause before Ganondorf's deep chuckling broke the silence. "Charming girl... very charming... She seems afraid of me."
"Don't be silly," Impa cut in quickly as she motioned for him to follow her down the hallway. "She's only nervous... Just a girl, you know. And you are quite an important person... Please accept an apology for her from me."
"No need to cover for the dear princess. It's understandable," Ganondorf went on, folding his hands behind his back almost smugly. "I seem to intimidate many people... Some intentionally, and some not. Ha!"
Impa chuckled, though she didn't really find it funny.
An awkward silence occurred as they continued down the hall, into a long corridor lined with blue and purple tapestries.
"Impa..."
She looked up as they rounded a corner where the space between torches had widened. It was darker, as the light from outside came in through a large window.
He was glancing at her, his lips frozen in that familiar smile. Those lips... that she had...
Stop it, she thought. He's a king now. It's not going to happen.
"Are you listening to me?" he asked.
"Yes, Lor... Er... Ganondorf," she replied a little bit too quickly.
"I was very pleased to see you when I arrived," he told her honestly. "To tell the whole truth, I was quite dreading this visit... it had been a long time since I'd been here in the castle. But I wanted you to know how pleasant it was to see an old friend upon my arrival."
"Oh, thank you..." Impa smiled back. "It's nice to see you too."
"So you've been here since then?" he went on as they continued down the hallway. The servants had begun lowering the curtains across the windows, and now the only lights in the dim hall came from the torches that spread a warm orange glow every few feet.
They took a left at the next crossroads. "Yes... I'm still the princess's guardian... more of an attendant now, than anything," she explained.
"A job you enjoy?"
"Zelda and I are very close," Impa went on. "She's like a daughter, or a younger sister to me. And his majesty is still very kind to me."
"Hmm."
Ganondorf seemed uninterested now that the subject of King Harkinian had come up. Impa was watching his face out of the corner of her eye, and it almost seemed like he still held contempt for the king.
"So..." Impa urged, nervously trying to change the subject, "What have you been up to all these years?"
"I doubt you'd be interested," Ganondorf waved her off.
"I wouldn't have asked if I wasn't," she retorted.
Ganondorf glanced at her out of the corner of his yellow eyes, and smirked. "Well... I've become the true king, of course. I've spent time with my grandmothers studying sorcery... and many long days in the Gerudo Training Grounds to toughen up."
Impa nodded. "I'm sure it's paid off."
"We'll see in due time, I suppose," Ganondorf smiled casually, as they reached the wide double doors of the grand guest bedroom.
"This is where you'll be staying," Impa informed him, having calmed down a bit now that they'd been speaking for a while. She pushed one of the doors open and held it for him politely. "You should have everything that you require... but if there's anything you need during the night, don't hesitate to call for someone."
"I trust I'll be all right," Ganondorf said, setting his hand above hers and propping the door open for himself. "Thank you kindly, Lady Impa."
"My pleasure, Lord Ganondorf," Impa said, nodding curtly. "Sleep well."
She prepared to turn and leave, when she felt him grab her hand by the wrist. She froze and spun around, where he was giving her a stern glance.
"What did I say about addressing me that way?" he asked, quite coldly.
"I... I'm sorry," Impa stammered, giving her hand a light tug.
He held on with an iron grip, squeezing hard enough to cause a slight twinge of pain.
"I never want you to feel you have to address me as a superior, Lady Impa. Never."
"I apologize," she repeated, trying to bring her hand away.
"Understand?" he urged.
"I understand," she said hesitantly.
Ganondorf released her, and she dropped her hand to her side and out of
his reach as quickly as possible.
"Good night," he said, suddenly charming.
Impa's stoic expression had vanished. She stared at him with a noticeable grimace of shock.
"Good night," she said quickly, bowing and then hurrying off down the hall.
He watched her disappear down the corridor with a dark smile on his face.

Retiring into his chamber, the Gerudo Lord had a quick look around at the accommodations prepared for him. A much finer room than he'd had all those years ago... everything here was silk, in rich shades of royal blue and cream. A tapestry with the crescent and star of the Gerudo had even been placed up above the mirror.
She hasn't changed a bit, he mused as he strolled over to the vanity next to the king sized bed, staring at his own face in the mirror. She'd seen it for the first time in ten years... the face of the one she'd been dreaming about all that time.
She had become more beautiful than he'd imagined she would be. Powerful, but with an air of gentleness and grace about her... and so polite.
It was wonderful to see her again after all these years.
Ganondorf unstrapped the cape from around his shoulders and let it drape lazily over the stool near the oak vanity, twisting his neck to crack it and pushing back his always-unruly crimson hair. He made a face in the mirror and smirked again, chuckling quietly to himself as he removed his headpiece and earrings.
Harkinian had trained her well, to show such calm in the face of such emotion. He could feel the tension in the air as he spoke to her. She had been waiting for his return all these years... those fateful two days, ten years ago, had been etched on her memory as they had his.
Ganondorf's thoughts about her borderlined on an obsession. He wanted to live in those two slightly miserable days of his youth, when she'd been there with him. He'd memorized every detail of those days, and the parts that were fuzzy he rewrote.
He grabbed the bottom of his tight undershirt and pulled it, armor and all, over his head, baring his chest for the night. In the dim candlelight, he could still see them quite clearly...
The scars. Dark, vicious scars criss-crossed around his back, chest and shoulders, more difficult to notice on his particular shade of skin, but obvious nonetheless. Even as they were long-healed, he could remember the liquid heat that had seeped out of them, the agonizing pain as they healed up, and the white-hot shame he'd felt, lying there on the cot as his aunt bandaged up her friends' handiwork.
Ganondorf had left out a part of his story to Impa, about his 10 years in the desert before returning to the castle. It was the part where Marya and the other Gerudos, finally out of ideas to keep the rebellious young king in control, had resorted to the last option.
When he refused to train, he was whipped. When he refused to take Gerudo women for himself, he was whipped.
And when his feelings towards the non-Gerudo girl had refused to die, he was whipped.
Finally, nearly beaten to death and without an inch of unwounded skin on his back, he'd given in. He became the god, the Gerudo King he'd never wanted to become...
But in hindsight, now, it was worth it all. It was giving him the chance to finally do everything he wanted to do...

"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."

That's what he'd said all those years ago to Impa... she was the only one who had any clue what he was planning. The thoughts of her that had kept him standing up again and again in the face of the harsh brutality of his tribe were finally beginning to surface again.
He'd been given the power, and now it was time for him to step up and take his divinity, his godliness.
The first would be his the next day...
And Impa, who obviously felt the same, would be there to stand by him. She, who believed in who he really was... not this pathetic King of Thieves, who of all things could not rule himself.
But a true king...
He turned from the mirror, a dark smile still embedded on his face.
Soon, he and Impa would be free again.


"He WHAT?!"
"It's true, Lady Impa... we arrested him this morning, trying to sneak in to see the princess."
Impa glared sternly at him, though she wasn't angry with the captain of the guards who had come to speak with her in the soldier's quarters of the castle.
"What inspires a man to break into the castle?" she queried the guard, her eyebrows coming down to make a scowl on her face. "How did he do it?"
"He snuck through the outer gardens to avoid our patrols, then dove into the moat on the south side," the captain informed her, going over the commoner's route in his head. "He swam up the moat to the north and found one of the drainholes that lead from the courtyard to the moat, and he tried to crawl through it, when he got stuck."
"If he'd gotten through..." she mused.
"He'd have been in the inner courtyard, and if he'd been able to pass by the guards in there, he would have reached Princess Zelda," the guard went on.
Impa felt a lurch in her stomach. She let out a little sigh, and shook her head. "Please increase security in the courtyard and around the perimeter of the grounds," she ordered sternly.
"Yes, Lady Impa," the guard saluted, bowing and quickly heading back to his post.
Impa had a seat on one of the cots and crossed her arms fitfully. A breach in castle security was always a serious thing... but it made her even more nervous today, for some reason.
Zelda usually spent her mornings in the beautiful gardens of the castle's courtyard, playing until it was time for lunch. Impa was usually there, keeping a close eye on her.
Today she'd been distracted, only for a moment... Ganondorf had requested her company in the dining hall.
She'd sat by, politely refusing any food offered to her as he ate, and they talked more about the time they'd spent apart.
"What's on your itinerary today?" Ganondorf had asked quite casually, between bites.
"Zelda," Impa had answered softly. "She wishes to go to the market this afternoon, and I was planning on taking her."
"Sounds much better than mine," Ganondorf had said, in a mock pout. "Meetings with Harkinian all morning... but a trip to the market sounds quite refreshing. Any complaints if I join the two of you, Lady Impa?"
She'd paused, wondering what Zelda would have said.
"None whatsoever," Impa had told him.
"Wonderful... I'll meet you in the entranceway on your way out, then, as soon as my meetings are over."
The security breach had happened just then.
It chilled Impa to think of what the man would have done if he HAD reached Zelda in the courtyard... it probably wasn't anything sinister, he'd probably just wanted to speak to the precocious princess who was so famed throughout the Castle Town for her wisdom.
But it was nerve-wracking to think of who could have broken in at that time. And even worse when Impa thought about what would have happened then. Distracted from her duties by a personal visit... What shame!
Impa had vowed to spend the rest of today doing what she was supposed to do, keeping an eye on the princess from the courtyard balcony. Unless she was playing a game with Zelda, the princess usually decided that she felt more grown-up when left alone and requested that Impa leave.
Today, Impa planned to sit on the balcony of the wall up above and watch until her eyes began to hurt or until Zelda was called in for lunch. She would not let her own stupid personal feelings get in the way of her job... she promised herself that.


An hour and a half into her watch, Impa began to lose interest. Sitting on the cornerstone of the rampart that bordered the courtyard, she'd been practicing hand positions with her dagger for a while, but even that could get boring after a while.
She cursed her wavering attention span and turned around again to check on Zelda, who was spying on the throne room through the window at the head of the courtyard. Impa had to smile at the princess' persistence... She seemed determined that Ganondorf was not to be trusted, and was waiting for the Gerudo to step into his meeting with her father.
It wasn't that Ganondorf was untrustworthy... Impa was just put off by the change in his demeanor. The way he'd grabbed her arm last night was so rough, so unlike the boy he'd been ten years ago...
Perhaps, as a king, he was used to using more force than necessary.
Impa kept trying to tell herself that, but there was still a shred of doubt in her. The Sheikah took a deep breath and leaned her head back, gazing at the serene hills that surrounded the castle, and the peaceful grounds below, where more guards than normal were patrolling.
So much was on her mind lately. What she wouldn't give to be able to feel relaxed, like Harkinian seemed to be.
Suddenly, a flash of green from the castle grounds caught her eye. Impa snapped to attention and glanced downward just in time to see a green-clothed small boy, who couldn't have been older than Zelda, ducking behind a bush on the grounds.
Impa's first reflex was to scream for the guards, but something stopped her. She crinkled her nose and watched the boy effortlessly step out from behind the bush and race up to the south side of the grounds, where a hill lead down to the edge of the moat.
He was a blond-haired boy, in a green tunic and shorts with a rather silly-looking green hat on his head... the wear of the Kokiri people. There was even a flash of blue behind him that could have been a fairy.
But how could a Kokiri boy be sneaking into the castle? The Kokiri died if they ever left the forest!
Impa leaned a bit to watch the boy. Part of her couldn't help but root for him... those idiot guards at the castle gates didn't notice a thing when he artfully dived into the moat and began swimming, very slowly, to the north and the other side of the gates.
The Sheikah woman stood up and hurried over to the other side of the corner to watch further. To her shock, the boy climbed out of the moat and stumbled back onto land, heading to the left and towards the drainage hole on the other side of the castle walls... He must have heard about the commoner who tried to get in that way too!
In a few minutes, the boy had disappeared within the drainage hole and reappeared on the other side, INSIDE the castle walls.
A part of her was still urging her to blow the whistle and call the guards on him... But what harm could a little boy do? And it was a bit amusing watching the inattentive guards completely missing the boy as he stealthily snuck around them, using statues, bushes and grape arbors as shields against their vision.
Ducking, dodging and weaving about the long path of bushes near the innermost part of the courtyard, there was a tense moment as the boy accidentally stumbled and was nearly seen by a guard about to circle around. But he remained undetected and finally, slipped through the arches and into the inner courtyard where Zelda was obliviously spying through the window.
Impa's eyes narrowed and she placed one foot on the castle wall in case she would need to leap down and attack the boy if he did anything less than friendly to the princess. But she was hopelessly curious about what a boy his age could possibly be doing sneaking into the castle. And a Kokiri boy no less!

The boy stepped up very slowly, until he was a few yards from the princess. Impa watched carefully as he quietly cleared his throat and let out a shy, "Excuse me..."
Zelda seemed to jump. She spun around quickly, her eyes widening in a slight panic and her gasp audible even across the courtyard. "Who...! What are... how... how did you get past the guards!?"
Impa squeezed the handle of her knife, prepared to leap down and take the boy out if need be.
"I'm sorry!" the boy said quickly, raising his hands. "I d-didn't mean to startle you!"
Zelda was standing there, looking over the boy. She let in another small gasp, and her pupils shrank. "Oh my... is... is that..."
The boy seemed to wait patiently for her response.
"Is that a FAIRY?!" Zelda gaped.
A bright bluish glow appeared from behind the boy, almost shyly. Icy-colored wings, carefully designed like crocheted lace were beating softly behind the glow, and the faint silhouette of a child-like figure attached to the wings was visible within it. "Well I'm not a bumblebee!" the fairy burst out in a high-pitched and childish female voice.
The boy nodded.
Impa leaned in and listened as hard as she could, starting to lose her edginess at the boy's presence... he was innocent enough.
"Then... then..." Zelda yammered excitedly, clasping her hands together. "You wouldn't happen to be from the forest, would you?"
Once again, the boy nodded. He seemed shy, and a bit nervous to be speaking to the princess.
Zelda gasped in pleasant surprise. "Oh WOW!" she gaped. "Oh wow, oh wow, oh wow! A-and... you wouldn't happen to have the Spiritual Stone of the Forest, would you?"
Impa raised her eyebrows at Zelda's odd question. The Spiritual Stone of the Forest? Why would a mere boy have such a sacred artifact?
It was well known that the leaders of the three races held the three Spiritual Stones, three of the keys to the Sacred Realm. The Deku Tree held the Kokiri's Emerald (the stone of the Forest), Darunia, Big Brother of the Gorons held the Goron's Ruby (the stone of Fire), and King Zora held the Zora's Sapphire (the stone of Water).
Zelda hopped up and down ecstatically, and gazed at the boy hopefully. "That green and shining stone... D-do you have it?"
Sheepishly, and to Impa's great shock, the boy reached into his pocket and pulled out a comma-shaped emerald, delicately wrapped in the finest gold. The Kokiri's Emerald!
Zelda's face lit up and she let out a short laugh. "OH WOW! WOW! I was RIGHT! I was RIGHT!"
"Uh... congratulations, your highness!" the boy squeaked nervously, lost for anything else to say.
Now very curious, Impa made a smooth leap from the top of the wall and down into the courtyard, landing in a cat-like kneeling position and sitting up quietly to listen to their conversation.
"Y-you see, I foresaw your coming!" Zelda explained to the boy, beaming from ear to ear. "I had a dream the other night... In that dream, dark clouds were descending over the land of Hyrule, ready to swallow it up... But suddenly, the clouds parted and a light shot out of the forest... A bright light, carrying a green and shining stone and followed by a fairy..."
Impa took in a small breath.
Was Zelda's dream actually a prophecy?
"When I saw your fairy, I thought you might be that person!" Zelda went on, giving the boy a friendly smile. "Oh... OH!" Her face sank. "I-I'm sorry! I was so excited about my dream, I forgot to introduce myself..."
"You're Princess Zelda," the boy interrupted her. "I know..."
"... Silly me. Who else could I be?" Zelda giggled. "And what's your name?"
"Link," the boy said, standing up straight and thumping himself on the chest. "I'm Link, and this is my guardian fairy Navi."
"How do you do?" Navi introduced herself, striking a little curtsy.
"I'm sorry I had to sneak in... B-but I was sent by the Deku Tree to bring you this stone..." Link explained a little shyly, motioning to the priceless emerald in his hand.
"Oh?" Zelda questioned, cocking her head to the side. "Why?"
"The Deku Tree... He's dead," Link went on, his voice dropping a bit.
Zelda's eyes widened. "The Deku Tree... You mean the guardian of the forest? He's DEAD?"
"H-he was cursed, your highness," Navi maintained.
This seemed to mean something very important to Zelda. Her mouth dropped open. "Oh my goodness... Cursed?" she gasped.
"Yes... h-he said he'd been cursed, because he wouldn't give up this stone," Link continued.
"To WHO?" gasped Zelda.
"A Gerudo thief in black armor," Navi recited.

Impa swore she felt her heart stop beating.

Zelda gasped in shock. "Whoa..." she murmured. "Whoa man... whoa man... my dream... it's true... it has to be true..."
"Does that mean something to you, your highness?" asked Link curiously.
"Just Zelda," Zelda corrected absentmindedly, clutching her forehead in her hands. "Oh man... oh man, oh man, oh man..."
Link and Navi glanced at each other, and continued waiting for the princess to speak.
"I knew it... I knew my dream was a prophecy!" Zelda burst out, punching the air enthusiastically. "Which means... OH NO!" she suddenly lost her enthusiasm, and instead looked terrified.
"Means what?" asked Link. "Oh... em... you don't have to tell me if you don't want to..."
"I think something terrible is going to happen here in Hyrule," Zelda squeaked.
Link's eyes widened to match hers. "Uh oh."
"A-and I think it has something to do with the dark clouds in my dream... I think they represent someone too, just like the light represented you," she explained, taking a step backwards from the window and pointing to it. "I think the dark clouds in my dream... I think they represent that man in there."
Link stepped alongside of Zelda, and the two of them peered into the window together.
Impa couldn't see into the window, but she knew exactly what they were looking at.
Ganondorf, stepping into the throne room and bowing to Harkinian.

Impa wanted to yell that she was wrong, she was being stupid, she was acting like a child... but Zelda had had prophetic dreams before, and they usually turned out accurately.
Her heart was pounding to even think of it. She tried to visualize it, and it fit too well... She could see the dark figure stepping into a forest glade, where a tall, sacred tree was resting. She could imagine his hands raising, and the tree suddenly shaking, thick black tendrils of magic surrounding it, seeping into its bark, choking it, and cursing it...
Ganondorf wouldn't have murdered the forest guardian... he wouldn't have. It didn't fit. It didn't fit at all... He wouldn't kill anyone.
She envisioned the awkward teenage boy, blushing furiously as he spoke to her in the courtyard that night.

"My mother was really the only one who treated me like I was a human being and not some kind of sacred object... 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..."

Ganondorf didn't want to be that way. He'd said so himself...

Link and Zelda's conversation was blocked out of Impa's head by her memories, searching into that conversation in this very courtyard ten years ago... What had he said? What made her so sure he'd never do that... What else was there...?
"His name is Ganondorf Dragmire... He's the king of the Gerudo Thieves, who come from the desert in the west," Zelda proclaimed to Link. "He says he swears allegiance to my father... but... I don't think he's being sincere."
He IS being sincere! Impa wanted to yell. He's a good king... he wants what's best for his people! He's loyal... he wouldn't betray an ally, even one he hated as much as Harkinian...
"I think he's planning something terrible. He has such cruel eyes... I think he wants to take over Hyrule."
Impa was ready to yell, but she restrained herself.
There was no proof...
... But... he... said...

"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..."

She felt her voice stolen away.
It was just a conversation between two children... It couldn't be true... He wasn't like that.
He wasn't... like that.
"H-haven't you told anyone?!" Link gasped in utter shock.
"I told my father about my dream, but he didn't believe it was a prophecy..." Zelda sighed. "The only person who believes me is my nanny, Impa."
Impa's face sank sadly. Zelda believed in her... she believed in Impa to discount everything that Impa believed...
"We have to do something!" Link gasped.
"We can stop him!" Zelda smiled determinedly.
Impa's expression became stern. Zelda may have been taking this a little too far... it would look terrible if King Harkinian's daughter approached the King of the Gerudo and accused him of high treason against her father... Even worse if it happened during a time of peace-making!
And... on the odd chance that Zelda was correct in Ganondorf's intentions- Which Impa was sure she was NOT; he was not likely to take kindly to two children making such accusations.
"But... how...?" Zelda said quietly, sinking down into a lump on the steps and crossing her arms in deep thought.
Link shook his head. "That man... Ganondorf? He must be after the rest of the Spiritual Stones, too."
"You're right about that," Zelda pointed out miserably, "But I bet he wants more than that. What he's after must be the Triforce itself..."
Link made an angry expression. "He won't get his hands on it. We'll stop him first."
Zelda suddenly seemed to get an epiphany. She jumped to her feet. "That's it! The Triforce! We'll get the Triforce before Ganondorf does... and we'll use its power to defeat him!"
Impa had to bite her tongue to avoid scolding Zelda. Such a foolish idea... Zelda didn't know what sort of power the Triforce had. She didn't know what she was messing with now...
It had begun as a simple (probably) false accusation... Now Zelda was taking it to the point of actually fighting against Ganondorf.
"Link... you defeated the curse in the Deku Tree, right?" asked Zelda curiously.
"Yes," he nodded.
"A-and you can use a sword?"
"Very well!" Navi piped up.
"I think we should... I think we ought to get the other two Spiritual Stones before Ganondorf does, and use them to get the Triforce and stop his plan!" Zelda said spiritedly.
Link was equally enthused. "You mean, I have to collect the stones for you?"
"For us," Zelda corrected. "I-I know it's a little silly, and we did just meet... but I trust you, Link. Something inside me just tells me that I should."
Link nodded, and Zelda stepped forward and began digging in the pocket of her dress for something. "Agh, I knew I had one..."
"But... um... Zelda?" Link interrupted, as Zelda cried out, "Ah!" and pulled out a sheet of paper and a quill pen.
"What is it?"
"Do you honestly think... I mean, do you think we can do it?"
"I know we can. I'm sure we can. You and me, together we'll save Hyrule... And we won't be alone! Impa believes me. I know she does... She can help. And so can the other races, the keepers of the Spiritual Stones... And my father! Yes, I'll do whatever it takes to make my father believe me! And I'm sure you're a wonderful fighter... You'll stop at nothing to get those other stones!"
"Of course I won't," Link smiled at her, making a mischievous face.
Zelda finally finished writing on the paper and handed it to Link, after folding it neatly in half. "Here... I wrote a letter for you. It should be helpful... Cause it is a Royal Mission, you know."
"Oh, thank you very much!" Link thanked her.
"No, thank you... for believing me... and for coming in to see me!" Zelda winked at him. "I never get to see anyone my own age..."
"It was no problem, Princess!" Link grinned back, giving her a salute.
"Zelda," Zelda corrected. "Now... um... I don't want you to get in trouble, so maybe... OH! Impa!"
Impa had finally been addressed. She bowed to Zelda and her guest, stepping forward to speak to the pair.
"I was wondering when you'd notice me," Impa smiled coolly at her charge. "Who's your friend?"
"Link, this is my nanny Impa," Zelda introduced, smiling proudly.
"H-Hello," Link stuttered, apparently nervous at seeing her. Impa could feel his eyes running up and down her, and stopping for a moment on the knife in her hand...
Impa quickly slipped the knife back into its sheath, having forgot she was wielding it. "You must be the lad from Zelda's dream," she smiled gently, hoping to lessen the boy's apparent fear.
"Y-yes, I guess I am," Link smiled cheesily.
Impa chuckled softly. "The Princess is correct, though, my young friend... She has had many dreams that have turned out to be prophecies. And while I fear she's thinking a bit too far ahead with this one," she paused, giving Zelda a scolding glance, "I cannot turn down a Royal Order... And if she feels our kingdom is in danger, then I will abide by her wishes."
Link nodded quickly, though his expression showed that he knew about half of the words she had used.
"My role in the princess's dream was to teach a song to the boy with the fairy..." Impa began, recalling her and Zelda's repeated conversation about the cryptic dream. "And since you are a friend of the Royal Family now, I feel compelled to do so anyway."
Link nodded and reached back into his backpack to pull out a small painted, handmade clay Ocarina.
"I've used this song to sing Zelda to sleep since she was a baby," she continued. "It is the song of the Royal Family... Zelda's Lullaby."
She placed two fingers in her mouth and whistled- a bit harshly- the tune she had sung for the princess all those years ago, her first night in the castle.
Link echoed it back to her on his Ocarina, also a bit harshly.
"Very good," Impa smiled. "That song is well-known by the king and all his allies... Play it when you need proof of your connections to the Royal Family."
"I understand," Link nodded. "Thank you."
"You're welcome... Now, then. There will be trouble if the guards catch you trying to sneak back out... though I must say, you are quite good at it. Let me escort you back out of the castle this time."
"Thank you very much, ma'am," Link said again. "Goodbye, Zelda..."
"Good luck, Link!" Zelda grinned, waving. "Please come visi-"
She dropped off as Impa threw her a disapproving glance. "Oh..."
"Not so loudly, Zelda," Impa winked at her, with as much cheer as she could muster from her currently dismal mood. "Every guard in the place will hear you."
"Oh! Right!" Zelda giggled.

"The princess may be a bit hasty..."
Impa was speaking without really caring who was listening... but it felt good to get the flurry of thoughts on her mind out and into the open.
Link followed along at her side, glancing around nervously at all of the guards who were glaring at him.
"It's very good of you to accept her request... But please be careful," she went on, setting a strong hand on his shoulder.
Link gazed up at her. "Careful?"
"Yes... Ganondorf is a very powerful man... and while I'm not convinced that he is truly our enemy, he is someone you do not want to anger. Please be very careful, both on your travels and in honoring the princess's request."
"I'll be careful," Link assured her a little skittishly as she lead him through a wooden door concealed in the castle wall.
A small hallway later, they were inside the great hall of the tremendous palace, where Link was distracted by all of the bright decorations and fine statuary.
There was silence as Impa lead Zelda's new friend over the drawbridge and down the path towards the city. She took him on a rushed shortcut through the market, and out of the walls of the city of Hyrule Castle Town entirely.
"E-excuse me..." Link interrupted as she showed no sign of stopping outside the outer drawbridge. "But... um... where are we going?"
"I'm showing you the way to go," Impa smiled calmly. "Or do you wish to find out by yourself?"
"O-Oh no, I'll take all the advice I can get," Link grinned back.
"To the east of this city is Death Mountain," Impa explained, pointing to the conspicuous peak on the horizon, its top encircled by a ring of puffy clouds. "At the foot of that mountain is Kakariko Village. That's the village where I was born and raised," she added, as an afterthought.
"I see..." Link murmured. His fairy, Navi peered her head out from behind the hood of his hat to listen (she'd been hiding from the guards on the way out, a bit nervous at how they would react to her presence).
"Head to Kakariko and get permission to pass through the gate from the guard there... That letter from Zelda shall do nicely," Impa continued. "Then head up the mountain path to Goron City, home of the Goron people. Their leader, Big Brother Darunia, is the one who keeps the Spiritual Stone of Fire."
"Really?" gaped Link, who had apparently been expecting this quest to be much harder. "Oh, thanks!"
"You're very welcome... you're quite a brave boy," she commented. "I truly appreciate you helping Zelda like this... even if she is being a bit childish."
"It's no trouble," he assured her.
"Stop in and visit us again, even if you can't collect the stones... Zelda loves having guests, and I think I've grown a liking to you too."
Link gave his silly little salute again. "I will... thank you, Lady Impa!"
"Good luck... and you're quite welcome," Impa smiled, reaching into her pocket and pulling out a Sheikah orb.
She nodded a farewell and in a smooth motion, threw the orb at the ground where it popped. Her body vanished, and Link was left standing on the field alone.


Impa spent several hours that night tossing and turning, trying in vain to get to sleep. She let out a deep sigh and turned over yet again, her silver hair wrapping itself about her hand and throat as she stared up at the ceiling.
Her usually drafty room was balmy and stuffy. Every tiny ray of light drifting in from outside her curtains seemed to bother her, and an unpleasant chill was running down her spine.
Come now... you're being a bit obsessive, she thought disgustedly, shaking her head to try and change her pattern of thought.
Zelda is just overreacting.
There's no reason to believe any of it is true.
But disturbing visions kept entering her head. Visions of a red-haired Gerudo lord standing over the charred carcass of a small Kokiri boy...
Ridiculous.
But a part of her kept telling her it wasn't so. Her vision of Ganondorf seemed to be fairly idealistic... Fairly hopeful. She hadn't even seen him in 10 years. Why was it so impossible that he, perhaps, really was the way Zelda suspected?
It just didn't FIT. Nice boys like Ganondorf didn't grow up to become bloodthirsty warmongers. He HATED people like that. He'd said so himself...
But it's possible for people to change. Change comes with time, and time is never ceasing... could he really have changed that much?
Why do I keep thinking about this? It's just silly! Impa scolded herself again and again, hoping that if she closed her eyes and concentrated on blanking her mind, it would do just that.
I only knew him for two days... That's not long enough to be a judge of character. That's not long enough to expect to know his entire psychology...
And it's ludicrous to think that I could fall in love with him.
He's said it himself. I know it's the truth. Even if I was... It's forbidden.
He's the King of the Gerudo, and I'm supposed to be Zelda's guardian. I don't have time to think about such petty, selfish things...
There's no reason to be getting all upset. So what if he's not the same person he was? He was just a friend... just someone I met once. He didn't mean that much to me... and he still doesn't.
Impa shook her head, rubbing her groggy red eyes with one hand and sitting up. Her throat was parched, and her mind was still rushing with visions and denials of what she was sure she wasn't feeling.
She sat up and pushed away her blankets, throwing her legs over the side of the bed and standing up, taking a moment to stretch out. Her knee-length nightgown tingled against her legs as she shuffled quietly over to her bedside table, grasping the water pitcher and pouring herself a cup. She drank- it wasn't exactly cold, and tasted like it was a few days old, but it was delicious to the dryness in her mouth.
All was well... Her room was dark and silent, and through the window at the far end she could barely make out the guards around the walls, patrolling the placid castle grounds. Zelda and her father were sleeping soundly. Serene sounds of water being pumped down into the kitchens to wash the night's dishes were slowly, but surely lulling her to sleep. All was well in Hyrule Castle.
Somewhere out there in the world was a small Kokiri boy, wandering towards the mountain in the distance, hoping to find another of the Spiritual Stones when he arrived. Traveling on the princess's whim, for a theory that might be completely false, and a plan that sounded like lunacy...
Impa couldn't help but hope that Link wouldn't find anything to incriminate Ganondorf. She couldn't help but have a little faith that Zelda was simply the victim of an overactive imagination...
A creak sounded from across the room.
Impa nearly tossed her water over her shoulder in shock. She whipped her head up towards the door, where the noise had come from. The door was ajar, only the slightest bit. She was just in time to see a shadow vanish from the thin trail of light leading up the side of the wood.
Her eyes narrowed and she reached for the dagger on her bedside table, whipping it out of its sheath and slinking to the door as fast as she could.
She backed against it and placed her hand on the wide iron ring of a handle, giving it a firm yank and leaping out from behind it, flinging her knife to one side as a warning.

No one was there.

Impa let out a deep sigh. She leaned out into the corridor for a brief moment and looked left, then right. No one in either direction.
Had she been seeing things?
She clenched the handle of her blade a little bit tighter and stepped back into her room, carefully shutting the door and making sure it was latched and locked. She leaned against the back of it and hugged her chest, keeping a firm grip on her dagger.
It was only in Zelda's imagination.
It was only in HER imagination...


Ganondorf smiled and closed his eyes to seal the image in his mind.
The way she'd looked like such a goddess as she sat up and drank... the way the fabric of her nightclothes hugged her perfectly sculpted body... the moonlight on her silver hair...
Soon, she would be free to be his.
He smiled unpleasantly as he shut the door of his bedroom behind him, and a low chuckle rose from the depths of his chest.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~

... Scary bastard. Well, I cut this chapter a little shorter than I had planned, because I was having trouble thinking of a bridge to the next part. So... yeah! Well, now Ganondorf's pretty much out of his mind, Zelda's on to his little scheme, Link is in the picture and Impa's having some problems deciding where she stands on the whole issue. In the next chapter, IT ALL GOES DOWN! And Impa will have to make a decision if she will choose her own path into the future, or the way decided by destiny...