The Gerudo Prince

Disclaimer: I do not own the game or the characters that this story is based upon. I do not make any money writing this story.

The Gerudo Prince
Chapter IV

~*~

It was past midnight and the sky was at its darkest over the desert sand, and Link stomped out the last of the flames in his fireplace to darken the room before he put on his cloak and readied himself to leave the fortress.

It had been an hour since he had spoken with Nabooru and received the news that he would be married to Princess Zelda. He had taken his time to stew; no he would not be cowardly and leave the fortress forever and force Nabooru to be humiliated when the King arrived to accept his gift of a son-in-law to find that he was not man enough to accept his fate (and certainly was not worthy of a princess’s hand in marriage), and he certainly would not risk war with the Hyrulians upon the Gerudo over a simple selfish mistake.

Link had to go to Malon and explain, and apologize. And tell her that he loved her before he was cast into a lifetime of deceit with a woman he was sure he would come to despise.

The fortress was dead silent, and he moved swiftly through the corridors, fluidly dodging the guards that made their rounds about the fortress halls and rooms. He put on his hood, and looked out one of the windows, and was relieved to find that Epona had not been taken to the stables, as he had feared, but rather was outside tied to the post. An invitation for him to do what needed to be done.

When he had slipped past the guards and nearly to the fortress entrance, he was sure he had gotten away smoothly. But he had been mistaken.

As he went to untie Epona, who nellied happily in greeting, he was startled by a deep voice that came from behind him.

“Where are you going?”

He turned and there was Omorose, standing like a goddess in her deep green night dress, her dagger in one hand glinting in the moonlight, the other balled into a fist as though she were furious. Her expression was grave; she was under the impression that he was running away from the fortress.

Link let out a breath of relief and mustered the smallest of smiles for her. “There’s just one thing that I have to do.”

“Going to visit your little peasant girl, are you?” Omorose growled in a dangerous tone. “Do you have any idea what you’re doing? If Nabooru wakes to find you missing-“

”I’m only going...” Link trailed out, and with a sigh he slumped his shoulders, defeated. “I’m going to tell her what has happened, and that I cannot see her again. That I love her.”

Omorose took in a deep breath and with that her shoulders fell back, as though she were preparing to defend herself in battle. The expression in her eyes was cold with appall. “You love her?”

And then, without raising her voice in heated anger, she began snarling at him there under the moon. “You are our prince! We took you in and gave you ten times more than we would give any traveler! We gave you royalty! Everything that we have done for you, everything that Nabooru has done for you, you would throw it all away over the love of some insignificant farmer’s daughter!”

Link scowled and it was now his time to ball his fists and stand his ground. He would not argue with Omorose, he had always loved her like a sister, and he would not fight her. “Omorose I love Nabooru...I loved her since the first day I laid eyes on her, and I love all of you. And I would never risk your safety, or the safety of the fortress.”

But now was his time to burst in a fury. “But do I not have a right to say goodbye to the woman I love before I am cast into a life of sorrow and grief?! Who knows of this Princess Zelda, who knows of anything in that foreign place! I would stay here forever if only Nabooru would allow it! But instead she’s sacrificed my happiness for a peace treaty with a cowardly King and his spoiled daughter?!”

He was heaving; he was so overwrought with anger that he could barely think straight. He wasn’t even sure what he was saying. He wanted to help Nabooru and he wanted to protect the fortress and the Gerudo, but he also wanted Malon, and he wanted the choice to stay where he loved with the people he loved and be who he wanted to be.

Omorose quieted, and then she relaxed. She let her head fall and shook it, and when she looked up she had tears in her eyes. “Link, the Dark King will kill you.”

Link looked at her, surprised. What had she said?

Omorose shook her head, eyes brimming with unshed tears, and she frowned sadly. “If the Dark King comes here and discovers that we have taken you as our Prince...” she swallowed forcefully and let out grieved sigh. “He will kill you. And he’ll kill Nabooru.”

Suddenly the seriousness of her words were coming together, but he wasn’t sure if he completely understood. “What do you mean?”

“A man is born to the Gerudo only every 100 years, and that man is sacred to the Gerudo tribe. Ganondorf is our King, and if he discovers that we’ve just picked up some orphaned Hyrulian boy to become our Prince...he will be furious. And he will be murderous.”

Link stared at her, empathizing. And he too was now of the verge of tears.

“Link...” Omorose’s emotion was now in her voice. “Nabooru didn’t just wed you to Princess Zelda for a peace treaty. Nabooru is wedding you off to protect you from Ganondorf.”

Link’s arms fell from the reigns, and he jaw fell open in shock. Good god, was it true? For the past hour he had been cursing Nabooru, hating her and thinking her heartless for not thinking of his wants and needs...when the entire time she only had his safety in mind. And in return the safety of the fortress. A tear fell down his cheek, and he turned away from Omorose to look upon the desert and the moon that hung above it. He had never felt so ashamed.

Omorose wiped the tears from her eyes, trying to regain her countenance, and she straightened herself. “If you must go to the farm girl, go. But do not ride with hatred for Nabooru on your thoughts.”

And with that Omorose turned and began to walk back to the fortress. That was it. It was done. The prince now knew everything.

Link looked but she had already gone inside, and the wind was cold on the skin of his face, hissing where his tears had fallen. He quieted and leaned against Epona for support, looking at his feet in the sand, and he thought deeply for moments. What would he do? What could he do?

Moments passed and then he hoisted himself onto Epona’s back and started her trotting down the path to the canyon and the bridge, looking back at the fortress covered in moonlight. He would do what he had to, he decided, to keep this place safe. And he would not leave it in anger or in hatred.

Once he reached the bridge, he put Epona into a gallop, for he had to hurry. With the moon in its position in the sky, there was not much left of the night, and he would be lucky if he caught Malon before she gave up waiting for him and went to bed. But he hoped that she hadn’t; he had to see her tonight. He might not have another chance.

~*~

Early the next afternoon, as Nabooru was finishing her lunch and was looking over the plans for the Dark King’s stay at the fortress, she was interrupted by a knock at the door, and without paying attention as to who may come in, she simply permitted access through the mouthful of food.

The door opened, and a great coldness filled the room. The fire was caught in a draft, and then the door closed. When Nabooru looked up, presumably to rest her eyes comfortably upon Omorose or even Link, she gasped and her eyes widened in horror.

There the Dark King stood, Ganondorf, in his suited armor of midnight and silver, his great presence challenged the being of the very air they breathed. His expression was grim, as it always was, but he was still as handsome as she remembered, and his very presence there, although it made her shake with intimation, also made her weak in the knees.

Immediately she stood, came around the table, and bowed lowly. “My King...” she addressed him, trying to steady her voice and the pounding in her chest.

“Rise.” he said, his voice like an echoing roll of thunder. And she did, carefully, staring him right in the eye for she knew how much he despised his second-in-command to show weakness.

“You must forgive me,” she said in all formality and seriousness. “We were not expecting you and your party so soon.”

Ganondorf gave her a small, unimpressed expression and he turned his back to her, his maroon patterned cape gusting at her as he turned. She noticed it was torn in several places, and that the overall shape of his armor was in need of replenishing. He must have been met with many foes to have been seen in such a shape.

He sat in a chair by the fire and curled his fist under his chin, staring at the flames and sighing, as though the flickering calmed him. “The desert was treacherous, but for the time of year we were lucky to have found it back to this place so quickly.” and then he took in a deep breath and let out a pleased sigh. “I have missed this place, I cannot deny.”

Nabooru stood even as he had sat and put all formalities aside. She began to relax, now that the initial shock of his presence had subsided, and after a moment she too settled into her seat and resumed the paperwork she had been working at.

Needless to say, their relationship was strictly as a king and a general, even though some of the girls had twittered that it was something more. But they had a certain amount of understanding between them. Ganondorf knew that Nabooru was strong and hard-headed and would be a fine general in his time of need. And she in return knew that even as a King, he was still human, and had his weaknesses, even as he disallowed to show them. They were not friends, they were partners, and that was all.

And yet she couldn’t deny that sometime along the years that they had known each other, he had tipped over and become intensely evil. Even though they were partners, he still did things that scared her, and he did things to people that made her shake in her bed at night. She had no power against him, or over him, so she could hardly challenge his way or his word.

It was at that time she remembered that Link was somewhere in the fortress.

She froze. Ganondorf still stared into the fire even as her heart began to beat strongly. She thought of Link with his cream skin and his lovely face and thought of what the Dark King would do if he should discover the boy in this place.

But surely someone had had the sense to tell him to stay in his room and not come out. Surely Omorose had warned him not to come near this room. Maybe they had even locked him in the dungeon while he was still sleeping and kept watch of the door to make sure no one entered. Surely someone had the sense.

“Nabooru...” said the Dark King, his voice deep and contemplative. “I have twenty soldiers that will be in need of a meal tonight.”

With this, she was prepared. “We’ve arranged a celebration feast tonight, my King. And there are rooms available to your soldiers.”

“I trust...” and he turned his dark eyes to look at her, a glare that made her suck in her breath as though it were her last. “...my chambers are awaiting me as I should like them?”

That was to say clean, warm, and with fresh clothes and food and wine waiting for him. And again she nodded, a little smile playing on her lips. “Yes, my King. We have been anticipating your return since I received the news you were coming.”

He stared at her and then he nodded once, pleased. And Nabooru was relieved.

Ganondorf stood like a statue rising from where he was planted to the ground. “The fortress is intact, and my needs are met. I knew there was a reason I put you in charge. I’m going to rest.” he announced. “And my soldiers will want to rest as well. Make sure I am not disturb-“

Before he could finish that sentence, the door flung open and crashed against the wall, and both Nabooru and Ganondorf looked to see who the intruder was.

Nabooru wanted to scream in agony, in warning, and she wished that now, more than anything, she could turn back time. Link stood in the doorway, taken aback that he had interrupted a meeting, and upon setting eyes on Ganondorf, the blood fell from his face, and he too froze as though time had stopped.

~*~

When Link came back at the first light of dawn, he had been crying for some time, wiping them away on his sleeve and sniffling. Epona showed no sign of notice and kept trotting along obediently. Link was beside himself with grief.

Malon had not taken the news well. He had found her asleep in the hay in the tower with the candle burning, waiting for him, and when he woke her she was overjoyed and told him she was afraid he wasn’t coming. Of course it was then that he told her, about what was happening with Nabooru and Princess Zelda and the treaty she had signed to marry him away. He told her that he couldn’t see her ever again, and she just stared at him.

At first she didn’t understand. She shook her head and asked him what he meant and he told her again and again, but she wouldn’t accept it. And then she became tearful as she finally did understand what he was telling her, and she cried and turned her face away from him and angrily told him to leave her alone, and to go marry the bloody princess, what did she care.

But she wasn’t angry. She was heartbroken, and Link knew it. He was heartbroken too.

He took her and held her, even as she tried to fight him away, but she ended up melting in his arms and begging him not to go. She claimed she would die if he left her, she would never love again, and she would always wait in the tower just to see if he would appear and take her in his arms again.

Link told her the bitter truth. He would marry the princess and become King of Hyrule. But perhaps once he was king and his wife had bore an heir to the throne...maybe then they could have their time together.

Of course that sort of thing was frowned upon, but when he was king, he had absolute rule.

Malon wiped her eyes and made him tell her again; that once Princess Zelda was pregnant and produced an heir to the throne, then they could have their romance.

That had made her feel better, but she was still sorrowful. She still cried even as he held her. And she cried, even though she desperately tried not to, when he kissed her. And when he made love to her there in the hay she clung to him and begged him not to go. And through her moans and their kisses and his long breaths against her skin they both knew that they would never see each other again. And yet they kid themselves.

When he left in the morning he held Malon for moments, promising her over and over of what his plans were. When he was King, he would send for her, and she would live in the castle, and they would be together.

But Link was crying when he left the ranch. Crying because the warmth of her was still in his arms. Crying that he would never feel for Malon what he would feel for his new bride. Crying because once he was king, he would not know what he could and could not do, and he was unsure of where the world would be when the time came for him to take his place on the throne.

So Link returned to the fortress and hid himself in his room and slept what hours he could not have had during the night. His dreams were filled with darkness and agony and when he woke, he decided he had to talk to Nabooru. Perhaps there was another way.

He had dodged the Gerudo women; they were all in such a hurry this way and that, and it seemed as though not one of them had noticed his presence there as he passed them. That didn’t matter though, he was determined to find Nabooru and talk her out of this scheme. There had to be another way.

But as he threw open the door to her chamber, about to call out to her, he was stopped dead in his tracks by a pair of deep evil eyes that looked into his own, as though reaching into him and crushing him. Crushing him and his hope.

Ganondorf. Who else could it be? The Dark King stared at him with something not unlike fury in his eyes, and he looked to Nabooru, and she was on the verge of tears.

It seemed Link had made a grave mistake.

~*~

Next chapter: Nabooru saves Link’s ass. But it seems, alone after the celebration feast, that Ganondorf doesn’t desire to kill Link. You all know what that means: don’t miss the next chapter. ;)