IV
Zelda snuggled close to Ganondorf in his bed. The lights were dimmed and a few coals glowed in the fireplace, shedding a faint light over Zelda’s soft, white arms. Ganondorf lay on his side, trailing his fingertips up and down her upper arms and Zelda explored the dips and muscles of his chest and neck and stomach.
The steel collar remained around her neck, and the other end was fastened to the nearest bed poster. Truthfully, the collar was arousing. He had used it to guide her around his castle a few times today, and Zelda’s cheeks burned whenever Ganondorf’s Iron Knuckles and Stalfos would stare at her. But for now, the collar was mostly unnoticeable. Zelda and Ganondorf explored each others’ bodies with their fingers like regular lovers.
Spending their first night together felt odd. It was like a wedding night. They both had preconceptions about what a night together would be like, and actually lying together was somehow surreal.
Ganondorf raked his fingers through the hair at her temple and pulled her head in so he could kiss her forehead. Zelda inched closer, wrapping her free, left arm around his waist and trying to comfortably position her right arm between their bodies.
A knock pounded at the tall, steel doors. Ganondorf turned his head and made to get up, but Zelda pulled him tighter.
“No,” she whispered, burrowing into his chest, “don’t move. I want to hold you until the sun rises.”
A gentle laugh rumbled out of Ganondorf’s chest. “The sun will never show its face here. It knows how much I hate it.”
Realizing the error in her statement, she shrugged her shoulders and continued to grip his body. Ganondorf turned his head to the door.
“Enter!” he called, and an Iron Knuckle marched into the room. It stood over the frame of the bed until Ganondorf said, “Well?”
“A young Hylian boy has breached your fortress.”
“It speaks?” Zelda blurted, and then realized what news she had just received and forgot about the talking suit of armor.
“What are you doing about it?” Ganondorf said, sitting halfway up. “Can’t you kill him or something?”
“We are trying our best, my lord, but perhaps it will be better if you come down yourself. He is making a wild ruckus throughout the first floor.”
Zelda could feel the irritation radiate from Ganondorf’s skin. “What do I employ hundreds of Iron Knuckles and Stalfos for? What is the point of having a floating castle over a lake of lava if you just let him walk right in? I have an army to insulate me from enemies, and you are getting worked up over a teenager. Find a solution! Push him down a hole or something. I need to enjoy myself for once in my goddess-forsaken life!”
“Sir...” the Iron Knuckle stood in thought for a moment, and then, “I will consult with your strategist. I have already called for backup forces.”
“Good.” Ganondorf said, sitting against the headboard of the bed. “So you will be able to stop him? It would also be acceptable to capture him. I need to get that piece of Triforce from him either way.” Zelda held her arms to herself, covering her hand that glowed from time to time.
“The worst case is that he will make it up here in twenty-four hours. I’m just giving you a realistic expectation.”
Ganondorf grimaced at the lack of confidence his subordinate showed, and then dismissed the Iron Knuckle. Zelda had turned away to face the window. She was irritated by the speed that Link had entered the castle. It was like her time to decide between Ganondorf and Hyrule now had a numbered hour time limit. Worse than that, the choice would be settled not by her, but between Ganondorf and Link.
Ganondorf turned to her and wrapped his arms around her body, spooning her. She sank her back into his body, finding comfort in the size and heat of him. “Are you crying?” Zelda thought his voice had a hint of irritation.
“I can’t help it,” she replied. “A day is not enough time.”
He squeezed her body to his and rested his lips against her long ear. “We have an eternity together. I told you, Zelda, I will always live, and I won’t let you die of accident or age. You will be mine forever.” The word ‘mine’ had a strangely erotic effect on Zelda, and Ganondorf emphasized it with a tug at her collar. She had always fantasized about him being possessive of her.
Zelda thought about how similar their goals and desires were. “What if I were the only thing you had?”
“What?”
“I mean, what if you lost everything else, and you only had me? Do you think you would be happy?”
The coals faded out and they lay in the silent dark for a few minutes, staring out the window at the black clouds. Zelda admired the way the lava cast a charcoal-orange haze upon the underside of the clouds as Ganondorf puzzled over her question.
“That life has never occurred to me,” he finally said. “I have everything. I have dominion. I have you. I effectively have two-thirds of the Triforce...”
Zelda groaned, hearing his confession that he had been thinking about her Triforce. She planned to keep it as long as possible.
“Don’t fool yourself into thinking I won’t take it from you, Zelda,” he said, reaching his hand around her and taking her hand in his. She yelped when he squeezed her palm and the triangle appeared, lighting up their faces.
Zelda tried to conceal her hand but Ganondorf held it still to examine. “What are the powers it has? You can prophesize, right?”
“I have always been able to do that...”
“Does it give you better senses or something?”
“Since you’re staring at mine, Ganondorf, why don’t you pull yours out next to mine? And mostly I just have a better attention span and ability to focus. It’s easier to think when you can shut distractions out.”
“Then I could definitely use it,” Ganondorf chuckled. “You want to see mine?” The same hand that had been gripping Zelda’s turned to reveal a glowing triangle. It looked like Zelda’s, but it was mapped to a different section of his hand.
“My heart is pounding. It’s kind of weird seeing them together, huh...” Zelda’s eyes lit up as she stared at the two triangles, knowing this was the most dangerous person to examine them with. She found the triangles difficult to rip her eyes from.
Ganondorf knew she was lusting over them and let his fade out. Zelda relaxed her shoulders and curled her arms back into her body as Ganondorf pulled the heavy bed sheets up to their shoulders and continued spooning her.
“To answer your question,” Ganondorf said in a low, sober voice, “I would be disappointed if I lost everything... but if you were there with me, it might be bearable.”
“Really?” Zelda contemplated a reversed situation, where she stripped Ganondorf of his conquest and powers and could still be with him.
“No... actually I would prefer to make your life hell. But it won’t come to that. Heh heh, stop toying with my confidence.”
Zelda sighed and continued watching the billowing clouds through the window. She wished she knew what time it was. Ganondorf seemed to have some notion of the time, but it seemed at a standstill to her. Ganondorf’s breathing slowed as he kept his body wrapped around hers, indicating he was drifting into sleep.
Zelda took this time to wonder what his home in the Gerudo Desert was like, and she wished he would take her. She had been hiding in shadows for years, and she went straight from that to the very castle of darkness. Zelda wanted some sunlight and relaxation. She found herself falling into a slumber as well. She wasn’t sure whether minutes or hours passed, but eventually she closed her eyes and slept with Ganondorf.
