I have to say that I really have no idea what to title this whole thing. Sorry for the long delay if you've been hoping for more. I'm pretty attached to this story so I promise that I am planning to finish it within a timely manner. Thanks for reading and reviewing! :] Also, if I do my roman numerals out of order, is anyone going to notice?
V
A swish of flames brought Zelda into near consciousness at a time that seemed to be years later. She didn't see any sunlight through her closed eyelids, so she perceived that it must have been very early in the morning, or perhaps she had truly slept for an entire day.
A panic pulled her into reality as her worries came back. Had she really slept through the day? She was relieved to see Ganondorf strutting about the room, nude and grooming himself.
He glanced in her direction as she relaxed under the covers again and he smiled.
“You look nervous,” he said. “Is my face so frightening to wake up to?” Ganondorf chuckled at her, but she furrowed her eyebrows at him.
“I'm jumpy sometimes,” she said. “Waking up is always confusing for me, because I have to remember what happened the previous day.”
Ganondorf sat at the side of the bed and leaned over her. “Aren't you supposed to have an exceptionally sharp mind?”
Zelda sat up against the headboard and took in his scent. “Sharp minds need their rest even more than dull minds. You smell clean.” Ganondorf hooked a finger around the hem of the top sheet and drug it down, exposing Zelda's body to the cold. A fire had just been built and was still working to warm the bedchamber.
“I have you to myself,” he said, leaning his mouth to her ear and softening his voice, “all-day-long. I must be presentable enough to make a good impression on you.” His tongue trailed up the tip of her ear and Zelda shuddered.
“I think we're past impressions now.”
Ganondorf ran his fingertips down her chest, lightly enough to make her shiver. He wrapped his hand around the chain on her collar and pulled her upwards.
“It's time to get up,” he said in a sweet, dark voice.
Zelda resisted the tug, pulling the covers back over her chest. “It's too cold,” she grumbled. “Why don't you give me an hour?”
Ganondorf pulled her out of the bed, despite her interest in sleeping in. “I can't enjoy you while you're sleeping. I'll feel... creepy.” Ganondorf stood Zelda on her feet and twirled her to face a bed-poster. She shivered in the morning air, holding onto the beam of wood, and Ganondorf brushed her hair out.
“You don't have servants to groom me?” she asked. She had never had a man brush her hair before, and for a moment it seemed like a violation. Actually, years had passed since the last time she had anyone brush her hair or help her dress, and she had become highly capable of dressing and grooming herself. Ganondorf leaned in and kissed the flesh behind her right ear.
“Why would I have someone else pamper you when I want to spend that time with you?” His bare torso pressed into her back and she reciprocated, leaning back into his warm body. The contact with Ganondorf's skin eased her.
Zelda felt like a princess as he tied her hair and led her to a large, square bathtub he had filled with hot water. She reveled in the devotion that Ganondorf showed her. In she climbed, and she noted the smells of lavender and valuable oils that had been added to the bath.
“Here,” Ganondorf beckoned her to lean her back against the side of the tub and he began rubbing her back with great care. Zelda sighed as Ganondorf targeted the points of tension on her shoulders, and then he reached down the tub to address her middle and lower back.
Ganondorf was startled by a slender hand sliding up along his neck. “Mm, I am so lucky. You treat me well.” Zelda said. Ganondorf held her hand and smiled.
Zelda and Ganondorf had breakfast and returned to the bedchamber where they snuggled for a while. The wide, four-poster bed was turning into their sanctuary, where they could try to function as regular lovers.
Ganondorf rested his head in Zelda's lap and she stroked her fingers through his hair as he told her how lonely it was to be the only male living in his country, how strange he was treated despite being the ruler, and also how difficult it was to manage resources in the desert.
“I have been doing the best I can,” he confessed, “I have to make guesses on how to act in the best interest of my people, and I have no role models to learn from.” Zelda pursed her lips and looked away for a moment. Ganondorf squinted his eyes up at her. “If you tell anyone I said this...”
Zelda looked down at him. “Who am I going to tell? Your walls? Even if I find someone else to talk to, I'm not going to tell your secrets.”
Ganondorf took a breath and continued watching her.
“And I understand. Others forget that people like you and me are real people, and we make decisions with our ordinary minds, and we get stressed and tired like regular people. That is why it is good to rule with the help of others, otherwise, our leadership will be as consistent as our emotions.
“And about your people,” she continued, “I wish we could find a peaceful solution that would benefit both of our kingdoms, but you wouldn't settle for any of the compromises my father offered, and I thought he was rather generous, considering that it was his kingdom you wanted a part of.”
Ganondorf groaned. “I'm not going to subject my people to the rule of another kingdom.”
“So you decided to subject my people to your rule instead, and now they are living in terror!”
“So what do you want me to do?” Ganondorf frowned at her. “I'm moving my people into this land no matter what, and I'm not going to live under Hylian law.”
Zelda sighed. “If we can agree on a set of rules and common goals, I think we can find a solution, and I can help you manage resources because I know this land. You have all but wiped out the royal family, so I am hardly in a state to defend my country from you. At this point, my most realistic hope is that my people can prosper next to yours...”
Ganondorf sat up next to her, taking in everything she was telling him. After a few moments he spoke. “So does this mean you are surrendering?”
“That's still to be determined,” Zelda said, staring straight at him.
Ganondorf didn't say anything, so she felt she should continue. “I think I made it clear last night that I would surrender if you defeated Link. Next to depending on him to come through, all I can do now is pray to the goddesses that my people find relief, and goddesses don't always answer in a favorable way. So yes, Ganondorf, I am essentially surrendering for hope of reasoning with you.”
“Are you telling the truth?” Ganondorf asked. Zelda grumbled and looked at the fireplace. Ganondorf didn't want to insult her, but he was starting to feel like she was constantly saying opposing things at the same time. Really, Zelda liked to report her expectations as they would be affected by different situations, and Ganondorf preferred to think of a reality where he accomplished all of his goals, discarding all thought of failure.
That is it, he thought. Maybe she wasn't trying to manipulate him at the moment. She just had a more dynamic style of planning for the future. It seemed to him like her style would be useful except for the fact that it made failure an option, and under that system she was currently on the losing side. He chuckled to himself. “I have to know how this conversation would go if I weren't your love interest.”
Zelda shrugged. “No clue,” she said. “It's not relevant because I can't suppress my feelings for you, and believe me, I tried.”
“Hmm.” Ganondorf leaned back against the headboard of the bed. “Every conversation we have makes this relationship less clear to me.”
“My dear Ganondorf!” she exclaimed, “I was trying to make everything more clear. But we should put this talk away. Negotiation at this scale should be done in a formal, recorded manner, not sitting on your bed.”
