Unrequited Lust
For one who was not used to such conditions, they might have been blinded by the bright grains of sand covering the plains. If one was imaginative enough (or lost in the Desert Colossus), the actual grains might have been mistaken for luminous diamonds. Make no mistake. There were no diamonds in this area. There never had been, and there never would be. In the land of Hyrule there wasn't even such a thing as diamonds. Sure, they had rubies and other semi-precious jewels, but diamonds were unheard of. Such a term, such a word would certainly fall on deaf ears.
Red hair, red eyes, and a crimson jewel adorned her forehead. Nabooru was standing guard at the place she'd been for so long. Even after Link had awakened as the Hero of Time and even after bringing peace to the world, it was still her obligation to stay at the Spirit Temple. She was, after all, its only guardian. In the case that someone or something of inherent evil wanted to pervade over the land, it would stop where the Desert Colossus was concerned. In the name of honour, in the name of all things good, she would forever stand at this place and protect it. She could think of nothing more she wanted to do.
This beautiful land of Hyrule… may it rest forever in peace, even long after I have passed onto the world with the beautiful Nayru, Din, and Farore. I long to see the day we shall all live in the golden age of prosperity. May the Triforces bring us everlasting happiness.
The corners of her lips had risen into a smile and the look in her eyes softened. She was still nostalgic of those days. The glory, the battles, the privilege of leading her beloved Gerudos into victory. It had lasted until those one hundred years had passed and Ganondorf Dragmire had been brought into the world. She then lost her power and instead was forced to follow behind him. In her own mind, she had never believed such a day would come. Yet, still, it had. She knew in the far depths of her thought process that it was required that she obey his every rule. Ganondorf's will was absolute.
When she had rebelled, however, how he managed to control her with something so petty as her accessories had been beyond her. She had been saved, though. Her eyes had been opened. And by that beautiful head of blonde hair…
"Nabooru, my Goddess of the Sand…"
A gruff voice addressed her, "How do you fare on this humid day of days? Surely you are getting tired of waiting here time after time for absolutely nothing." Deep chuckles emitted from his throat. He was amused, after all, that she was dedicated to something that he found to be pathetic and pitiful.
Her look suddenly hardened. She knew that presence anywhere. The small radiant red hairs on the back of her neck rose and she nearly shuddered. She was filled with nothing except repulsion for this man. How dare he even set foot into her sacred territory! He had other things to do, other females to see. Why was he here now? What would he say to anger her? What was his goal? And… did she really care?
Turning to face him, her gloved arms lifted and enfolded over her chest. Eyebrows narrowed at the tall figure standing a few feet away. She'd heard him coming. The desert sands cried out to her when he entered. Yet she had hoped it was only her imagination. Denial. It was a state she lived in quite frequently. Shaking her head at him out of disbelief, she finally responded.
"Ganondorf. It's a shame to see such a once great leader now stooping this low. I can only assume that your reasons for being here are impure. It would really be in your best interest to go as far from here as you possibly can. You are not welcome here, nor are you welcome in any temple, in any sacred place of peace and love. You bring nothing but ill will and hatred."
When it came to him, she was merciless. She lacked compassion. She very well may have been the opposite of a stereotypical Gerudo. While the others allowed Ganondorf to lead them blindly, she was no longer that way. And in the end, she couldn't follow the others anyway. Her duty as a Sage meant that she wasn't to go anywhere except the Desert Colossus.
How extravagantly beautiful she was when she was angry! Ganondorf admired that above all things. All Gerudo women were fascinatingly glamourous. Nabooru, however, topped all of that. Her form was perfect. Her disapproving tone made his blood chill. And that fiery look in her eyes made her irresistible. Why couldn't she see that he needed her by his side? He wanted her. He craved her, the way the Cucco lady in Kakariko Village craved her Cuccos (as long as she didn't have to pick them up herself). He desired her more than anything else in the world… except perhaps world conquest. And after all the hell he'd been put through, he deserved her.
He mocked her. Between the two of them, both looked intimidating, so it was difficult to gauge which would be more likely to have a harsh wrath. Gerudo women were known for their tempers. Ganondorf was notorious for spreading evil and generally destroying things.
"What a warm welcome. I am glad to see that you have not forgotten me."
He approached her and smirked when there was a noticeable cringe given. He still held fear over her, or so he thought. A foot away at that moment, and he leaned in towards her. "There was once a time when you were always the first to bow to me and kiss my beloved feet. Nothing has changed too much out of the ordinary since that time, has it? You should greet your leader the same way."
Nabooru grit her teeth together. He was still as arrogant as ever. She shouldn't have expected less. Even though he'd been beaten to a pulp, he was still going on as though he'd won the battle. It was probably some kind of cover up for his pride. That was highly irritating. An ugly man being as equally cocky were not two things she wanted to combine. If he were better looking, she might have been able to withstand him better. What a shame.
"You are not my leader. You were never my rightful leader. I am the only one capable of leading myself. You are Gorons ahead of yourself if you think you can tame my spirit. I am not your crony. I am not your lackey. I am not your henchman. I have absolutely no connections to you outside of our race. And even then, knowing that you and I are the same in that respect makes me want to shed my Gerudo pride and join the Hylians in a revolt."
They were powerful words. Pride meant a lot to their race. Giving it up because of one person meant that said person held a lot of influence over them. She loathed admitting it, but even Ganondorf still held something over her. Nothing good, of course. That didn't mean there was nothing, though.
He gave an idle shrug in her direction, "Such a sad day this is when I fail to coax you into rejoining my cause. Would you not like to live in glory? Would you not like it if I showered you with gifts on a daily basis? Would you not like it if you never had to do anything for another? You could do everything for yourself… except the things that I offered to do for you."
He offered her a smile. He must have thought himself dashing with that sort of gesture. A hand reached forward and closed tightly around her wrist before tugging her immaculate frame into his arms.
While Ganondorf was quick, Nabooru was much quicker. He hadn't had enough time to get comfortable while violating her personal space. Her free hand has lowered and unsheathed a scimitar-like blade. All Gerudo females were trained in the art of dual wielding and she was no different. In actuality, she was probably the best sword artist in all of Hyrule, even greater than the legendary hero. Her blade lifted and planted against his neck. It was a silent warning. He was not immortal. She didn't care what he thought. He'd find out the consequences the hard way if he didn't pay heed now.
His grasp instantly loosened upon her, but he hadn't released her yet. Another smirk emerged from those ghastly lips, "You have changed your style of loving, Nabooru? This is quite new. It is most certainly a shame that I missed this when you were overfilled with your loyalty for me."
His other hand took the sword-wielding wrist and jerked the blade from the main artery in his neck. He was not going to go down that easily. This woman had it coming to her. Ganondorf was unsure of what he would do just yet, but he would indeed do something. She couldn't be allowed to treat him like a commoner. She was still just a woman, Sage or not.
It hurt. She tried to make it less apparent by biting down upon her bottom lip. Given the weight-to-weight ratio, his strength was far greater than hers. He could snap her like a twig. The idea was frightening, but Nabooru was the very last to let any fear get a hold of her. While his arms were distracted by her own struggles, she shot her right knee out and right into the center of his crotch. He was still a man. That would still hurt.
"Stop acting like you're so familiar with me. It's starting to tick me off."
She was instantly released and he sunk down to his knees. No matter how strong a man was that was always the sort of thing that would bring one down to the ground. Usually, it was in tears too. She'd already gotten to see him "bow" down to her. There was no way he was going to show much more of a reaction to her terrible feat. After a few moments, he clenched his fists and regained his composure. There was only one reason (or so he thought) that she would be acting completely against him. Only one.
He shook a fist at her angrily, "It would be in your best interest to lose the infatuation with that little boy. His heart already belongs to another. You are more than aware of that."
Link. He was the hero of Hyrule and apparently had become the heartthrob of all the local and long distance girls. The idea that Nabooru, too, had fallen for him, nearly made him vomit. As though the Hylian hadn't done enough. Now he was attempting to take from him that which he once had great control over. Shameful.
Ganondorf could never have pegged her more wrong. While she admired Link, there was absolutely no attraction. Oh, sure, at the beginning when they'd first met, it was an entirely different story. Link was dashing. He was handsome. And he was considerate to boot. He was the perfect man a Gerudo woman could have picked to father her children. After he had explained himself to Nabooru, however, she knew that he had chosen the one he wanted to be with. There was little, if any, envy that sprouted from that.
She was merely annoyed that Ganondorf was thinking such a ridiculous idea. Link was now a little boy again. Why, he only had to be a few years older. Thirteen or so? Versus a woman of her advanced lifespan? Why… that would make her a pedophile! Certainly not!
"I am so sorry to disappoint, but that is not right either. Link has little to do with the way I've chosen to live."
Nabooru took a step towards her companion, her soft shoes moving over the sand. How graceful she was, like a Zora through the water. Her hand lifted and when Ganondorf thought he was surely going to be smacked, she pointed at him instead with a lone index finger.
"You used me for evil intentions! You tried to get me to help you destroy Hyrule! You were dishonest and impure! You attempted to sully my reputation! You misled me! Not once has Link ever done that to me or anyone else. I am doing the things I can to ensure that this world stays as innocent and uncorrupted as possible. Being in allegiance with you would never prove to bring anything useful. I would get no benefit and neither would this beautiful land."
She had a point. It was a very valid one as well. Ganondorf could never pull the "good" act. It wouldn't matter if he was wearing Link's outfit. Gerudo men simply were not the essence of looking like they weren't villainous. He looked over her hand, not wanting to replay prior events and wisely chose not to touch her again. Instead, he merely scoffed.
"Do not think I will give up like that. You will be mine, Nabooru. The leader of the Gerudo demands it. My orders will not be ignored."
There was that stern tone again. He wouldn't take a negative as a satisfactory answer. Even if he had to do "good" things to get on her good side, he would. His manipulative and cunning mind was already at work. Nabooru would fall to him. And eventually, so would the rest of the world. Again.