Zi
Ganondorf Dragmire is on the tail end of his teenage years when he first meets the princess of destiny.
She's a tiny child, no more than six years old, holding onto her father's robes as he's standing at the throne, and Ganondorf frowns. He expected that the princess would at least be closer in age, if they are to be at war like all their past incarnations. He can't possibly fight a child. He may have a vendetta for the daughter of Wisdom, but his morals do not allow him to attack children; they're viewed as sacred to the Gerudo.
(As are women, but Ganondorf stopped considering that the princess was spared from death when the child of Courage more than one lifetime ended up being a woman, and he was forced to fight her. It went against everything he was taught, but it had to be done.)
He's here to shadow the current leader of the Gerudo, Lisasu, the last woman to hold that position until he is of age to take the throne, during a political meeting with the king of Hyrule. In the recent cycles of his reincarnation, there have been… strides taken to lessen the bloodshed between the Hylians and the Gerudo, but the animosity is still there and it never really seems to go away. His sisters have whispered of hope in this lifetime, because there's already established trade, Gerudo living close to the Hylian land, on the border of Hyrule and the desert, and some women have even been called to the castle to work under the king as messengers. Not quite advisers, which Ganondorf would like because they'd be much closer to the king, but being in the castle was good enough.
He'd ruin it though, he muses as his sister holds out her hand to tell him to stop, so she can approach the throne and greet the king. Ganondorf always ruins the peace because that wretched Hero always comes around to thwart his plans and in turn Ganondorf must always resort to destruction and chaos.
This time will probably be no different.
"King Daphnes," Lisasu greets in Hylian, bowing her head slightly. There's an accent on her tongue and he's sure if he was to speak up he'd have it too. But he held his tongue. He was taught to speak when was spoken to if he wasn't the highest rank in the room. He watches as the king bows his head and the small princess next to him lets go of his robes so he can sit. Daphnes extends his hand to her and she climbs onto his lap, keeping her blue eyes on Ganondorf the entire time.
Any thought he had that she was a weak princess is blown away. Zelda looks much smarter than she seems to be. Ganondorf has to still his features so he doesn't make a face or lift a brow and have her see it. Stoic is how things get done in the political world, his sisters taught him.
A few harsh whispers from the corners of the room are also threatening to ruin his mask, because Hylian nobles are Hylian nobles and all they ever do is gossip.
"How is everything in the desert?" Daphnes asks, fingers curling around the armrests of his massive throne.
Hot and dreary like it's always been, Ganondorf thinks.
"Prospering," Lisasu replies, and again, under the scrutiny of Zelda's unwavering eyes, he has to make sure his don't roll. "Our economy has been booming lately and our relationship with the Hylians at our border is doing very well."
"I see. Very good. May I inquire as to who you have brought with you…?"
"Yes," Ganondorf steps forward at her response, flexing in his stomach in when her hand gets close to hitting him by accident. "This is Ganondorf. He is next in line as king."
The room goes silent, and Ganondorf finally allows his facial features to move as both his eyebrows shoot up in surprise. It seems like everyone in this age is educated about the past, how interesting. Normally, when he makes an appearance at the castle without the blatant intent to take over people welcome him with open arms as the 'king of a broken race', among other names but now, as he looks around, everyone stares at him in shock.
Except for the young princess. She's still looking at him with that blank stare, as if she's trying to get under his skin.
"Your Majesty," Ganondorf greets, without a bow, but a greeting is a greeting and Daphnes should be satisfied with just that.
His sister shoots him a glare, and in harsh whispered Ehenív reprimands him, "Sa Éri." My prince.
"Kaf?" He asks, turning his head to her.
"Piki ash va Tif." That is the king.
Ganondorf steels his eyes back to the princess, and steps back to stand once again behind Lisasu. "Sa Tif, ka'as mus."
He's not my king.
His sister guards him wearily, before turning back to Daphnes and bowing her head. "I apologize for his rudeness. There is still much that we must teach him."
Daphnes chuckles and pets his daughter's head, smiling slightly when she tips her head back to look at him, finally breaking the eye contact with Ganondorf. "I understand. Raising this one as a single parent is not the easiest."
Zelda looks back at Ganondorf and the larger man tenses, not because he would have been caught slouching (maybe, he isn't too keen on keeping posture just yet but his sisters are constantly drilling him on it) but because her stare feels like it's going right through him. Like she's looking beyond his professional mask and seeing right into the various plans he has to maybe take over Hyrule in this lifetime. Maybe, if there's no child of Courage to screw everything over.
Lisasu and Daphnes continue a conversation for another hour or so, and during that time servants walk in and out of the throne room, always casting the young man a side glance and looking away when he meets their eye. At some point the minister walks in, a short, balding round man that Ganondorf can only recognize through Lisasu's stories of her ventures to the castle. A few other Gerudo also walk in, and Ganondorf takes a step or two back so to not interfere with the main conversation in the room and allow his other sisters to bow and talk with him. He relishes in their use of their mother tongue; he loves the Hylian language, even if he won't admit it, but listening to it for a hour like this without having much of an input is exhausting to his ears.
"Zelda," he hears Daphnes call suddenly, and Ganondorf mutters an apology to his sisters and looks over to the throne. Instead, everyone is looking at him, or, rather, at his feet, and when he looks down, the small princess is standing there, listening in. He's sure that she can't understand a lick of Ehenív, but there's a glint in her eye that tells him she might just be fascinated with the way it sounds. The throne room has gone completely silent, and then he can hear a few people take in a breath as the young girl looks up at him and raises her arms in a silent plea to be lifted.
Ganondorf blinks, and in low, accented Hylian, asks, "Do you wish to listen?"
Zelda nods frantically, and a small smile curls up onto her lips. Ganondorf bends down and lifts her by the underarms, settling her securely on his hip as he nods once to the king. Daphnes visibly calms down, returning to his conversation with the Gerudo leader. Zelda doesn't say anything, instead she intently looks at Ganondorf and then at the other Gerudo women as they begin to gush over the princess. "And vés!" one of them says, and the other nods enthusiastically.
"Twin isk wadala!"
Zelda pokes Ganondorf's cheek and he glances at her, clearing his throat. "They say that you are pretty, like a flower."
She blushes, and looks over at the redheaded women, who smile. "Thank you," she whispers, clinging to Ganondorf's clothing.
They both nod and return to their conversation with the prince, stopping every once in a while when Zelda pokes Ganondorf as a way to ask for translation. She's intuitive; she only asks when the conversation topic turns light and not about politics, and quite frankly, Ganondorf doesn't mind taking a moment to think about what a word in his language means in order to translate it to Hylian. He's never had anyone apart from his people have an avid interest in their language.
Let alone anyone of the Royal Family asking for translations so they can somewhat keep up. There's something obviously different about this Zelda, and Ganondorf isn't sure if he likes it yet or not. Maybe when she gets older he'll have a firmer grasp of what her character is like. Now, however, he'll let her indulge in the interests.
"Ash grut isk rand salit ehenív?" he asks, and the women think for a second.
"És ashkia lniv." With a bow, one of them leaves, and Zelda pokes Ganondorf, but instead he smiles and winks. She pouts and pokes him harder, enough to move his head to the side and he reaches over to playfully bite at her fingers. She giggles loudly, and he sees Daphnes startle in his throne, but relax almost immediately when he realizes that there's no harm being done to his daughter. He then calls for the group to move into the dining room, because he doesn't want his esteemed guests to be tired after traveling across the scorching desert and then standing in a drab throne room for hours.
(Ganondorf may have added an extra adjective or two that the king didn't use, but it gets the point across all the same).
When they sit in the dining room, Ganondorf expects Zelda to return right back to her father's side but instead she clambers up onto his lap and waits for the conversation to begin again, blue eyes shining.
They're all a few minutes in to their newest conversations when his sister rushes into a room, a thick book wrapped in her arms. She hands it to Ganondorf and he smiles at the cover. It's not like the book he learned Ehenív in, but as he flips through he can catch that it's still a very good source of information about their language. He puts in on the table and taps it, switching to Hylian, "This is a book that teaches my language. If you wish to learn, it will help you."
She beams at him and opens it, scanning the beautifully written words as well as their translations. Ganondorf watches her with a small smile and answers any of her short questions, a little glad that she'd resigned from poking him and instead started turning to face him and speak. Sometimes she'd still hesitate in the middle of her question, glance back at Daphnes, and upon seeing him still deep in conversation with the Gerudo leader she'd continue asking her question. Clearly she wasn't allowed to ask too much around her father, and Ganondorf does his best to not show his irritation towards the king. A child's innocent curiosity is the best thing about them, and for King Daphnes to clearly strip it away from the daughter of Wisdom…
Ganondorf may be at an eternal war with Hylia's descendant but this is just cruel. Every Zelda he's faced was well-rounded, both in combat and knowledge, and some he's known since they were young (not as young as this one, but young enough). Even at their tender ages, they've been insightful and an active part of the kingdom, giving their opinions on how to rule whenever they could.
He'll cough up whatever fondness he has for Zelda to her being a child. Because he's never had such intense feelings for a daughter of Wisdom that weren't inherently murderous.
They go on for quite a while until dinner is served, and Zelda grabs the book to go to her seat by Daphnes as the servants and cooks prepare the table for the meal. The king looks over at the leather bound tome in his daughter's hands and his smile, however faint it already was, fades. "What is that, Zelda?" he asks, and instinctively she holds it closer to her and scoots to the edge of her chair.
"A book on Lord Ganondorf's language," she replies, and the table has gone silent so they can hear her quiet voice.
"Ehenív?" Daphnes looks up and locks eyes with Ganondorf. "I wasn't aware we had a book on it."
"Considering how close Hyrule and the Gerudo have been, it should not be that much a surprise," Ganondorf all but snarls, wincing as Lisasu jabs him in the side, but doesn't let up his glare. "My sisters work in your castle, you should have expected that a book on my language would wind up within these walls."
Daphnes sits back and holds out his hand, frowning when Zelda turns away from him even more. He clears his throat and she pushes the book to him, and he opens it to scan its pages. He closes it and instead of returning it to his daughter, he hands it to a servant with a pointed look that Ganondorf catches. He grounds his teeth but doesn't say anything.
They continue dinner in silence, and Ganondorf and his sister bow in farewell for the night so they can head back to the inn at the outskirts of town in order to leave early in the morning for the desert. Zelda looks saddened that they're leaving, so he waves over a sister and asks quietly, "Is there a way to send Zelda things without anyone else finding out?"
She thinks for a moment and nods. "I can deliver them."
Ganondorf smiles, and holds his hand out for Zelda to approach. She happily does, and he crouches down to be at eye level with her. "I will send some books from the desert, is that okay?" When she nods excitedly, he pats her head. "And you will keep it from your father?" Zelda nods again, and Ganondorf's sister calls for him from the door. "We will meet again." He kisses her hand, and stands up straight, shooting one last dirty look at Daphnes before stepping out of the dining room and falling in step with Lisasu.
"Your behavior today was less than dignified," she says as they walk, in Ehenív so the guards stationed around won't catch onto their conversation. "Normally I would be disappointed, but I could see that there was something more to it. You were oddly...connected to the young princess."
"Her father has tight reigns on her," Ganondorf replies, rolling his shoulders when they finally make it outside. "I don't like children being kept from what they are capable of. I can clearly see she's being kept from her full potential, and I would rather fight a princess that can fight back than one that will just once again hide behind the child of Courage."
His sister eyes him, before smiling softly. "You don't wish to fight her."
Ganondorf growls. "Shut up."
She's right.
welcome to 'diane promised shed never write a zelgan fic when she was younger but then she read a bunch of them and then oops'
honestly zelgan has my heart like ghiralink has my soul
i read all reviews and love them dearly so dont be afraid to leave your opinions!
*Va Ehenív is the fictional language of the Gerudo created by Nina-Kristine Johnson. I'm slowly learning it, so the grammar might be off, but it isn't used much in the actual story apart from a few dialogue lines here and there to reference changes in language between Hylian and Va Ehenív where Hylians would not understand. However, most, if not all, of this tale is centered around Ganondorf, so the direct changes in language will be minimal. Please look it up if you want to learn it!