Angel Without Wings

Chapter 1 –

The dark blue dress flowed down the Princess beautifully. She stared at herself I the mirror a few more moments before deciding to head to the ball room. Tonight was her father's 57th birthday ball.

The seventeen year old princess shut her door behind her and walked down the halls of Hyrule Castle. Meanwhile, a maid nearly bumped into her.

"Oh! Princess Zelda! I am so sorry, I was just coming up to get you," she said, politely curtsying.

"Don't apologize, it's alright," Zelda assured the woman. "Did my father send you?"

"Yes. He wishes to speak with you, Milady." She curtsied again.

Zelda nodded and followed the maid downstairs. In the ballroom, she noticed it was already crowded with guests. The decorations were simple, yet beautiful.

The artisans really outdid themselves this year, Zelda thought to herself. She noticed her father mingling with a group of armored men.

"You may leave," she said to the maid, "I will take it from here."

The maid smiled politely, although she looked a bit disappointed. She scurried off and Zelda sought her father once more. As she got closed she noticed that he was speaking to his generals.

"Happy birthday, Father," Zelda said leaning in to kiss the king on the cheek.

"My dear Daughter, thank you," the king replied lovingly. Zelda turned to face the people within the group. "Gentlemen, you all know my daughter, Princess Zelda."

The men bowed their heads to her. One general she recognized, he was an older man. He took a step towards her and took her hand to place a kiss on the back.

"Princess, you are looking more and more like your mother with each passing day," he said smiling.

"Thank you, General Wattson," she replied.

Wattson faced the King. "Lord Daphnes. If I may, I shall retire early."

"Yes, go ahead old friend," Daphnes replied.

"Princess, comrades, King," Wattson said before departing.

Zelda turned to her father as the others left. "Is he still training the soldiers?" she asked eagerly.

"No, Daughter. I have found someone else to train them, Wattson remains on the council though."

"Who?"

Just then a tall ma in plated armor loomed over the princess and the king. Zelda looked into the man's eyes, they were dark and it took a large amount of courage not to cower under their gaze. She could feel an almost sinister aura radiating off of him. It was like he was covered in darkness. Still, just by his appearance, Zelda was intrigued by this tall, dark being.

"Your Highness," he said bowing to the King, he never took his eyes off of the beautiful Princess. Even though he was so tall he still had the grace of a cat.

Who is this handsome, shadowed man? She wondered.

The King nodded in acknowledgment. "Zelda, this is Ganondorf Dragmire. He trains the soldiers now," he said to his daughter.

Ganondorf bowed again to her. "Princess," he said smirking.

Zelda found herself speechless a moment then found her courage. "Ganondorf." Her voice held the slightest notes of fascination and fear. Something about him reminded her of something she couldn't quite put her finger on.

Ganondorf looked a little amused about something only he knew of. He spoke to Daphnes again, "My Lord, I hope you have a nice evening and birthday, but I must take my leave."

King Daphnes nodded. "Thank you, Ganondorf."

"You're leaving?" Zelda asked.

Ganondorf's eyes focused on hers. "Yes, Your Grace. I apologize, but these sorts of events were never one of my strengths." Actually, he just had no care for these things.

"Oh," was all she could say. She couldn't help but feel disappointed.

With that, he turned and walked away.

"Zelda, there is someone I want you to meet," Daphnes said.

She turned and saw a boy that looked to be twenty. He stood erect, blonde haired, and neat. He looked arrogant, another Aristocrat.

"It's truly an honor, Princess," the boy said. Even his voice was snobbish. He took her hand and placed a kiss on it.

It irked her. "And you are?" she asked, slipping her hand away.

"Ah, where are my manners?" he said, a hint of sarcasm slipped out. "I am Royce Marlier, of the great House of Marlier." Pride noted highly in his voice with each word.

"My Daughter. Young Royce here will be your escort for the night," Daphnes said happily.

"Thank you, King Daphnes," Royce said. He looked smug.

Zelda resisted the urge to hit the boy and go back to her room. She thanked the Goddess, Nayru, for her control. It was her father's night and wish; she could deal with it for one night.

Or so she thought. As the night went on Royce endlessly spoke of himself.

"My father is an old friend of the King's," Royce said matter-of-factly.

"How so?" Zelda asked, curious, but still annoyed by his presence.

"When they were younger, my father saved yours from a bear."

"I never heard of it," she said.

"You should've. A magnificent tale, yes."

Zelda rolled her eyes and tried to remember if her father ever told her about it, but she kept coming to a blank. Royce noticed her thoughtfulness and smiled, much to Zelda's annoyance.

Music came from the orchestra across the room and Royce took her hand. "Shall we, Princess?"

"She looked at their hands then back to him. "I don't know how to dance that well," she lied. Since she was royalty she knew how to lie pretty well.

"Nonsense!" What woman does not know how to dance?" he scoffed. He took her to the dance floor anyways.

Zelda tried to fake that she did not know how to dance as hard as she could, but to no avail. Royce was ruthless. He twirled her and held her close to his body. She felt uncomfortable and after the song ended she stepped away from him, feeling flustered and angry that he forced her to dance. He wore a devious grin and clasped his hands behind his back.

"I must go," she said, trying to remain polite.

"Come now, your Highness. The night is young and so are we, let's not waste it," he argued.

"I am tired, Royce. I would like to go rest," she told him truthfully.

He put a hand on her arm and leaned closer. "Nonsense ––"

"Royce, sir," she warned. "If you wish to keep our relationship a friendly one, I suggest you let me go."

He dropped his hand and backed off. His grin turned into a smile, which irritated her. "As you wish, Princess," he mocked her.

She turned to leave when the memory of a dream came to her thoughts. It was the dream she had almost every night. The one where a large and powerful man saved her from a stampeding horse. The dream both scared and thrilled her. On the few nights, though, she dreamt of something else entirely or of nothing at all she felt deprived of something, she didn't know, and it also saddened her.

Her thoughts returned to Royce Marlier. It was obvious her father wanted her to be with the arrogant boy. It also angered her that he thought himself more than worthy to have her hand. She didn't want to marry Royce, he was far from being worthy.

Zelda was interrupted from her thoughts when she saw a familiar clad in armor standing by a window in the hall. She had all but forgotten him. She strode up to his large form. He hadn't noticed her yet, for he was staring thoughtful out the window.

"Ganondorf?" she said questioningly.

The Dark One faced the Princess. This close, she noticed he stood at least a head taller than the tallest man in Hyrule. He was well built, she observed now, with broad shoulders, and had neatly trimmed bright red hair.

"Hello Princess," he said, nodding to her.

"What are you doing out here?" she asked, her heart stopped twice as she spoke.

Something of a sinister smirk crossed his face. "I am merely enjoying the night. Why are you not enjoying the party?" he wondered.

She dropped her head a little, taking her eyes off of him. "Have you heard of Royce Marlier?"

"I've heard of the name."

"My father made him my escort for tonight."

"And the problem?"

Now she looked Ganondorf in the eye. "Problem? Oh, where do I begin? The man thinks he's a god and that I should be grateful to be in his presence. Also, he mocks me and believes himself to be more than worthy to take my hand. His intentions are not good and his arrogance annoys me to no end. I swear, too, he doesn't understand the concept of personal bubble space!" she hissed. A feeling of exhaustion crept over her.

He chuckled to himself then turned thoughtful. "Is that so?"

"Yes," she said frustrated. After a moment she began to wonder why she had told him so much. She only just met him, yet she let out all of her stress.

"You should talk to your father then. I'm sure he'll listen," he said simply.

She nodded slowly. He was right, her father would listen. Suddenly she felt his hand grasp hers and raise it up to his lips. He kissed her knuckles and held her hand close to his face. His hand was large and warm. His lips sent electricity up her arm.

"You should go and get some rest, Princess." His breath was hot against her hand. "It's late."

"Yes, but –"

"I'm sure we will see each other again. Until next time." Ganondorf released her hand and began to walk away. His boots echoed through the hallway and he descended down a set of stairs. The tingling of his lips remained in her arm and Zelda faced the window Ganondorf was staring out of. She hoped that they did see each other again.