Under the Rain

I look like a drowned rat. That is the only thing I can say about the oh so wonderful weather Hyrule is seeing today. Its raining so hard I can hear it beating on the roof above my room. And I am a prisoner. I am a captive of the rain, lightening, thunder, and the one who holds me here.

I tried to escape this morning, but Ganondorf would have none of that. He commanded his minion Vaati to go after me. I am still nursing the bruises and cuts from Vaati's not so subtle attempts to destroy the crown princess of Hyrule. Ganondorf caught him in time, just before what would have surely been the final blow...the bruise under my left eye hurts really badly.

Ganondorf saved me, but why I do not know. I should have some idea, because I do bear the Triforce of Wisdom, but I am continually drawing a blank. I figured he wanted to kill me, though he has never laid a finger on me. And then the incident this morning occured.

When the Dark Lord sent Vaati after me, he must have been unaware of his intentions. Vaati sought to kill me, and nearly succeeded. His dark magic came upon me so quickly, I nearly missed the one blow to his face that I managed. It will scar, but that will be the least of Vaati's worries. Right now, he is probably being tortured by Ganondorf...and the horrible part is I have no pity.

I know I should be kind and forgiving, but after these last few months, I am lucky I haven't killed anybody. After Link killed the Twili ruler Zant, Ganondorf appeared. Apparentally he was possessing the Twilight King...but had never let anybody know. And now Link was gone after following Midna through the Mirror of Twilight.

And I am still here. Link's only concern was Midna. That was his only love. And now, because of it, Ganondorf has taken over Hyrule and has allowed darkness to over take it.

Now, I don't necessarily have anything against Ganondorf, but his little minions have been pushing their luck lately. Shadow Link keeps appearing and attempting to seduce me (because I was once attracted to his lighter side), and bat-boy Vaati keeps trying to kill me. I felt that the only chance I had was to escape, which, after the fiasco this morning, does not look like its going to happen.

Can you blame me for wanting away from it all? I have a death warrent on my head as far as Vaati's concerned, and Shadow Link wants to corrupt me. The only thing that prevents Shadow from succeeding is knowing the moment he touches me Ganondorf will kill him. And then there is Ganondorf himself.

The bearer of the Triforce of Power, Ganondorf decided it would be a good idea to possess as much of the universe as possible, beginning in an alternate dimension known as the Twilight Realm. And now, once he failed there, he decided to take on my kingdom of Hyrule. The strange thing is, though, he has never used force on me to get what he wants. Instead, he locks me in my room to prevent my escape, allowing me out at night when I am allowed to read in the throne room with him.

He watches me sometimes. I once caught a glimpse of the magic crystal he possesses while I was in the throne room. His chambers connect to that room, and he had mistakenly left the door open. As soon as he figured out his mistake, he slammed the door and told me mind what was mine and mine alone.

Ganondorf has never been mean to me or harmed me in any way. I know he could at any time, I've seen what has happened to those who disobey him. And now, I am in my room awaiting my fate for my attempted escape. I hope, if it be death, that it is quick.

Someone is knocking on my door. Well, I guess the time of judgment for Princess Zelda is here. Din give me strength in my hour of need.

I open the door and see the man with bright red hair that I know all too well. I shudder as fear wracks my body. His amber eyes meet mine, and something akin to sympathy is glowing in them.

"Ganondorf...please...I..."

His stern gaze halts my words. There is something different about him.

"Vaati told me everything. I just want to know why you tried to escape. Are you really that unhappy here?"

I look at the ground, studying my hands and continuing to tremble. I feel a heavy hand on my shoulder. I look up at Ganondorf and begin to cry, collapsing against the Dark King. He holds me to him, something I could not imagine him doing if it weren't happening right this moment. He tips my chin up and touches my face gently.

"Ganondorf, I'm unhappy because of your followers. Vaati wants me dead and Shadow wants to bed me. And it seems like they are always around. I'm scared of them...both of them...and..."

He hushes me, touching a finger to my lips.

"I have already made arrangements to have them removed from Hyrule forever. Shadow will be destroyed and Vaati shall never again live as the sorcerer he is right now. Now, let me see what I can do about these bruises."

Ganondorf cares about me? I never saw that coming. He looks at me like a lover would. Goddesses, he really is handsome. He holds out his hand to me and I take it, though where he is leading me I have no clue.

I follow him down the corridor to the gardens outside of the castle. Its still raining, though it seems like my fears have been washed away with the beautiful liquid falling from the sky. Ganondorf notices the look on my face, a look of pure elation and happiness as my wounds magically heal from the cool water sprinkling on my body. The sky is no longer encased in total darkness, rather, the sun is allowed to illuminate the clouds. This had to be Ganondorf's doing.

I look up at the Dark King questioningly. He smiles at me briefly, and then pulls me close, the water soaking both of us and allowing me to feel as I haven't in a very long time. I feel...beautiful. He looks down at me over the tip of his nose and murmurs something about me being beautiful. I smile up at him as he pushes my dark soggy locks out of my face.

"Zelda, I have been meaning to ask you a question."

I look at him, studying those golden orbs and moving some of his soaking red hair away from his tan face.

"Zelda...will you be my queen?"

I feel my mouth drop open as my legs nearly give way beneath me. He catches me and holds me close to him. I feel his heartbeat through his armor. I have to think about this for a moment. My father is dead, my elder sister ran off with a man from Terminia, and now I was being asked by Ganondorf Dragmire to marry him.

Well, that was enough thinking. I notice Ganondorf gauging my reaction to his question. He is cautious, if not a bit terrified. I give him a smile, the first real smile in ages, and murmur yes.

He grins at me before pulling me close against him and kissing me for all I am worth. Oh my...he can kiss like no other. My knees give out and I feel myself being lifted from the ground and spun in circles. Our kiss under the rain.