Chapter 1: The Meeting
"Your Highness."
He bows, his back arching unnecessarily low. "Forgive me but under the circumstances, I would've thought Your Grace would have arrived more… protected."
"I can assure you that I am sufficiently protected, thank you," Princess Zelda replies. "In fact, I'm perhaps safer than when accompanied by one hundred guards."
"Ah, of course," he realises. She watches as his dark eyes scan either side of the narrowing canyon around them. "You've brought your young minion with you. Tell me, does our beloved hero come and go as he pleases or does he return when he is called like a loyal dog?"
The Princess had chosen this meeting place amongst the canyons for two reasons. Firstly, the higher ground alongside the canyon paths works to her advantage in that Link's presence is concealed whilst still allowing him to keep sight of Lord Ganondorf and herself. Secondly, the Princess hadn't travelled this far into the canyons since her father had brought her here as a child many years ago. Although dangerously perilous during the colder months, the Canyon District was glorious during the remainder of the year, even showing signs of natural, green beauty. In truth, Zelda missed this place and the memories it held. She had thought her meeting with the King of the Gerudo was a fine excuse to visit.
She waves her hand dismissively at Ganondorf's remark. "I'd watch your tongue if I were you. He doesn't take kindly to insults."
"Like that kid can hear our conversation from where we stand," Ganon tuts.
"Perhaps not." Zelda's lips arch into a smirk. "But he stands close enough to see my signal, should you… get too close."
With that, Ganon lets out a hearty laugh, the brusqueness of his throat echoing off the tall walls of the canyon.
"Don't you worry, Your Highness," he retorts, the sarcasm evident in her title. "I don't have any intention of hurting you."
"Then enough of the mockery!" Despite having a love for the Canyon District, the Princess did not wish to remain in the presence of Lord Ganondorf for any longer than necessary. "Tell me for what reason you insisted that we meet?"
The Gerudo King clears his throat and speaks clearly. "I no longer have an undying desire for the Triforce and the-"
"Don't play me!" the Princess sternly interrupts, poking her index finger directly at Ganon's fat bulge of a nose. "You made the same claim to my father years ago yet you went against your word and attempted to claim the Triforce as your own."
Lord Ganondorf bats her small pale finger away with a gentle sweep of the back of his hand.
Less than a second later, he is taken aback, recoiling ever so slightly to his right as the sharpened tip of a slender wooden arrow plants itself just centimetres from his left boot. The coarse feathers at the arrows end are trimmed neatly and dyed dark emerald.
Zelda stifles a chuckle.
"That's why you shouldn't get too close," she mutters, attempting – with little success - to conceal the smile forming at her lips.
Ganondorf, clearly annoyed, continues.
"IfI can finish?" he grunts, folding his hands behind his back. "I no longer have a desire for the Triforce and the powers it possesses. I now have a new desire. And only you, Your Highness, can give it to me."
"What are the terms?" the Princess inquires.
Ganon paces slowly from side to side. "If you give me what I ask, I will never attempt to take the Triforce for my own again. And to prove my loyalty, I will remove the piece of the Triforce I currently possess from myself and allow you to have it placed in another of your choosing."
Now he had Zelda's full attention. The removal of a section of the Triforce from one's soul was difficult, excruciatingly painful even, but if the process was successful, what Ganon proposed was possible. The King of the Gerudo was a selfish man and the Triforce of Power held within him his greatest advantage. She knew Ganon meant it this time.
"And…" She could barely speak the words. "What is it, exactly, that you would require from me?"
Ganondorf's thin lips twitch into a snarl. The next words leave his mouth slowly.
"I want your throne."
A moment of silence seems to stretch endlessly between the pair as they face one another. Ganon's words appear to echo across the canyon path, repeating themselves over and over again as they finally take shape in Zelda's mind.
Stunned, the Princess struggles to find the words to portray her astonishment. When word had been sent that Ganon had a proposal and wished to speak with her, this was not what she had expected. Was Lord Ganondorf being sincere? Past instincts told her he was lying but in front of her stood a powerful man whose shaking hands were clenched into tight fists and his eyes – there was something there, a sense of excruciating agony. Mentally, this offer was destroying him.
Finally Zelda speaks. "My throne?"
"Your throne," Ganondorf confirms. "Consider this. You've read yourself what is written in the old scrolls. Ancient stories of endless, repetitive battles between light and shadow. Countless deaths. Hundreds left injured and homeless. The ruthless murders of members of your ancestral monarchy. It never ends. It's always the same time and time again."
Zelda thought for a moment. It is true that written in the ancient scrolls of Hyrules past there are many records of the same battles over and over, generation after generation. But the scrolls are old. Very old. No one knows for sure whether their accounts can be trusted as true. But then neither can they be falsified. Is it worth the risk?
"You wouldn't only be sparing your own life and the lives of those around you," the Gerudo King adds. "You'd be saving the life of your little fairy boyfriend too."
The Princess' heartrate quickens at the mention of Link, the supposed Hero of Time. One thing's for certain: in every story in every ancient scroll, the Hero of Time loses out. Whether that be by death, banishment or migration, the hero has never been recorded as the victor. Ever.
In every story it is the Princess to be saved. Maybe this time, Zelda could save the hero.
"How can I know that you wouldn't hurt my people?" the Princess asks. "That you wouldn't come after myself or my family… or Link?"
"In removing the Triforce of Power from my own soul" – his left eyebrow twitches slightly as he says this – "and attaching it to another, you would have access to the full power of the formed Triforce. That power would be greater than any force I could ever muster and you would be protected."
Zelda knew this to be true. When all three pieces of the Triforce are brought together, there is no greater force.
"What say you?" Ganondorf demands.
Zelda's gaze drifts to the ground, the white dust of the canyon path pressed with their footprints. Can she really agree to such an offer? Can she afford not too? She takes a breath, folds her hands in front of her and meets Ganon's eyes.
"I shall take some time to consider your offer-"
Immediately his expression crumbles. "What? No! I want an answer this instance."
"You cannot expect me to hand over my right to the throne in an instant, Lord Ganondorf," she says sternly. "I must take some time to review the proposal and come to a reasonable decision."
Ganondorf lets out an elongated breath and eventually swings back on his heels and crosses his thick, scarred arms over his chest. "Fine," he breathes. "We shall meet back here in a month and I will expect a decision from you then."
"A month it is," the Princess agrees. "If that is all, Lord Ganondorf, I shall be on my way back to the Palace." She curtseys. He is a King, after all.
Ganon bows, uttering "Your Highness" and turns on his heel to leave. He takes a few steps away from Zelda when, suddenly, he stops. He doesn't look back when he speaks.
"Oh and Princess," he calls. "If you have not made your decision by the time we meet, I will not offer the proposition again." He takes a few more steps away from her and disappears into the dust.
Hi ^_^ Thank you for reading this far, I hope you enjoyed. I've not written a long-standing story on here before but have had this one in mind for a while and thought I'd just get on and publish it. Please leave a comment (no matter good or bad!) telling me what you thought – it's very much appreciated. I have a few ideas that I'd like to try out with this story so am going to keep adding to it over the coming months – we'll see how it goes! Let me know if you'd like to read more.
-totesbella x