CHALLENGING THE MALICE

I slept soundly that whole night. The next morning I traveled back to visit with Ganon. I successfully evaded the Guardians and settled in a new spot next to a tendril of Malice. It appeared as if he continued to slowly spread. If Zelda failed, the growth of Malice would increase drastically, and Hyrule would be consumed in days. As exciting as that was, I could not sit around to wait and see if that satisfied the beast enough to give my husband back to me.

"Do you remember the time we were sealed away in stone by the Master Sword?" I asked, speaking softly, and stared at the ooze as if it might talk back. "How, when you tricked a Hylian knight into pulling the sword, we were revived and conquered Hyrule swiftly? That was when we had our daughter, and during her birth you first spoke the words 'I love you'. I will never forget that. Or how you were forced to use the Triforce to bring her back to life when the hero killed her, instead of you." Sadly, I added, "I have not seen Din for many years."

I felt ridiculous talking to this goop. I hoped, if he could hear me, that my voice soothed him.

"Remember Zant? He was an odd character," I laughed, moving to a happier memory. "They called him the Usurper King. I will never forget the expressions of the royal family and their guard when I confessed my love for you. They were in disbelief! The king ordered your execution anyway. I could have saved you then, but you refused to let me. You told me to stay behind and lead the Gerudo until your return. You shocked them all, even me, by killing that sage and taking his sword as your own. Their only option was to banish you to the Twilight Realm. Who knew you would find such a willing pawn to return to Hyrule to conquer it again."

I sighed. I felt this odd serenity in being able to talk to him, even if he never responded.

"My favorite was when we were still young. We experienced many trials growing up in the valley, in our fortress. I stood by your side faithfully, even through all the time you dragged the traitor along just to fool me into believing I would never win you. You were always so cruel," I said with a chuckle. I admired that about him. "You and I worked closely to fool the King of Hyrule into negotiating a treaty, until it came time to strike. He died swiftly, you claimed the Triforce of Power, corrupted the Sacred Realm, and became the King of Evil. It wasn't quite that simple, but victory never tasted sweeter. Most importantly, for me anyway, we married, and what a perfect ceremony it was. We reigned for years like gods without boundaries. We were greedy and invincible. It was an incredible seven years," I smiled with content at my fondest memories. "How could I have forgotten the romantic dinner I set for us? It happened to be on the same night you kidnapped Zelda, and Link came to rescue her. Oh, how I miss the way you wooed me with your organ mastery. However, during that battle with the hero, our home was destroyed. You were stolen from me for the first time. I still harbor the hate and loathing from that moment."

I closed my eyes and covered my face with my hands to allow the emotion to pass.

"I had no power to fight against the sages who sealed you in the Sacred Realm. I feel weak and helpless every time the sealing power is used against you. I pray with all my might that the goddesses let you stay. My prayers have never been answered."

I whimpered pitifully. "I regret that I could never do more. Unlike you, my love. You have always done everything in your power to protect me. The time I was knocked unconscious and kidnapped, you came to my rescue and burned their whole village. Your support at the moment of Volvagia's death was, honestly, unexpected. I was heartbroken when I heard his dying cries. It was in that moment I knew you would always be there for me in ways I never imagined. You promised vengeance, and you never break a promise. Anyone who ever dared harm me met with an untimely end."

My memories returned to the night of the battle, as if I forgot to finish telling him a story he already knew. "I was devastated, and weak from fighting Link and Zelda at your side, so I was captured. When you were free of your prison, you rescued me from mine. Only, I found the land we once conquered was being flooded, erased by the goddesses. We survived, and I followed your cunning to fight for the Triforce again, so that we could bring Hyrule back. When our new home, that half ship high up in the fortress, was burned to a crisp by Valoo, I was pleasantly surprised that you had conjured a portal to Hyrule and your new castle. We never expected the dead King of Hyrule to stand in our way, or for the Master Sword to turn us into a stone statue."

"Then there was the time we busted into the Sacred Realm and the Master Sword stole me away. I fought my way back to you in the Dark World, and brought you the moon pearl and the sword. We fought a war, the two of us, and your minions, to prevent Zelda from sealing you. We lost that battle, but at your instruction I practiced the magic you let me borrow so we could keep fighting. For once, I felt that I could make a difference in our fate. I broke the seal and came to find you. The magic of the moon pearl had faded. Though you were the form of a beast designated by the Sacred Realm, you were still completely human inside. I was a vixen," I laughed. "Do you remember that? Ridiculous, huh? It was interesting, to say the least, to share our passion in those forms."

I bowed my head, and fiddled with the tuft of hair at the end of the braid that flopped over my shoulder. The wheels in my head began to spin the longer I talked about our historic tales. "I defended the Triforce in your name and nearly died. I failed, and you were sealed again. Yuga, the man who thought turning people into portraits counted as real magic, resurrected you. You recognized me, but part of you was already gone. Koume and Kotake, I know they loved you unconditionally, but they botched your resurrection. They sacrificed themselves to complete the ritual, and it went horribly wrong. I stood at your side again to fight the hero and the oracles. That was the last time I heard your voice. You surprised me the next time, because you broke the seal on your own. I ran to greet you, to welcome you home, and do your bidding. I never had the chance. The demon entirely consumed you, and you attacked me. I knew I lost you. That was when I made my biggest mistake. I stopped standing with you and showing my unwavering support. I quit fighting for you. I ran like a coward, and just allowed this beast to eat you alive. So much for a loyal queen and devoted wife. It's no wonder you forgot about me. You probably feel like I abandoned you. I haven't even stopped to consider how you suffer." After minutes of silence, and sitting entirely still, I finally said, "I guess the best way to learn is to find out for myself."

I leaned forward and grabbed a fistful of Malice that was already within reach. I instantly drowned against the ocean of despair. I tried to swim, but hands of hate and greed clawed at me to pull me under. My lungs filled with anger, and I struggled to breathe. It was like a nightmare where I ran from facing my death. I could not escape, and I forced myself to release the ooze as if I woke from the nightmare in a panic. I trembled. I was horrified.

Before I dared deem myself worthy of confronting Ganon, I vowed to overcome this terror to better understand his pain. I returned faithfully every single day.

I started out by talking to him as if I spoke to his grave. I talked about anything and everything I could ever remember, and just events happening in my present daily life. I apologized profusely, and reassured him I wanted to amend my mistake. I begged for the one thing he would have the most difficult time granting me: forgiveness.

"Last night was the loneliest I have felt in a long time," I admitted solemnly. "After I went home, when I lay in bed to go to sleep, memories washed over me like ocean waves that threatened to drag me out to sea. I wonder if you somehow contributed to my sleeplessness. I remembered every argument, even the one about our imperfections after we first married. No matter how much we fought, we always emerged stronger because of it. I recalled our extended nights. You made it storm, and prevented the sun from rising for days so you could keep me trapped in our chambers," I said with a tender grin. "I still do not fully understand that magic."

"Oh. I nearly forgot to mention that I still wield the same sword you gave me after our marriage. For you to offer me a gift to help me defend myself, to aid in the slaying of your enemies, let's just say it is obvious how special I am to you. I am the only one, outside of the goddesses of course, that you told about Demise. That you trusted me with that secret, and felt I was worthy, is a tremendous honor."

With tears filling my eyes, I reached to my forehead and traced my crown. "Most of all, my king, I miss the days of sparring with you, seeing your evil, satisfied smile, holding your hand to prevent you from impatiently tapping your fingers while we heard the moblin's daily report, eagerly absorbing all the wisdom you had to offer, and your laugh. No one could ever make you laugh as truly as I did. Yes, I miss you with all my heart. I nearly forgot all those important little details, like how I learned to stop your snoring that woke me in the middle of the night. You always rolled over and buried your face in my hair to help me fall asleep. I know you actually held your arm over me to prevent me from punching while I dreamed. You always knew me better than I knew myself, which only proves how perfect we are for each other." This thought made me stop for a breath, and I covered my mouth to suppress a loud laugh. "I forgot to breathe again. Without you to remind me I keep blathering on like a fool. I hope you can hear me. I hope you remember me, as well as I remember you. I miss you with all that I am, Ganondorf, so much that my soul aches to be held by you again. We will be together soon."

After I prattled on for a while, like I always did, I held on to the goo as if I held Ganondorf's mighty hand. For days I tried repeatedly every hour, but could withstand the darkness for only a few seconds. It tried to take hold of me on multiple occasions, but I resisted. I increased my endurance, and could fight for longer than a minute. This energy seized my muscles, and fed on my fear. I frequently found myself gripping the ground with my gloved fingers to fight back the hate that burned my heart and stole my breath. I gritted my teeth and seethed fiercely to the point I salivated. I felt like a wild animal, ready to break free from an iron cage. My mind reeled for as long as thirty minutes to recover from this powerful emotion.

This darkness was a more intense sensation of what I once felt while standing near Ganondorf. It was like all the corruption manifested itself in a physical form that spilled over and ate him from the outside in. My only conclusion was that he had once been able to restrain this evil from possessing him. I remembered that I had a difficult time coping with his energy when we first began working together to capture the Triforce, until I learned to open myself up and welcome it. I was always revitalized by it. Over the course of many days, I practiced the acceptance of this darkness in small amounts. I opened my heart to the evil, instead of running from it, at the same time not allowing it to control me. I learned to resist the effects of the Malice, and, one could say, befriend it. I was no longer afraid.

I hoped that Ganon fed off of me, that he connected to me. I hoped to help calm him and overcome the rage inside. I needed him to know I was there to fight for him.

The only obstacles left were the Guardians. For that, I needed to wait for the hero to arise.