Zelda awoke the next morning to the sound of birds perched on the windowsill. The sunlight and the sweet warbler's nest on the window ledge was obviously an omen of a beautiful day. She didn't want to get out of bed yet; the sheets were so soft and cool, and she liked how the translucent drapes tickled her nose in the gentle breeze.
She giggled and watched the warbler bounce around for a few minutes before realizing that something wasn't right.
She didn't remember crawling into bed. In fact, the most recent memory of hers was being with Ganon, and she had been falling asleep on the balcony.
That meant that somebody had brought her here.
She sat up quickly to realize that she had been changed into a nightgown and must have been tucked into bed while she was still asleep.
The door creaked open.
"I see you're awake, Princess."
It was Impa, looking sharp as usual with a small tray of water and bread for Zelda.
"Yes… thank you, Impa," she said as the tray was set on the bed in front of her. She crossed her legs and went for the bread. This was a usual tradition- Impa would bring her bread and water in the morning right when she woke up, and breakfast was delayed until around eleven o' clock. Supper took place later in the afternoon, but tea was in the middle of breakfast and supper which satisfied the stomach for long enough.
"I found you out asleep on the balcony," said Impa, filling a small tub with water and bubbles for the usual morning scrub. "I don't know how you managed to fall asleep on such a firm bench."
I didn't, thought Zelda. I fell asleep on Ganon's shoulder.
She thought it would sound silly to say that, though, so she merely nodded and finished down the rest of the bread.
"Drink your water," said Impa, not even needing to turn around to see that Zelda had ignored it. Zelda always ignored it, and Impa had to remind her every morning.
"But I hate the water," said Zelda. "It doesn't even belong to me. It belongs to the Zora and the other fish."
"Drink the water anyway."
"Fine," groaned Zelda, rolling her eyes. She downed the water in one prolonged gulp.
"I hear Mr. Talon is delivering milk today and staying for dinner," Impa said, shuffling through the wardrobe for a dress.
"Is Malon coming?" asked the princess, bouncing up and down on her knees.
"I believe that everybody is coming from the ranch. Talon, Ingo, and, yes, Malon should be here."
"Hurray!" Zelda exclaimed, hopping out of bed and sidling up to Impa. "What am I wearing today?"
"How about this?" asked Impa, retrieving a plain pink dress.
"Yes, of course!" she said, jumping up and down. Impa stopped the jumping by putting her hands on Zelda's shoulders and keeping her feet on the floor.
"Remain calm," Impa reminded her. Zelda was washed and dressed, and as Impa was brushing her hair she said, "Have you seen Ganon this morning?"
"Actually, yes," said Impa. "He was up at 5 this morning. He's already dressed, but he won't come out of his room. He wants you to meet him there."
Zelda was out of her chair in seconds and, despite Impa's protests, started bounding down the hall. She realized suddenly that she didn't know where Ganon's room was. She decided that she would simply have to try every room in the castle. First, she tried all ten guest rooms. But Ganon didn't appear. Next, she tried the five rooms where relatives stayed. Ganon was nowhere to be found. She was notified that he didn't inhabit any of the fifty knight's rooms, and was growing desperate when she suddenly wondered if he was staying in the tower with the library. There was a room up there made up mostly of stained glass. It seemed a funny place to keep a visitor.
Nevertheless, the young princess ascended the Northwest tower, passed the library, and came to a halt before an arched door at the far end of the corridor. She knocked gingerly, waiting for a reply.
"Lady Impa?" came the voice from inside. "Is that you again?"
Zelda opened the door and poked her head inside. "Nope, it's me, Zelda."
Ganon glanced up from the writing desk and grinned. "Good morning." He was apparently writing a letter, as he folded up the paper on the desk and rested the quill into the bottle of ink. He spun around in the chair and looked silently at Zelda. "Well?"
"Well, nothing," answered Zelda. "I thought I should come and greet you this morning. I also have to tell you something." She rocked back and forth on her heels.
"What is it?" asked Ganon.
"Well, the thing is, I still haven't shown you the courtyards! You said you like flowers. Maybe you should see all of Castle Town. It's wonderful."
Ganon stood up. He was dressed in a black tunic today, and Zelda thought the color suited him nicely. She wondered suddenly if his hair, which was tied back loosely in a ribbon, was longer than hers, and whether it was brighter than Malon's. Which reminded her— "My friend Malon is coming today," she told Ganon.
"Is he from the Market?"
Zelda giggled. "Actually, Malon's a girl. Her name just sounds like a boy's name because she was named after her father. Well, and her mother. Her mother's name was Mara, her dad's name is Talon. So her name's Malon. Like a boy's name. Kind of like—"
"I get it," Ganon cut in. "That's interesting. I'd like to meet her, I guess."
"Anyway, let's go. You can come, right? Do you have to do anything first?"
"No," answered Ganon. Are we going to the courtyard first? Or the Market?"
"The courtyard, of course," Zelda answered, taking Ganon's hand and pulling him towards the door.
Ganon decided that he liked Zelda.
A lot.
…..
Ganon was a fan of the courtyard. He liked the flowers and the little window looking into the throne room. Zelda wasn't supposed to be outside this morning—her mother had wanted her to write a letter to her cousin from Labrynna. So Zelda and Ganon had a fun time sneaking past the guards to get out of the castle on their way to the market.
They drew a lot of attention in Castle Town. Zelda was the princess, so she naturally turned heads, and passerby gawked shamelessly at Ganon's dark skin, teasing him for even being near Her Royal Highness. Ganon took it all without the blink of an eye. Land was being cleared at the time for the "Happy Mask" shop. A crew of carpenters worked on and off, growing quickly tired and resting more than they worked.
"Want to do something fun?" asked Ganon, a devilish gleam in his eye.
"Okay," replied Zelda. "But what are we doing?"
"Watch," answered Ganon softly, and so swiftly that it was hard to keep track of, Ganon stepped up to the work site and pocketed a single red screw.
"Now, follow me," he whispered, and the two walked to the other end of town. They passed the couple dancing by the fountain and towards the laughing twins at the entrance of town. The twins looked perfectly alike—a god could not tell them apart if not for the different colored shirts. One twin dressed in red, the other in blue. Ganon asked them what was so funny, encouraging an encore of spasms of laughter from the two identical men. In the confusion of the moment, Ganon dropped the screw from the worksite into the pocket of the man in the blue shirt, walking away calmly.
Zelda took note of all of this with enthusiasm. She trotted behind Ganon to a stall selling jewelry. The pair blended in with the busy customers, but Ganon kept a keen eye on the carpenters. It took over ten minutes before Ganon's face split into a triumphant smirk, and he pointed in the direction of the work site. The builders were running about frantically, and as Zelda and Ganon moved closer, she could catch wind of the conversation.
"…lost a screw!" cried one carpenter. "Boss told us not to lose a thing!"
"Oh, boy, he's gonna have a cow!" exclaimed another. "How did we even lose that red screw? That was for the roof! We need it to keep the balance, o'erwise the boss will kill us! Did you look everywhere?"
"Yes!"
"You sure?"
"You can bet I'm sure. I think someone stole it."
"Damn it," muttered the second carpenter under his breath. The laughing twins approached the site, obviously entertained by the hassle.
"Hahaha!" cried one twin. "He lost a screw! You know what I think? I think he's got a screw loose in his brain!"
"No doubt!" howled the other twin. "Somebody's been screwing with his mind!"
The first twin hooted even louder, laughing and smacking his knee as he tried to gain control of himself.
The second twin sighed as his laughter ceased. "You really screwed up, man," he muttered. There was a pause of complete silence, and then the two were at it again. They roared in laughter, leaning on one another for support as they gasped for air.
The carpenters looked angry beyond belief. They glared daggers at the laughing men, swearing to saw them apart. One carpenter looked about to blow when Ganon stepped in valiantly.
"Gentlemen," he said with composure, "it seems that you have been the victim of senseless tomfoolery and rather impressive legerdemain." He coolly pulled the red screw from the twin's pocket where he had dropped it earlier.
Ganon held out the screw with an expression of utter disbelief. "This man in the blue shirt stole your screw. I caught sight of it while passing through to browse jewelry with Her Royal Highness."
Zelda stepped into view, at which the carpenters filed in to a line and stood ramrod straight.
"Your Highness!" they yelled, placing their hands over their chests.
"At ease," she said, and at once the carpenters resumed their normal positions.
"But I didn't steal it!" cried the blue shirted twin, his smile gone from his face.
"You're a terrible liar," accused Ganon."How dare you steal a screw and then laugh about it? You should be ashamed of yourself."
"But I didn't steal—"
"Princess Zelda?" cut in Ganon. "I think you can take it from here."
"But, Your Highness, I didn't—"
"Excuse me," said Zelda, playing right along, "but if you didn't steal it, then how did it end up in your pocket?"
"I… but I didn't… well, darn it, that's an excellent point!" answered the twin in the blue shirt.
"My thoughts exactly," muttered Ganondorf, shaking his head.
"I really should turn you over to the guards for this," said Zelda. "We all know that thievery is not permitted in Hyrule. The Royal family works day and night to keep our subjects safe from Gerudo thieves. To think that all of that hard work goes to waste is just insulting!
"I won't turn you over, however," negotiated Zelda. "I will set you free for the small fine of 10 rupees, no harm done."
"Y-y-yes, Your Highness!" replied the man, fiddling in his pocket and pulling out a small yellow rupee and handing it over.
"You're free to go," said Zelda.
"Thank you!" cried the man, kissing Zelda's hand. "You are so kind!" He and his brother fled the scene. The carpenters recovered their screw and returned to work. Zelda and Ganon glanced at each other with amusement.
"C'mon," said Zelda, tossing the rupee up in the air and catching it. "We're going Bombchu Bowling."
…..
They returned home later that evening with Zelda's prize—the Piece of Heart from Bombchu Bowling. It was filled with nothing but pure life and energy, love, and loyalty.
"That's a nice trinket," Ganon said, referring to the heart.
"Thank you!" she giggled. "But I don't think I'll keep it."
"What? That's absurd! Why wouldn't you?"
"Becaaaause… well, I want you to have it!" answered Zelda, holding out the clear, glowing heart in both hands.
"Really? Thank you!" cried Ganon, taking the heart and holding it close. He could feel a slight blush crawl across his face, which surprised him. Zelda had literally just given him her heart… could he help but feel a pleasant churning in his stomach?
"Now, we'll have to sneak past the guards again—" muttered Zelda.
"Sneak?" came a powerful voice. "I don't believe sneaking will be necessary. You're in enough trouble as it is."
They pivoted on the spot to see Impa standing before them, tall and powerful and terrifying.
"Impa—I—"
"Princess, we were worried sick!" cried Impa. "It's past dinnertime already! How could you run off like that?"
"I'm sorry!" whimpered Zelda.
Impa calmed. "Yes, yes, of course you are." She smiled. "Now, go tell your father you're all right. Just don't run off again like that."
Zelda sighed in relief. "Yes, Impa," she said. Then, she turned to Ganon. "Goodnight, Ganon. I hope to see you in the morning!" She curtsied, and then scurried away to find her father.
As soon as she had crossed the drawbridge and had run into the castle, Impa turned to Ganon, furious, and grabbed him by the ear.
"How dare you run off with the princess like that, insolent boy?" she screamed, tugging on Ganon's ear. "She could have been hurt, or killed, or kidnapped! She is too precious to be left alone!"
Ganon winced as she grabbed his hair and pulled him up straight with it. The heart fell out of Ganon's arms and shattered on the ground.
"You are lucky we let you stay here! I tolerated you because you seemed trustworthy, but now I will keep my keenest eye on you!"
"But I—"
"Don't you dare speak! You have brought the princess out in public, imagine that you turned your back for a split second, and suddenly she was gone! What makes you think you can—"
"What in tarnation?"
She stopped suddenly and turned toward the new arrivals. Talon, Malon, and Ingo stood ten feet away, staring at the scene in awe. Impa stood straight up and let go of Ganon, who stumbled to regain his balance.
"Welcome, visitors. Mr. Talon, I trust your journey went well?"
"Uh, yeah, quite well," answered Talon, still staring at the gerudo boy.
"If you'll kindly follow me inside, I'll show you to your rooms. We were not expecting such a late arrival."
"Alright," answered Talon.
"Malon," addressed Impa, "Zelda is waiting for you inside. You should be able to find her in the drawing room in the east wing on the second floor.
"Hurray!" cried Malon, dashing inside of the castle to meet her friend.
Impa turned to Ganon menacingly. "I know you've only known Zelda a day," Impa muttered fiercely, "but I can see that you fancy her. And I swear to Din, boy, another slip up like that, and I'll make sure that you never see her again."
And so she left Ganon and his broken heart behind in the growing twilight.
