AN: Thanks for reading! I would like to thank my editor and best friend for helping me get this story back on its feet! I write about 5-10 Word document pages for each chapter though I feel when converted on Fanfic they are barely anything! If you have any questions or concerns with my fanfic let me know and be sure to leave a review! I'm sorry this took so long but hopefully I'll be back to updating once a month!
The fortress was filled with tension. Ganondorf had finally discovered Aveil's raid and that had sent the whole tribe into fear of the unknown. No one attempted to bother them and even the patrol cringed at some of the words they heard come from the room. The language they heard was foul and it continued to echo along the dark halls of the fortress.
Nabooru groaned as she looked out the window again. Three hours had passed she estimated and she returned to watching the spectacle before her.
"Do you realize what you could have done?!" Ganondorf bellowed as he threw his fist down on the table.
Aveil crossed her arms defiantly.
"Your people would have starved! What were you going to do about the rations?" She snapped back.
"I will handle the affairs of my people! It's not your place Aveil!" Ganondorf howled. Nabooru leaned against the wall and sighed. Although she wanted to stand up for her sister she knew it wasn't the time. It wasn't the first time that the two had bickered over Aveil's defiance of his power however, and usually nothing became of it.
"We are in a delicate relationship with the Hylians and you could have potentially destroyed anything we have been striving to achieve! You could destroy our chance for peace!"
"You're just a stubborn idiot who thinks he's better than us just because he's a voe!"
Nabooru looked up uncomfortably, uncertain of how he would respond. His eyes darkened but somehow he had maintained a completely vague expression.
"What?" He asked softly, his words still poisonous.
"Just because you're a voe does not mean you are better than us. You're acting no better than the Hylian voe! Can't I take care of people? Am I not strong enough to fight battles? Ganondorf, I am stronger then most voe! At least Hylian voe care about their women's feelings!" Her eyes were fiery with fury as she spat out her mind.
"Aveil!" Nabooru shouted, surprising the other two. "He's still your king!"
"No, Nabooru, she has a point." Ganondorf said as he calmly sat down.
"I do?" Aveil rolled her eyes as she pretended to innocently not know what he meant.
"Vai are are just as important as voe, but also remember your status. I'm a king. You are graced with my approval of your status. I can just as easily take it away. You are to remain posted at the fortress." He replied coldly, a smirk gracing his lips as he felt the tension of her bitterness.
"You can't do that! I'm Third in Command!" Aveil screamed. Ganondorf leaned back.
"Aveil, I can't have you being so reckless at home..."
"All I have is our home! You can not take the town from me! What would you have me do? Spar and train? I'm not a soldier!"
"Aveil! Don't test my patience! If you disobey me again I'll have no choice but to-"
"But to what? What are you going to do Ganondorf? Huh? Are you going to never let me leave my room? Are you going to put me in a prison cell? What can you possibly do besides take my freedom away?" She howled as tears began slide down her cheek.
"Aveil, if you disobey me again, I will banish you."
Aveil's eyes darkened but she couldn't speak.
"You selfish, stupid, horrible person! I hate you! You really are nothing but a Hylian voe!" She cried as she ran from the room. Nabooru inhaled deeply.
"You were a bit harsh." She finally said, turning towards him. He remained in the chair, rubbing his temples in thought.
"Nabooru. We are so close the achieving something that hasn't been done in centuries. I can't afford her to ruin it for us."
"I understand. But not letting her return?"
"If the King asked us to return she could be a potential threat to a bond between our nations." Ganondorf finally spoke. Nabooru shook her head.
"Ganondorf, the Hylian do not understand our ways. Aveil made a very good point. The Hylian believe that vai work in homes and the voe do the hard labor. Why can't strong vai do hard labor? Why can't they use their gifts?"
"Nabooru, in time the Hylian will see our ways. For now we need them to seek peace with us. If we live in peace we can see the tribe survive."
Nabooru pursed her lips in thought, trying to figure out the best way to execute what she wanted to say.
"Maybe...but maybe our people aren't...prepared yet for such a transition. Look at the way Aveil reacted. The Hyrulian nation to our people is a curse. They look at the voe as toys and the vai as lazy housewives. In order for our people and the Hylian nation to live in peace we must somehow get our nation to agree with our view. I don't know how or when you plan to do it exactly... did you even think that far?"
"Nabooru, I have thought this through many, many times. I rarely sleep thinking about what I must do. If you wish to complain and fight me like your sister I would appreciate you to leave." He growled as he waved his hand in dismissal. She shook her head and sighed, sinking into one hip.
"I want to know what you're doing with our people! I don't want to argue about this! I just want you to trust me!"
He inhaled sharply, eyes locking with hers. She kept the same stern glare as he did and neither of them moved. They were both too stubborn and too proud not to see their way.
"Don't test my patience." His voice sounded like gravel, but it did not persuade her.
"Three days, Ganondorf. By then you should be able to trust me." She replied just as harsh before she began to stride away.
He leaned back against the stone wall, the coolness and humidity making his shirt wet. It was almost midday, he could tell, because the walls began to become moist. This would only last a while, but it was necessary that it happened. If it didn't, the desert would be unbearable. As much as a wasteland it was, he loved it. The only thing he knew now was to achieve what he had started.
"You..."
He blinked, the familiar voice seemed to echo through the room. He knew, though, where the source of the voice was. The source of his very soul began to awaken.
The Hylian queen sighed as she dismissed the nurse, almost five years she had been bedridden, and on this day five years ago she had been given a gift, a beautiful daughter whom she named Zelda.
A maid began to draw the curtains, the sunlight would land in the queen's eyes if they were to remain open and there was to be no discomfort to her. The room seemed grey, no colors excepts for blues, greys, and the typical Hylian red. Rarely did anyone speak in her chambers and she never spoke to them either. Her bed was laid simple for royalty, two plain, thick blankets and an armful of pillows. The pillows remained uncovered as the queen enjoyed not having to fuss for the comfort of her head. The nightstand beside her was filled with medicine samples and strange elixirs, but nothing seemed to heal her.
"Call Impa in, please." The regalness in her voice had started to decline, making her fragile voice sound as soft as the wind.
As a young woman she was renowned for her beauty. She was the picture of elegance as well as one of the most porcelain women Hyrule had witnessed. Her illness creept up on her quickly, tearing her apart from her husband and lover, but she maintained the gentleness and had open arms to those who needed her.
"Your highness, Lady Impa is tutoring the princess at this hour. Would you still wish me to call?" The maid asked, her face staying stern. The queen smiled and nodded before coughing into her nightgown sleeve. The maid bowed and left, careful to shut the door silently behind her.
"There are better ways to dismiss the staff you know." The Hylian King chuckled as he wandered in the door and towards the bed. She grinned, "And there are more appropriate ways for you to enter my chamber. Now, I want a full report on that scoundrel!" She teased as she motioned for him to sit, her voice becoming raspy.
"The Gerudo King? He continues to beg for peace." He replied as he strode to the chair by her bedside.
"Then why don't you fulfill his pleads?"
"Because I have my fears about his true intentions." The Hylian King asserted, running his fingers through his greying hair. She smiled softly.
"Is this about Zelda?" Her voice faltered as she met his dimming eyes. His face began to twitch with temperament.
"The past is behind us. It is no longer a concern." He hissed.
"It would seem Zelda isn't the only one having nightmares about the Gerudo." The queen smirked, taunting him in an almost cruel way. He sighed as he leaned back in his chair.
"Zelda is blind to the pains of our past. She's young, her dreams of darkness mean nothing." The king argued, no longer wanting to pursue her games and cleverness.
The queen laid back farther in her pillows, letting the crack of light that peeked through the curtains danced across her face.
"You know nothing of girls and women."
But before he could protest Impa appeared in the doorway with the little girl.
"Zelda, darling. Come sit with me." The Queen greeted with open arms. The little girl giggled before dashing and jumping up on the bed. Impa's stern gaze warned the little princess though, from doing something rude again.
"Are you learning your manners?" The Queen asked before nodding to her husband, warning him to leave. He huffed and left, Impa following close behind.
"I learned 'em!" She replied with a smile, her fine, blonde hair was as messy as herself. Barely older than a toddler, she was sweet but too aware of the world around her. It could have been the circumstances of her birth that made her this way but even that wouldn't have changed her curiosity.
"Good! Good. Zelda, I want you to promise mommy something."
"Yes, mummy?"
"I want you to promise me you'll behave when the Gerudo come back."
Zelda looked up, almost disgusted with her mother.
"Mummy, he's not nice." She protested. The queen's gentle smile began to fade.
"Zelda. You are growing up into a fine young lady. You know as much as I do that everyone can make mistakes. But it's our job as rulers to wait until the moments right before we truly judge someone's character."
"But mummy, if he's good why does daddy hate him?"
"The Queen wants us to do what?!"
Impa frowned at their disapproval, crossing her arms defensively.
"It would seem the Queen would like you to have proof of your research if you are to continue this endeavor." Impa replied quickly, observing the odd, round, tower room. There was sheets of music piled everywhere. Instruments of every kind cluttered the tables and floors and strange fluids and foods were up on the shelves. Everything seemed out of place. Even the stone floors had strange stains and markings. There were posters and statistics pinned in a disorderly fashion on the walls which made one ponder if it was true research or a child's game.
The older of the two, Sharp, marched forward, waving some recent sheet music in his eyes were small, and his hair pompous. One could almost swear he and his brother were twins but everything of their personal life they kept to themselves.
"This work takes time! Science, magic, music! It can't be rushed!" His mustache seemed to dance in fury. Flat, the younger, shook his head, his strange matching hair bouncing oddly.
"We will try our best but beauty can not be hasty. We have proofs but no results. The Royal Family will have to wait a while longer." Flat protested. His anger wasn't loud but it was still frightening.
Impa glared at the two brothers, not impressed by their pleads for time.
"You had better prove yourselves. The King's temper wains more and more with the Gerudo. I'd hate to see what would happen with you..."
The brothers look at each other and sighed.
"Out!" They chimed in bitter unison before turning back to their music. Impa smiled before leaving with a flash of light. Sharp began to grind his teeth, how he hated her when she used her Shiekah magic! Flat sometimes would protest their unspoken love but Flat was as equally unimpressed today.
"What do they expect from us?! Years of research with no magic to test it with? How do they expect this from us?!" Sharp snarled. Flat sighed as he tossed a few papers aside and began to write again.
"Compose yourself brother, and the composition will become clearer. A clean mind is what we are in need of. That, and a trick that'll appease the king."
"I wouldn't worry too much about getting anything immediately."
The brother snapped their attention to the small, feminine voice.
"Grace, have you come for the dishes?" Flat asked as he began to stack them. She smiled. Grace was a small young woman, short in stature but clever and bright. Her wavy honey colored hair was almost always pulled neatly away from her face for the exceptions of a few stubborn curls.
"No, only come to tell you the court has decided to have another session with the Gerudo about peace." She replied as she sat down on an empty stool. The brother began to laugh as they continued their work.
"What fascinates you so much about the Gerudo?" Sharp asked as he began to browse over something he had written. Grace kicked her legs nervously, her bright blue eyes lighting up with excitement.
"Why isn't it fascinating to you? Imagine! A whole country of women, women who fight as well as men! Father would never approve if I wanted to become a knight, but, the Gerudo take pride in it! But they are still woman and they can be ladies if they wanted to I'm sure. And then, they have one man to lead them. I wonder why? I once read in a book tha-"
"You still are a child." Sharp interrupted, grinning cheeks flushed angrily.
"I am not! I'm a woman now!" She barked, standing up quickly, knocking the stool to the ground. The room began to echo with laughter.
"Grace, the Gerudo are barbaric, ruthless, thieves born from ill-used women and protectors of a country that would be better off barren. They are of little importance to us and I would advise you stay away from them." Flat encouraged gently. Her fists balled tightly at her sides.
"You're acting just like Father!" Father doesn't think of them as people either!" She quipped, starting towards the door.
"Grace, they are people, just not people to be trusted." Sharp called after her. Grace, turned, walking to the table with the dished stacked messily.
"Is there anything else you might need before I retire?" she asked coldly as she picked the dishes up.
"Listen to your father, and then we'll rest easy." Flat replied as he waved for her dismissal. She huffed angrily as she marched outside. She typically enjoyed the musician's company but everyone seemed out of sorts today. Usually they were share with her great stories of the Gerudo or encourage her to try and study the typography but tonight, they seemed bitter towards the Gerudo. Of course, tonight ten years ago… As she made her way down to the kitchens she recognized a few young gentleman in armor. Her brother, Gadrel, she assumed would be out tonight too.
"Father." She greeted as she walked down the hall, noticing the weary look on his face. The captain of the guard nodded cheerily as he watched his daughter pass. Ten years ago he had almost lost her, but tonight the castle's guard was doubled in remembrance of that night. The king had ordered it because of the recent thievery and there was no time to recreate the mistake he had made those years ago. No, tonight Hyrule would sleep safe from harm. Though, this night,something much greater had been given birth in the counsel of the king. Tonight, a pact for reformation had been formed and the signers had been sent for.