Listen! Can you hear it?

The Triforce resonates. It calls out to its sibling. He is near. He comes armed with righteous anger, in his hand a blade of light. He pulls back the veil that hides you, seeking your heart. He has torn down the walls you built to contain him, an arrow shot straight and true.

He stands at the door! Retreat and you will die! Courage is nothing against Power!

…no! His blade burns…

…he is too strong…

…only one chance left…

Ganondorf jolted awake, clutching at his heart. For a brief moment he sat disoriented, in a Gerudo-style bed of woven slats but surrounded by the gray stone of the Hylian castle.

Then he remembered.

Breathing a sigh of relief, he hefted himself out of the bed and stood at the window, taking in the dawn and the cool summer breeze. The war was finally over, and Hyrule was his. Every morning he had to consciously remind himself of that fact, part of his mind still haunted by the constant paranoia that came with watching the possible tool of his own destruction approach him.

He looked out over the field and frowned at the dead, brown grass. Of course. The river…I froze the river. Because the Zora…the Zora did something…I don't even remember…

He rubbed his fingers over his eyes, the bridge of his nose, his forehead. Memories slowly filtered into his mind, and he gained a little more knowledge every day. The seven years he had spent under the Triforce's power had been a blur, a drunken revelry of destruction and chaos.

He heard a knock at the door. "My King, it is dawn. Does it please you to rise?"

His heart swelled with pride at the sound of another Gerudo voice. He had won, and he had brought his people into the promised land. He opened the door and greeted the surprised woman with an embrace, nearly spilling the jug of water she had brought. She passed it to one of her two daughters, who fought over the privilege of placing it on the stand next to the bed. She laughed with pleasure as he nuzzled her neck, taking in the dusty, spicy scent of his own people that he had missed for so long.

"My King, the others await in the throne room with their bounty. Will you come?"

Ganondorf fell back to earth. The annoyances of the previous day flooded back to him. "Of course," he said briskly, suddenly businesslike. "I will dress and join you in a few minutes."

Some time later, he scowled as he fastened the clasp on the silk robe he had chosen, his old armor left behind. Things had not been as easy as he'd hoped. He had crushed the last piece of resistance to his rule, he had overwhelmed the other two Triforce Bearers, but the gods would not cede to him his full prize. If only he had gained the full Triforce! Then he could have merely wished the grass green, the people loyal…

Suddenly Ganondorf stopped, sensing another person nearby, the ghost that walked the castle halls. He retreated into the shadows and watched the maiden all forlorn as she passed by. The Princess Zelda, or rather the Lady Zelda, as she no longer held the Crown of Hyrule.

Why did she stay? She seemed a stranger to him, a young woman in simple dress. He remembered more clearly the little girl that had watched him fearfully from the courtyard, skittering away like a mouse whenever he approached. Ganondorf stepped out of hiding, walking casually past her with a brief nod of acknowledgement. She stood firm, inclining her head ever so slightly, watching him with cold blue eyes.

He saw hatred and resentment there, but no rebellion. It puzzled him. She had lost, and yet she remained. Not that he minded. Ganondorf had to force himself not to stare, to gaze too long at the living proof of his victory.

He heard the chaos of the throne room long before he saw it. He stepped inside to see piles of wolfos pelts, stalfos bones, moblin spears, even a few bottled Poes. Upon his appearance the entire tribe rushed toward him.

"My King, you told us long ago not to kill the moblin monsters, so instead we disarmed them. That should count as at least half a wolfos pelt, should it not?"

"My King, tell the others that a stalfos skull counts as a whole! You know that there is no point in searching for and carrying every little bone! They cannot reform without the head!"

"My King, a Poe must count as much as two wolfos! They are much harder to catch!"

Ganondorf raised his hand, motioning for the others to clear out of his way as he walked toward the throne. Children skittered before his feet, wrapping themselves in capes of wolfos skins and sparring with stalfos bones.

Each warrior presented her bounty to him, along with at least one tale of valor, as was the custom. Children brought in apples and water for their mothers and their King. Ganondorf praised his people, marveling at the sheer number. Surely the rest of Hyrule had to take notice.

In the middle of it all, the castle ghost appeared. Ganondorf did not remember her coming into the room, but all of a sudden he noticed her standing there, listening to a woman regale her with a story about how she had caught the Poe in her bottle.

He stood with a particularly large wolfos hide in his hand. "Is this enough for your people, Lady Zelda?" he asked with a triumphant smile. "I doubt there is a demon wolf left in my lands. Even better than your Hero could have done, eh?"

She flinched as if struck. He had the distinct impression that he had said something wrong. No, of course not, he reasoned. The Princess had wanted her lands cleansed of darkness, and here were the remains of the evil creatures that had plagued her people.

"I never had any doubt in your warriors' ability," she said coldly. "If you send one of the Gerudo as messenger to each of the representatives, I am sure they will come."

"It will be done!"

"Please excuse me." She bowed slightly instead of a curtsey, in the same manner of the Shekiah. As if she were still wearing her disguise, the clever ruse that even he had failed to see through. He watched her leave, and found himself wishing she had stayed. He must ask her about the Shekiah sometime. She could provide much information about their fighting skills.

"My King?" The warrior stood with her hands full of wolfos pelts, waiting for him.

"My pardon." He tore himself away from Lady Zelda's retreating figure and back to her. "Please continue."

Finally, someone had come! Ganondorf hoped it was one of the Zora. The river's water levels were still not where they should be. He had a sneaking suspicion it had something to do with the Hero's alterations in the Water Temple. No one but another Zora would be able to get in and fix it. But a Goron would be just as good. Hyrule desperately needed their metalworking skills. But he doubted they would be the first to come. What had he been thinking, threatening to feed them to a dragon? He had been angry, certainly, that they were helping the Hero, but had he really been so dense as to throw Hyrule's best blacksmiths down the throat of an ugly wyrm?

The guard entered with their guest, and Ganondorf's smile fell back down into a frown. It was one of those pathetic carpenters. No, actually, the boss of the carpenters. But still, not even good enough for breeding. He was the tallest and burliest of the Kakariko residents; The Hylians must have chosen him for his relative strength. Was this really the best they had to offer?

He could still be useful, though. The castle town needed to be rebuilt. Gerudo did not build with wood. They needed someone who did.

The big man trembled visibly, falling to his knees long before he reached the throne. Ganondorf attempted to put on a more genial face, knowing that this man saw seven years of death upon the throne. "Welcome to my castle," he offered. "What is your name?"

"I-it's Tyrus, sir…"

"Your Highness," one of the guard prompted, and he flinched.

"Y-your Highness…" he repeated in a barely audible voice.

Ganondorf nodded to one of the Gerudo, who offered to the man a bundle wrapped in silk. Tyrus took it, glancing back up to Ganondorf with a puzzled expression.

"This is a cloak made from the wolfos that my warriors killed, to cleanse the lands of monsters. One of my finest seamstresses sewed it, and only from the soft underbelly of the creature. The skin has been softened, and the stink of the monster replaced with Gerudo incense." Ganondorf stood, and Tyrus looked as if he might faint. "Bring this back to your people, along with an offer. I would ask that they return to the town, which you and your men will rebuild."

"B-but…" Beads of sweat ran down Tyrus's face. "What about the walking dead?"

"Gone. Did you not notice when you came here?" A flash of irritation crossed Ganondorf's face. "I saw to that myself. I did not create them, but I did send them back to where they came from."

"You…you didn't create…?"

"Of course not!" Ganondorf snapped, and Tyrus froze. "Those foul Shekiah created them. Not all evil in the world was created by my hand!" He stode forward, and Tyrus scrambled away. "Stay still, coward! Are there no men of substance left in Hyrule?"

"You killed them all," said a spiteful voice from the far left side.

Tyrus sprinted toward the woman in the simple dress. "Princess Zelda! Praise the Goddesses, you're alive!" He prostrated himself before her skirts.

She stepped away, looking pained. "That is no longer my title, citizen Tyrus. Please do not address me that way anymore."

"But Milady! Surely there is something you can…"

Zelda shook her head. "All power I had is gone."

Ganondorf scowled at the man, then wiped the frown off his face as an idea came into his head. "Citizen Tyrus. I am sure the Lady Zelda would like to see the castle town rebuilt as well."

Tyrus looked fearfully back and forth between the two. "Is it…safe?" he asked in barely a whisper.

Ganondorf watched Zelda glance up at him, a resigned look on her face. "It is. There is nothing more he can do."

"Would…would it please the Pr…the Lady Zelda if the castle town were rebuilt?"

She paused, and Ganondorf had the distinct impression that nothing would please the Lady Zelda ever again. But then she smiled, warming away the chill that had settled over the room. "It would please me greatly, Citizen Tyrus. The sooner things are rebuilt, the sooner we can recover."

He bowed his head. "Then if her Maj…if the Lady Zelda requests it, I would be delighted."

"I can give no such orders on my own." Here Zelda turned to Ganondorf. "But by the grace of the King…"

"Of course," Ganondorf replied with a nod of the head. "The quicker, the better."

Tyrus stood, the silk bundle in his hands wrinkled from his twisting it in fear. "Then…then I will take my men immediately to the benign forest, where we will gather wood for the new town." He bowed to Zelda, remembered, and then gave an even deeper bow to Ganondorf. Then he practically fled from the room, the guard following from behind.

Ganondorf turned to Zelda, whose benevolent mood had evaporated. "You certainly have a way with your people."

She frowned at him, the tight-lipped frown she always wore that made her look as if she were addressing a beast instead of a man. "I merely consider their needs instead of threatening them. It is not difficult to master. Please excuse me."

"Very well," he said, her back turned to him even before he finished speaking.

"Why do you give that Hylian wench so much freedom?" one of the Gerudo asked, staring after Zelda with faint distaste.

Ganondorf sighed. "As you've plainly seen, her presence is one of the few things that brings the point-ears out of their stupor of fear."

"The one who made the cloak…Antiada. She seems to have made some kind of a friendship with the former Princess."

"Indeed?" Ganondorf turned to her with interest. "That is good to hear. I will speak with Antiada later. Hopefully her friendship will be of some use to us."