SEALED

I camped from dawn to dusk waiting for the revived knight. It was only four days later when my patience was rewarded. He utilized stealth and energy arrows to snipe the Guardians one by one. He did an excellent job that even impressed me, until he was suddenly in over his head. I was forced to intervene. Two machines chased after him at high speeds. These Guardians moved on six legs, and their lasers had even longer range than the rest. I leaped over the sides of the small square hut I made from broken building parts. I rushed to Link, and thrust my arms around him to drag him to the ground when we collided.

The Guardians missed us and fired on each other, causing an explosion that rattled the earth. Burning metal and rock showered around us like rain. When the smashing of shrapnel against the ground stopped, I pushed myself up to uncover Link and rested on my knees. The fact that I just protected him from being harmed sent me into a flurry of rageful thoughts. I stomped away from him with my hands balled into fists. When he was on his feet, I walked back to him with the full intention of giving him a piece of my mind. He wore this green tunic, arm wraps clearly made from Gerudo fabric based on their design, Hylian pants, and this half cape cowl. It was the Master Sword on his back that made me hesitate. I had been stung too many times by that blade to be reckless. Additionally, he was already prepared to strike me. I exhaled a slow breath to reel in my thoughts and my erratic emotions. I held out my open hands with my palms to the ground and said, "I'm not here to hurt you this time, Link." How could I expect him to trust me, if I could not believe myself?

He eased up on the hostile stature. "Are you someone else I knew one hundred years ago that I can't remember?"

A smile lit my face, except it was an inappropriate time to be amused. He seemed offended. "Not quite. I have known you, hero, for much longer, for thousands of years. I have known every incarnation that rises to fight my husband."

"Husband?"

"Hm. Yes. I am sure you have been bored with the tales of how Calamity Ganon has caused turmoil in Hyrule for the past so many centuries. Let me tell you, instead, about myself. You seem to have taken care of the Guardians for now, but I will be quick."

"Fine," he said, reluctantly, but willing to listen.

"My name is Ganondora Dragmire, Queen of Gerudo, Queen of Evil, and once the Queen of Hyrule. As you can see, I am no longer known by any of these titles, least of all as the wife of the beast which you now go to face."

"Wife?"

"Have you met the Gerudo?" I asked, ignoring him.

"Yes."

"Then you know their chief. It was her family that banished me because of my loyalty to Ganondorf, the King of Gerudo. They no longer follow those teachings though. Ah, but you don't know who Ganondorf is. You see, this beast you go to throw your life away to was once a man. The demon that became known as Ganon was born a male Gerudo, and their rightful king. He used his position of power to claim the Triforce and conquer Hyrule. Because I refused to betray my husband once he was sealed away the first time, I was exiled. Since then, that man I love has decayed into a monster."

"No one has ever told me this before. How do I know you aren't lying?" he inquired with disbelief.

"Because no one cares to remember. I am telling the truth. Demise was pure evil, and when Hylia and her hero defeated him he swore to be reborn and take revenge on their descendants. That is what Ganondorf has succumbed to. I can help him. I need you to fight off these Guardians so that I can confront Ganon and reunite with my husband," I said bitterly to hide my plea for help.

Link searched the ground as if it held the answers.

"If I am successful, you will have your annoying princess back. If I fail, you still have to fight Ganon. Try it my way, and we can save Hyrule from more destruction."

He looked up at me suddenly with those determined blue eyes, and asked, "If he is your husband, why are you so inclined to help me? I am your mortal enemy."

I laughed wickedly. "Boy, you have no idea how much it would please me to end your life! You have always just been the puppet of the royal family. My only enemy is Zelda, and I was certain Ganon killed her. I now know how wrong I was. I do this for no one but myself. This is my only offer. Do we have a deal, or not?"

"Yes. I will get you inside Hyrule Castle," he confirmed.

"Finally." I brandished my signature sword. It was old but not dull. I had the hilt and sheath refurbished several times, but never the curved blade. My name was engraved along the sword in ancient Gerudo language. The pommel was carved with the Gerudo symbol, and the handguard marked with the Triforce. Link nocked another glowing arrow of the ancients, and I followed him toward Hyrule Castle.

The journey was not easy, almost impossible on one's own. I relied on Link and his arrows to pave my way to the castle, so I had no choice but to watch his back. Over and over while a Guardian trained its eye on the hero, I climbed atop its pear shaped head and stabbed my sword through its singular eye. The machine malfunctioned and collapsed. We criss crossed each other's path through the castle's courtyards, until finally we were at the front door.

I closed my eyes and remembered not to fight the evil pervading the entire castle. Despite how I choked, how my muscles failed, I resolved to persevere and face Ganon.

Link hid and waited.

I marched forward through the eerily silent hall. I held my head high, but transitioned to more cautious steps as I entered the tall great room. Furniture, chandeliers, and tables lay in heaps of rubble around the room. I sheathed my sword, but checked to make sure my bow was within comfortable reach, not that it would protect me if Ganon chose to end my life.

I stared at the black and red veins that snaked in and out of windows, and between the doors. I followed the veins to where they began, at a sack that grew from the castle wall. It appeared to be gestating, and by the size of it the creature was monstrous.

"Ganondorf!" I yelled to gain his attention.

A fierce roar that rattled my bones was Ganon's only response. The wind howled through the broken walls of the castle as his spirit like form passed through me. I did not resist, nor did I fear him. I only desired for him to know I was done running.

I stood motionless in the center of the great room that once welcomed visitors to the castle. I waited for him to act, and I practiced silence.

"Dora," came Zelda's voice again. "My power is fading. Ganon will be free soon. Hyrule is counting on you."

The dim glow of her golden power in the center of the room faded. I expected the gestating sack on the wall to burst. The ethereal form of Ganon swirled around the inside of the cracked cathedral ceiling. The mist began to change into a solid, black form. As he morphed into a beast he descended to the ground. Two hooves, taller than me, protruded forward, and two in the back. From his snout grew two long, curved tusks. The black of his body lightened to a dark green. Thick red hair sprouted from his head for a mane. Around his skull rested his golden crown, with an orange gem identical to mine on his forehead. None of the spirit of Ganon remained in the castle, as it was all absorbed into this familiar pig beast.

It was his eyes that brought me the most doubt. They were solid yellow and lacked humanity. Ganon's eyes were vacant of any recognition, and only contained hate. I already felt like I was defeated, but I needed to try.

As much as I wanted to draw my sword, I refused to act on my first instinct. I made no offensive movement. Ganon glared at me and his lips pulled back around his fangs into a snarl.

"Don't you remember your wife?" I courageously asked. He opened his mouth slightly, and I heard the familiar whir of a charging laser. A blue light shined between his jaws as if his mouth contained a cannon from one of the Guardians. My heart sped up. "I know what I did was wrong," I quickly added. "And if my death is all that will satisfy you then so be it, but what you have done to the land we dreamed to conquer is unforgivable."

The whirring of the laser stopped suddenly, and so did my heart. I breathed slowly. I hoped his reaction meant he heard me. Ganon roared viciously again into the air. I should have been running scared, but I walked closer to him by a few steps.

"Come back to me," I pleaded. "We can fight this demon together. I know you are strong enough to control him." Ganon's response this time was more of a screech. My ears rang painfully as it echoed around the room. "The Ganondorf I know would never allow this beast to overpower him, to destroy Hyrule. If this continues, there will be no land to conquer!" He lunged forward, smashing me back to the wall with his thick skull. I crumbled to the floor, but slowly stood as my strength returned. My ribs were bruised, but the pain of my shredded heart was worse. I forced myself to laugh. "I won't run away that easily, not like last time. I'm here to stay. The only way I leave is if you kill me," I taunted. "And even then I will haunt you as a spirit."

A growl erupted from deep in Ganon's throat. I locked my eyes with his. He twisted his head to the side, and then smashed the point of his tusk against the wall to run me through. I narrowly avoided the point, but the rest of the tusk scraped and tore open my side. I grimaced against the burn of the fresh air on my exposed, raw flesh. My panic was obvious, but I swallowed my pain and tried to remain fearless. The whirring sound of the charging laser filled the air, and so close to my body it was deafening. I carefully walked forward until I was close enough to gently place my hand on the end of his snout. My chest tightened, and I choked on tears that I fought to restrain. I stared at him with eyes full of miserable regret. In no way did I believe my tears would be the key to unlocking the hate shrouding my husband, but I could not prevent my combination of sorrow and fear from being expressed. I truly did not believe he was capable of killing me, but he was quickly proving me wrong.

The cannon exploded, but just before that Ganon wailed in pain and tossed his head, so the laser cut through what remained of the wall and ceiling, and shot harmlessly off into the sky. He bucked wildly in a circle. I watched in confusion, until he stopped. He stared at me suddenly, and his eyes were different. There were red pupils, yellow irises, and a gleam of recognition. In the same instance I glimpsed it, it was gone.

I celebrated a small victory, but kept calm on the outside. There was no way to know what happened internally to Ganon, but I could only hope the King of Evil fought back.

He charged at me again, and I froze out of fear and trust. Ganon veered to the side suddenly with a shriek. He collapsed and I rushed toward him, until a voice became audible between the growls.

"Fight…"

"What?" I asked, hoping for more.

"Fight… me…" The voice was strained, but it was a clear command. It was all he managed to say before the beast regained control. I heard the painful shout of a man, not the roar of a monster. I jumped back until I was at a safe distance.

I wrapped my hand around the hilt of my sword and flexed my fingers. Did I have what it took? I was no hero. This was obviously Ganondorf asking for my help, so I had no choice.

I transitioned from my sword to my bow, and drew an arrow from my quiver. I chose to use my arrows up first to search for a weak point, but I had a pretty good idea where the best places were to strike. His eyes were as big as my head, but difficult to aim at. The underside of his torso was the least exposed, with the softest skin, while around the neck and legs was the toughest. Regardless of the risks, I danced around the room in a circle, firing arrows.

Many of my arrows hit his tough hide, but the few that made their mark proved his belly was the weakest area. It was during the time he charged the laser cannon inside his mouth that I was able to run along his side, brandish my sword, and strike as I ran underneath his body. I collected as many of my arrows as I could to restock my supply. Once the cannon proved futile, his main attack became to charge at me. He was faster than I imagined, therefore difficult to dodge. I barely rolled away from being trampled multiple times. While I aimed, he darted at me and tossed me to the side by smacking me with his tusk. I always gripped my weapons to avoid losing them, and tucked my body in to prevent breaking bones. I came away with scrapes and bruises. I was slow to stand, and Ganon usually hit me twice in a row this way. I was too tenacious to quit, even when my vision blurred and I saw double.

His movements became distracted. He twisted and turned as if he tried to attack someone on his back. I managed to catch my breath at these times, but I quickly wore down. Ganon acted as if he went mad, and saw things that never existed, because he spun and smacked against the wall for apparently no reason. This made him even more dangerous, so I kept my distance until he calmed down and focused again. His eyes constantly flipped between pure yellow, to Ganondorf's familiar eyes with red pupils. The latter became so prominent I felt the malice, the calamity for lack of a better term, fading away with every breath. Ganon suddenly wailed, and was knocked back on his hind feet by a punch I could not see. He hovered, kicking his front hooves in the air for balance. I grasped my one and only opportunity to deal a fatal strike. I swiftly ran by and sliced his exposed underside to spill more blood. Finally, Ganon collapsed, stunned.

I sheathed my weapon and bounded back to the limp body to provide my support and condolence. Ganon protested my approach with angry grunts, but I rushed up to his side behind his leg and pressed my head against his chest. I sprawled my arms out as far as they would go as if I might hug him. "I'm so sorry. I never wanted to hurt you."

Ganon was wounded severely, but my sword did not possess the power to fight back darkness. Instead, I caused enough damage to make him weaker and give Ganondorf the advantage.

I imagined the battle of man versus beast to be a competition of will. The beast tempted the man with the continued promise of great power, but he was not fooled any longer. The cost of that ultimate power was greater than he could afford. I did not imagine punches being thrown, or swords being swung, but the push and pull of greed for control. Ganon to destroy Hyrule as a powerful beast, and Ganondorf to conquer it as a powerful king.

I buried my face and tangled my hands in the fur that covered Ganon's body. I felt the beat of his heart pounding against me, and I knew that was the heart of my husband, not the beast. I prayed to the Desert Goddess to offer the extra strength Ganondorf needed to be victorious.

I turned my head and looked down Ganon's body to wear I sliced him open. More than blood pouring out, was the black aura of Calamity Ganon that was once seen swirling around the castle in a menacing fog. It coated the floor of the castle as if it was dormant, or just waiting. Perhaps it waited as anxiously as I for the outcome of the battle.

A purple substance caught my attention. It flowed over the body of Ganon from his mouth. It passed right through me. It appeared liquid in texture, but felt more like air. The sensation I experienced was nearly forgotten but familiar, like a dream from my childhood. I had wielded this power once. This was Ganondorf's magic. It consumed Ganon, and spilled over the floor to absorb the beast's essence. Then, as if a vortex opened in front of me suddenly, the spirits and auras combined into one and returned to the heart of Ganon.

This was the moment when I held my breath and closed my eyes. This was what it all came down to. In the final seconds, would the tables suddenly turn? When I opened my eyes, would there be a beast or man?

I knew the answer before I could look.

Warmth. I felt warmth first directly in front of me, and then around my shoulders, but the fur was gone. Flesh. I felt smooth skin against my arms, chest, and cheek. Strength. The hands caressing my back were firm and worn from battle. Heart. I heard the familiar rhythm of his beating heart, the pattern of his breathing, that lulled me to sleep so many restless nights.

I was still afraid to look up. I did not want it all to be just an illusion. If it was merely a dream I wanted it to last forever. It was his sultry, commanding, arrogant voice that urged me to open my eyes and see him.

"Ganondora, you have kept me waiting an eternity."

I searched his young, handsome face and found those evil, yellow eyes that I long adored. I traced his high cheeks and strong jaw with the side of my gloved finger. The best part of this moment was the way he rediscovered me by exploring my body with his strong hands. They wandered hungrily from my hips, up my torso, and the length of my arms. He curved his fingers of one hand to cradle the back of my neck. I gently touched his crown and slid my fingers into his fiery mane of hair. My hand came to rest by his ear, and we pressed the side of our foreheads together. "Ganondorf," I whispered, but even my voice trembled. "You're here. You're alive."

"Yes. I have lived in torment this entire time, cursed by the demon to forever watch as Hyrule was repeatedly decimated by a beast I could not control," he explained, his voice dark and angry. I felt scolded. "A beast that was fed by betrayal, hate, anger, and vengeance, until I allowed him to completely possess me to wreak havoc on everyone who ever defied me. I only intended to allow the demon to reign for a time, until my wife, my last loyal servant and warrior, failed to appear on my return. Enraged, I forfeited the final shred of my consciousness and lost myself entirely within its power."

My heart was gripped by his words and froze within my chest. "Please, my lord. Please forgive me for my atrocities," I begged.

"The same woman who abandoned me returned, when I least expected to see her. The woman who I married and cursed to live as long as I, forever if we wish. At seeing her, I did not recognize her, until she fearlessly defied the beast. It was her love that reached my mind, deeply corrupted by the demon who enwrapped me in his darkness to blind me to her entirely. It was the spark of your touch that made me remember. I realized the demon twisted my memory, tainted my thoughts of you until I was deranged enough to believe my queen would be any less than faithful. It was only because the demon chased you away time and time again that you never returned, until today."

"I never gave up on you, my king. I never stopped loving you. I have always been here, only longing to be in the arms of my husband again."

"You have corrected your wrong by returning to free me from my prison. I now control Ganon, and that is how it shall remain."

I smiled, thankful for his forgiveness.

In a more serious tone, he added, "Demise stole from me something worse than my sanity, he stole my life. A life of conquering Hyrule, and sharing it all with my devoted queen. No one will ever take that from me again," he swore. He combed his fingers through my thick hair, and held my head protectively against his chest.

"I love you," I whispered, hoping to make that embrace last forever.

"I shall never doubt that again, my queen." He slid a finger up the length of my neck and touched his thumb against my chin. I obediently raised my head, and our eyes locked. He pressed his lips tenderly to mine. It had been ages since we shared such affection, but I remembered his taste, and the desire behind his kiss, as if it were yesterday.

I closed my eyes to be swallowed momentarily by his passion. The kiss ended, but I dreaded what I knew I would find when I opened my eyes. Zelda stood in a white dress, and patiently waited for Ganondorf and I to finish reuniting before sealing us away together.

"For now, I must recover the strength I spent in taming the beast," he said, turning his head to focus his glare on Zelda. "We'll allow what remains of the Hylians to rebuild our kingdom. Then, when we are free, we will dominate it." I leaned back only enough to peer up at his face, and slid my hands down his arms until I could interlock our fingers. I watched his head turn and his eyes rested on another. Link's footsteps padded toward us, but slowed to a stop at seeing I won.

"Because where is the fun, or the challenge, in forcefully conquering a kingdom that is already dead?" I asked with a laugh. His eyes slid back to me. No words could express the relief I found in his features. It might have been possible he was happier than me to be together again. "I have waited ten thousand years for this day, I can wait a while longer to reclaim our kingdom."

Zelda raised her hand with a palm facing us, and it glowed with a golden light.

"I accept this defeat reluctantly, because I am the only one who truly gained this time," he remarked, and wrapped his arm around my shoulder as if he guarded me. It was a feeling I painfully missed.

The golden power in Zelda's hand created an orb that surrounded us. Over the course of the legend the process of sealing Ganon changed drastically. I had no idea what to expect. "I have much to tell you," I said, as the world faded.

"You always do," he said, pleased. "You will have much time to tell me everything, once we have satisfied my hunger for your fiery passion," he stated, just as we vanished from the realm of Hyrule, into the Sacred Realm.

Thankful is what I should have been to Zelda and Link for helping me. I was anything but grateful. They owed me a great deal for the sacrifice I made that day to save Hyrule. Then again, they already knew I only did it for myself.