Ganondorf sat hunched over the table, the remains of his second bottle of wine tumbling out of his hands. Zelda had turned twenty today, and there was a masquerade ball currently being held in her honor. Right before it had started, Ganondorf had gathered all the courage in his soul and approached King Daphnes for permission to marry Zelda.

He knew about the prophecy, he knew about the historical differences between the Hylians and the Gerudo, and he knew the two countries were very much attached to their monarchs and wouldn't easily share. But he adored Zelda, he loved her for the last fifteen years and would love her for the next hundred and beyond.

Daphnes didn't need to be convinced of how much Ganondorf loved Zelda. He watched the two of them grow up over the years, and the boy couldn't have been any more obvious. But he couldn't allow Ganondorf to marry Zelda, no matter how good a match it was. Spiritual beliefs were very important to Hylians, and as members of a bloodline that traced itself back to the goddess Hylia, the Royal Family had to set an example and abide by the prophecy. Zelda's husband would be revealed in time. All Daphnes could do was tell Ganondorf to have faith. The Three clearly meant for him to have a presence in Zelda's life, he would just have to wait and see how things turned out.

The king's words were no comfort to Ganondorf. He did not have a spiritual background, so he couldn't use faith as a crutch. The Gerudo believed in The Three as creators, but they did not believe that the Goddesses continued to influence everyday action. He didn't think this prophecy would ever come to be, and only saw it as a way to torture Zelda. She deserved better than chance.

Ganondorf wondered what Zelda was wearing to the ball. He had dressed as a fey lord, charming and mysterious. He wasn't really into fantasy, but remembered from the stories Zelda loved reading with him as a child that fey lords were the romantic equivalent of demon lords. Since that seemed to fit with his aesthetic, he went for it.

After finishing another half bottle he was thoroughly drunk, and decided this was not the place to be. He wanted to leave, but couldn't bring himself to go without seeing how Zelda had dressed for the evening. So he stood up, straightened his jacket, and marched out into the ballroom.

There were people all over the place, and the music was almost unbearably loud. He scanned the room but saw few golden haired ladies- Lady Uli was dressed as a bard, Madame Sera dressed as a cat, and the wife of some other knight dressed as a peacock. He was about to give up, when he thought he saw a shimmer from the balcony door. He crossed the hall with haste and when he arrived, he found who he was looking for leaning over the railing, watching the stars.

She took his breath away. Zelda was dressed as Venus, Queen of the Faeries. She wore a floor length green gown, with a strapless corset holding a set of glittering wings behind her. Her long golden hair was left unbound, and in place of her regular gold and diamond tiara she wore a crown of flowers and emeralds. When she turned to look at him, he noticed her eyes had been shadowed with green and her cheeks dusted with glitter. She was stunning.

"You're dressed as a fey king, aren't you? I wondered what you'd wear," Zelda said with a smile once she realized who had come to join her. "I had to get out of there for a minute, it's a little stuffy inside... I looked for you earlier, where were-"

Zelda suddenly felt herself pulled to Ganondorf's chest, his lips hungrily seeking out her own. In the heat of the moment she relented, and wrapped her arms around his neck. Ganondorf felt the gesture and cupped her cheek, deepening the kiss in return. As he did so a tear fell from her eye onto his thumb, making him realize that the longer they kept this up, the harder it would be to face reality.

"...We could run away," he murmured into her ear after they parted. "Leave this stupid prophecy behind."

"I can't," she mumbled, laying her head against his chest. "Just as sure as you can't leave your customs behind."

"I'll leave everything behind for you, Zellie."

"How many bottles of wine did you have in there?" she joked, before forcing him to sit down and taking his head in her hands. "If I could pick a person to fulfill the prophecy, you know I would pick you, Gan. I believe you would give up everything for me. But right now, your people need you to be their leader. I can't run away from my faith. You have to let me come to terms with it on my own, okay? Trust me, we'll find a way to be together. And thank you for the birthday kiss, it was very sweet."

Ganondorf gave Zelda a warm smile, before standing and excusing himself for the evening. If he stayed before her any longer, he knew he would not be able to hold himself back from claiming her body as his own, and she deserved so much better than that.

Once Ganondorf had disappeared from view, Zelda collapsed in a fit of tears. She wanted him to come back, to take her in his arms and make love to her regardless of what the prophecy said. But that was also part of what she loved about him, his respect for her desires. He knew what he wanted, but he would only take it if she agreed. If only she could...


After the masquerade ball, Ganondorf and Zelda began drifting apart. It started slow- Ganondorf's visits became weekly instead of daily, and their conversations drifted from a personal nature to a professional one. Ganondorf still sent Zelda flowers and trinkets, but it seemed as though he went out of his way to avoid furthering their relationship.

Zelda interpreted the change as entirely her fault, and threw herself into governing as a distraction. She understood and performed the duties of a monarch rather well, but unfortunately earned a reputation as cold and uncaring. The reputation was propagated by the young men in the palace, who were ignorant of the prophecy and did not understand why she rejected their requests to court her.

But Zelda ignored them. There was only one man whose opinion she cared about, and she worked hard to recapture his attention. Zelda assisted her father with creating new alliances and strengthening existing ones, though as the years ticked by, the alliance with the Gerudo didn't seem to improve. By her twenty third birthday, the only thing that had changed was that Zelda was lonelier.