It is here. The final chapter. Happy Reading!
"Welcome to my castle…"
The Hero was here. The end of it all was now.
At long last, the perilous journey had brought the Hero to his final fight. And Ganondorf was ready for it. After nearly an entire year of planning and scheming and losing, the battle that would define a victor and loser was looming on the horizon. A sickening excitement gripped him. Bitter words had already been exchanged. Ganondorf allowed himself a speech to the Hero and his Impish companion. He was through with pointless exchanges now. Ganondorf stood to his feet, sword already gripped in his hands, reeling in the rush of bloodlust preparing him for the impending battle.
He spared one last glance to the Princess, hovering lifelessly above the throne. "Yes, try and deny me," Ganondorf threatened darkly to his opponents. "You and your little friend."
With those words, Ganondorf called upon a strange and dark magic of his own creation. His body split into a thousand pieces and flew upwards, right towards Zelda's body. It was a strange sensation as his consciousness filled a body that did not belong to him, but he refused to feel regret or shame at his act. Ganondorf forced his mind to invade every inch of this new host body, seizing control over the muscles and the mind. The sensation of a hand, small and delicate, grazing his cheek was the first thing he felt in Zelda's body. Only seconds passed before Ganondorf commanded his newfound eyes to open.
Two scarlet orbs met his gaze, fear and concern spilling over. In an instant, those red eyes changed to shock. Midna flew back from him as he pushed her away with a surge of unseen energy. The Twilight girl hit the stone floor, falling hard just beyond the boundaries of the throne room. Ganondorf watched as the Hero ran to Midna's side. That would not do, he mused. Ganondorf immediately threw up a barrier, separating the two. This first fight would be between just the two of them.
Ganondorf's feet touched the floor and he marched to where the Hero stood by the barrier, his back to him, still worrying over the girl beyond the barrier.
"Shadow has been moved by light indeed..." Ganondorf's words from before echoed through his mind. He could not help the waves of bitterness that washed over him as he watched the two, trying to force images of his own companion from his mind. The Hero must have sensed his nearing presence, for the boy suddenly whirled around and locked his eyes on what was most likely a horrid sight to him.
"Both of you faithless fools who would dare to take up arms against the King of Light and Shadow," he barked out hoarsely, his voice mingling in a terrible, grating way with Zelda's. Ganondorf twirled Zelda's rapier in his hands, The Hero pulled out his own sword, the Master Sword, and took a fighting stance. It was not surprising that he would choose to fight. It was actually welcome. Ganondorf was itching to fight. He had spent far too many days in the background, wandering around the quiet castle and playing in the field with Zelda. This moment was what he was made for.
"So you choose. And so you shall feel my wrath," Ganondorf declared, rising into the stale air, preparing for their first battle. Bright energy formed in his hands, spreading through his fingertips and to the sword. He raised his arm in the air, gathering power, and then threw the blast of energy to the Hero. The boy quickly rolled to the left, easily dodging the attack. Ganondorf gritted his teeth and drew upon his power to send another blast the boy's way.
"How dare you…"
A voice whispered from the depths of his consciousness. Ganondorf balked at the suddenness of Zelda's presence. He had not expected her to remain inside of her evacuated body.
"Yes Ganondorf, I'm still here," Zelda's somber voice answered to his unspoken confusion. "And since you are invading my body, I know your every thought." Her words turned accusing and a surge of anger rose within him, but it did not belong to him. It belonged to her.
"You're angry with me," he whispered tentatively back to the vastness of their combined conscious.
"You violate me in the worst way," Zelda vehemently hissed with bitterness that Ganondorf had not ever heard from her. "You use my body to fight the Hero, to fight Link. In life, you claimed to love me but now you use me as a puppet to carry out your wicked deeds. Even for you, this act is vile and shocking."
Ganondorf took a moment to focus on his fight with the Hero. The boy skillfully dodged his attack, sending Ganondorf's own deadly blast of dark energy back at him. Caught off-guard by Zelda's resurgence, the attack hit Ganondorf square in the chest. Painful waves of energy coursed through the stolen body, though only he felt the pain. Zelda fell silent in his mind and the attack subsided. Ganondorf backed away from Link and for a moment, the two enemies were at a standstill. Through Zelda's eyes, Ganondorf took a moment to properly examine this new incarnation of the Hero, with his all-too familiar blue eyes, blonde hair, and hateful scowl directed at him. Anger surged through him once again, this time it was his own.
That feminine whisper in his head was back. "Jealousy?" Zelda inquired within. "You're jealous of Link?" The bite was gone from her voice, replaced by a pitying tone that Ganondorf detested.
"How could I not be?" Ganondorf admitted with a bark, irritated that stabs of jealousy had leaked through his defenses, allowing his true feelings to be transparent. He had not wanted to her know that he still carried a torch for her. Now that Zelda knew, Ganondorf could not help the thoughts that spilled out of his mind and into hers.
"Once again, you chose that damn boy over me. You left me, Zelda." Though he despised the sorrow in his words, Ganondorf allowed it. He wanted her to feel his hurt. "You would have rather given your life to help him than to spend your life with me. You killed yourself to escape me."
"It was more complicated than that," Zelda stated firmly, deliberately keeping emotion at bay. No remorse. No apology. Once again, siding with her Hero.
"Then you gave me no choice," he huffed. " I will show you the same consideration that you showed me. You got your wish, Zelda. Now we are enemies."
"You don't truly mean that." The shades of pity deepened as she spoke. "In your heart, you still cling to to the dream of you and I, ruling Hyrule together. Even after all of this, you cannot deny what your heart desires."
"Fine then. You are right, you and your damned blessing of Wisdom have thwarted me once again, oh mighty Princess," Ganondorf spat. "While your cold heart refuses to accept love, I cannot dismiss my feelings as easily as you can. I refuse to deny myself the things that I want."
"I have no choice. You know this, but your lust for me refuses to see reason. For us to be together is a disaster for the both of us. You gave me no choice but to choose Link over you."
"You are wrong. You have a choice. Your destiny can be controlled by your own two hands, not by the whims of some unseen goddesses! Just how you saved yourself from that man who murdered your parents, you can break free of the chains that bind you. Break free and refuse to be a slave to duty, to the goddesses, to that boy you do not even know. Be free, and be with me."
For a long while, Zelda remained silent. Taking advantage of the moment, Ganondorf focused all of his might on the floundering battle with the Hero. The end was dangerously near. During the course of the argument with Zelda, Ganondorf found himself distracted. Blow after blow had been sent back his way, striking him and weakening his strength. The borrowed body was about to give way. Ganondorf could not help but wonder if Zelda was arguing with him on purpose, intentionally sabotaging his fight, trying to force him to lose…
"How has this rebellion served you, Ganondorf?"
Those words, spoken with unexpected tenderness and curiosity, gave him pause. Defeat was the damning answer that came to his mind, but he dared not voice that to her. So he remained stoic and refused to answer. In response to his silence, Zelda's voice questioned him once more.
"What has it brought you other than despair and death?"
This time her question to him was more accusing, speaking truth to the unspoken answer that Ganondorf wished he erase from his thoughts. He forgot that he was not safe in his own mind. Zelda had surely sensed what he had been feeling. As frustrating as it was for her to be correct, it was undeniable that he had failed time and again in his "rebellion" as she put it. In all of his endless years of struggling against the goddesses, it had all truly been in vain.
"What has duty brought you?" He countered angrily, casting aside Zelda's accusations. "How has slaving away for the goddesses served you?"
Zelda did not respond right away. Ganondorf could nearly picture her, if she were in her physical body. In his mind's eye, her brows were furrowed into an elegant, yet endearing frown on her lovely face. Perhaps she never noticed the way she would ever so slightly wrinkle her nose when concentrating on a difficult thought. He basked in that image of her for a moment, wishing that she was near, wishing to touch her face…
"I chose the burden of carrying the Triforce," Zelda's calm reply broke into his fantasy. "I chose faith in the goddesses. I chose to stand with the Hero. I chose to be loyal to my duty to Wisdom. This has brought me peace. Satisfaction. Fulfillment. Yes, I did die as a result, but it was my choice. Your deaths have never been your choice. They were all forced upon you, a direct result of your rebellion. There is no honor in that. I gave my life. Yours was taken."
"So what do I mean to you, then? Was I just a mistake that brought you nothing but anguish?"
"A mistake, yes. You were a mistake that weighed heavily on my soul, but you brought me far more than just anguish…"
"Why then-" He tried to argue, desperate to draw her into a conversation one last time, but her voice calmly interrupted his final plea.
"I needed to let you go." Zelda spoke, for once allowing the sadness to sweep over her words. Ganondorf was caught off-guard. For half of a second, he paused in his attacks against Link, letting himself wonder what the sadness in her voice meant. Was it regret for leaving him? Regret over her actions with him? Even as those thoughts crossed his mind, no doubt heard by her, Ganondorf's stolen body suddenly shook with the force of an attack, one he had sent flying at the Hero only seconds before. Pain coursed through him and Ganondorf slowly fell to the floor. Energy pierced every inch of his skin Even as he cried out in agony, Zelda's voice softly drifted through the haze of terror.
"You must do the same. Please. Let me go." Teeth gritted and jaw clenched, Ganondorf growled a single word, the only one he could manage.
"No." He strained to speak, his groaning voice unheard by the hero, unheard by the Twili Princess, only heard by the presence in his mind. But all Ganondorf heard in response was silence. The Princess was gone. His knees hit the stone floor. Ganondorf heaved air in and out of his lungs, still suffering from the final attack but clinging to Zelda's body, hoping to hear her one last time…
Ganondorf did not see the barrier fall, but he sensed it. He sensed the enormous power that emanated from the tiny Twili girl. Ganondorf managed to lift his eyes in time to see Midna transform into the power of the Fused Shadow. In vain, he shakily lifted his hand to fend off her attack, but it was no use. Glowing arms of black and blue and shadow barreled towards him, enveloping him in the ever-suffocating Twilight. Her attack pushed him back and threw him onto the throne. Shadow pierced his skin and began to painfully force him from Zelda's body. It was useless to resist. Ganondorf knew that once he was gone from Zelda, he would have to move into his next plan of attack. But as the last visages of Ganondorf's soul was ripped from the Princess, he felt a foolish rush of excitement. He would see her again. Soon.
It was as simple as waking up; the gentle prodding of wakefulness and the heavy feeling of being pulled from slumber. A fullness swelled into her as Zelda returned to her rightful body. The dark entity that occupied her body only seconds before was washed away by the cleansing power of shadow. Her lungs expanded as Zelda drew in her first breath in weeks. As she let out the gentle rush of air, a simple word caught her attention.
"P-Princess?"
A small hushed voice wafted through the air, sounding muffled and distant to the newly hearing ears of the Princess. Slowly, carefully, Zelda opened her heavy eyes. Soft light poured into her vision, gently blinding her for a moment, but then the shadowy form of Midna came swimming into view.
"Say nothing, Midna." Zelda calmly assured the Twilight Princess.
"Your heart and mine were one, for however briefly…" Zelda's voice trailed off into silence and she closed her eyes as she recalled the ordeal that they had both been through. Even though a part of Zelda remained within her own body, captive in her castle under Ganondorf's watch, there was traces of her soul that lived within Midna. Whenever Zelda had given her life force to heal the dying girl, she had allowed a small portion of herself to slip into Midna's soul. Her thoughts and emotions and very movements were shared between them, unknowingly to Midna. In the hazy world where Zelda has existed, she felt the depth of pain that Midna had been carrying ever since her throne was stolen, her people cursed, and forced into this terrible battle.
"Such suffering you have endured." Zelda opened her eyes once more. Midna gazed back at her, scarlet eyes fixated on her face. She watched as those eyes, so bright and wild, grew heavy with pain. It was as if Midna had been waiting all these long, difficult days for somebody to acknowledge the ordeal she had been through; as if she had been desperate for somebody to see past her facade of bravery and sass and to see the vulnerability beneath. Zelda wanted to reach out and touch her, but her eyes caught sight of somebody else lingering in the background.
Link.
Zelda's heart caught in her throat and she hesitantly moved towards him. The pounding in her ears was nearly deafening. This was the first time that she was seeing the Hero of Old in his natural form. There was an aching familiarity about the young man that stood sheepishly before her. Even though, in a sense, she had spent weeks with him and Midna, quietly living in Midna's soul, the sense of familiarity she had with Link was far deeper than those interactions. She was merely a stranger, watching from the outside then, but now, she could speak with him herself. As she grew closer to the young man, Zelda saw something in his ocean blue eyes that made her wonder if he felt the same.
But even as Zelda came near Link, the atmosphere in the throne room shifted. The soft expression in Link's eyes changed to the cold, determined glare of a fighter. Zelda whirled around only to see the ghastly face of Ganondorf swirling in a strange cloud of smoke and ash. His face was unrecognizable; the features were morphed as if all of the incarnations of Ganon were twisted into a mask of pure rage and hatred. This was not the same man she had known in the field.
The pair both stepped away from the growing entity. Zelda's mind raced with plans of attack, plans of escape, plans of how to face the next battle. Midna, however, seemed to be one step ahead of them. She took a deep, steadying breath before locking her eyes onto Ganondorf. Pieces of Fused Shadow circled around her, preparing to fuse together and give Midna the strength to fight this enemy. Link saw what she was about to do and Zelda watched helplessly as the Hero dashed towards his companion. There was nothing that either of them could do to stop her. Link's fingertips were a breath away from touching Midna's back when Zelda felt a strange tug on her body. Suddenly, her body burst painlessly into dozens of black particles. Her vision went black, but her mind still thankfully remained. Before she could understand what was happening, Zelda and Link were both suddenly standing in a field bathed in true twilight. Midna had forced them to escape. She used that tiny window of opportunity to send them to safety before she took a turn with Ganondorf. A thunderous crash sounded in the distance and they both quickly turned to see the source of the noise.
The sky glowed with a glorious golden light but Hyrule Castle loomed like a dark shadow on the horizon. In horror, the Princess and the Hero stood silently in the field, unable to do a single thing as the walls of the castle crumbled into dust. With each and every piece of rubble that fell to the ground, a piece of Zelda's heart also broke. The tears would not come. The screams that raged inside her head refused to leave her silent mouth. Her body was numb though her inner self raged. All she could do was bring her hand up to her racing heart and stare at the devastation.
And then he emerged from the dust, mounted on a dark and wicked looking beast with red eyes. The horse reared up into the air, black smoke billowing behind the dark duo on the hill, and Ganondorf raised his hand. Zelda gasped in shock when she saw what he had in his grip. Even from far away, Zelda knew what that was; Midna's signature stone helmet, the part of the Fused Shadow that she wore on her vibrant orange locks. Grief washed over her likes waves, drowning her in sorrow deeper than that of losing her home. How could Midna have lost?
Beside her, Zelda felt Link lunge forward and also gasp as he realized what he was looking at. From far away, Ganondorf's hand shook as his grip on the Fused Shadow tightened and the stone broke into pieces. The bits of Fused Shadow dropped onto the ground as Ganondorf pulled out a vicious looking, glowing sword. He sharply pulled the reins and his horse reared up once again before its hooves crashed into the dirt and charged at them.
Link lifted the sword in his left hand to brace himself for battle, but Zelda laid her hand on his. He looked at her curiously, but she only nodded wordlessly at him. Zelda knew exactly what she needed to do. When she had given up her life force, Zelda shifted between the world of the living and the world of spirits. She knew where to find the help that her and the Hero so desperately needed. Though the sound of Ganondorf's warhorse and his battle cry grew nearer, Zelda calmly raised her hands to her heart and reverently closed her eyes to call on the spirits.
"Spirits of the Light. Wielders of the great power that shines wide upon the lands of our world…" Zelda prayed, her voice clear and confident. The furious pounding of heavy hooves raced towards them, closing the gap second by second. His presence, seething with violence and blind fury, was so near to her now.
"In my hour of need, grant me the light to banish evil!" Zelda called out, hoping that the spirits would hear her plea. As soon as she spoke, Ganondorf was upon them, nearly trampling them under his horse. She could feel the air behind her head swish as the blade came swinging down, but in an instant, she and the Hero vanished.
All around them, Hyrule faded away. The world of the living dissolved into the glowing world of spirits. Beneath her feet, the ground turned to a shimmering lake of liquid light. The spirits erupted from the lake and converged around Zelda, swirling and dancing light, their forms merging into one burst of radiance. As the light faded, the spirits were replaced with three golden arrows.
Yet though all of that, Zelda's eyes remained closed, still praying but this time to the goddesses. The moment weighed heavily on her soul. Once she and Link left this protective world of spirits, then they would face the evil together. Slowly, Zelda opened her eyes. Before her stood the Hero.
"Link..." Zelda whispered, a sad smile breaking out on her face as she addressed him formally for the very first time. "Chosen Hero!" His face lit up at the sound of her voice. That familiarity between Wisdom and Courage returned and Zelda once again wondered if he felt it too. Zelda longed to linger in that world and to speak with him, hear of his journey and his past and learn about this new Hero, but she could not. Hyrule was waiting for them. He was waiting for them.
"Lend us the last of your power." The smile fell from her lips. The heaviness in her chest ached. Guilt threatened to topple her. If only he knew what she had done. What would he think of her if he learned how close to the enemy she had become? As if the weight of her choices was pushing her, Zelda bowed low before the Hero of Light.
Zelda waited a moment for him to say something, but instead she saw a pair of boots step through the light, coming near to her. She lifted her eyes and saw a gloved hand extended out to her. Through the thick leather of the gloves, Zelda spotted those three golden triangles. Without hesitation, Zelda reached out her own hand, the hand that bore Wisdom, and laid her fingers in Link's palm. Warmth spread through her fingertips, trickling down her arm, into her chest, and into her very soul. Link's presence was peaceful and safe. For the first time in ages, Zelda felt protected. The familiarity with Courage was not poisonous and volatile, as it had been with Power. It was pure and good. And it was forgiving. Zelda tilted her head up and gazed into Link's eyes. Those were the eyes of forgiveness. Forgiving took courage, and this man had plenty of that.
Still holding Link's hand, Zelda straightened her stance and took another step closer to him. She gently squeezed his fingers, wordlessly wishing him luck in his final battle. With just a thought, Zelda whisked them back into the dusky world of the living.
The goddesses knew what they needed before even they did. Zelda found herself on the back of a red horse with a pale mane. Link was seated in front of her, already holding the sword in his hand. His eyes were fixated on something in the distance. Zelda caught sight of Ganondorf, still on his horse and patiently waiting for them.
Something smooth and round was in Zelda's hand. She glanced down and saw a golden bow in her gloved hands. It was perfect for her. Zelda leaned forward and spoke into Link's ear.
"I'll try to slow Ganondorf down with my light arrows. You target him and keep him within range of my light arrows!" The Hero nodded and tugged on the reins, sending his horse galloping towards Ganondorf. In a way that seemed oddly cowardly, Ganondorf turned his horse around and began to ride it hard away from them. Link pursued relentlessly. His horse sailed over the ground and quickly caught up with Ganondorf. An arrow was poised in her fingers. She fumbled as she tried to place the slender object on the thin string. Zelda raised the bow in her arms and balanced herself as best she could on the back of the horse. She pulled the string back, carefully taking aim where she thought his heart would be. As Zelda readied herself to strike, she felt as though she were in a dream. Her limbs were heavy and light all at once. She forced her mind to be a blank page, void of emotions and thought. But then he turned around.
Their eyes locked. Gold and blue. Zelda's hands shook as she aimed the arrow straight at Ganondorf's suddenly exposed heart. Through his furious glare, Zelda also saw shock in his face. Her stomach clenched with regret, but she let the string slip through her fingers. The bow snapped. The arrow soared. The weapon had found its mark. Ganondorf roared in pain and slumped over on his horse. Golden sparks flew from the wound, but the Gerudo pulled the arrow from his chest. Link urged his horse forward as the battle horse slowed. Zelda leaned forward into Link, holding on to him and he struck Ganondorf over and over with the sword. Ganondorf struggled to grasp his mount's reins, wincing in pain as each blow fell. Somehow he managed to steer his horse away from them and escape Link's attack. Zelda leaned away from Link and watched as he cantered away. It was as if he could sense her gaze. Ganondorf turned back and glared at her over his shoulder, his golden eyes piercing her.
"You betrayed me again," Zelda could nearly hear him growl. "You chose him again." Zelda could not tell if some remnants of him remained in her conscious or if she just knew him so well that she could predict his words. Whatever it was that still tied her to his presence, Zelda had to cut it out. The pain that ripped through her as she shot an arrow into his heart could not rule her.
But it was still there. As much as she wanted to finally free her kingdom from his grip, to vanquish Twilight forever, and to defeat her age-old enemy...there still remained a piece of her heart that beat for him. Even as she shot him again and again with the golden arrows, hoping that this would be the one to topple him, Zelda could not stop her heart from wrenching each time.
She lost count of how many arrows that pierced Ganondorf's armor, and how many furious blows Link inflicted on him, but at long last, he fell. Zelda aimed an arrow at him, striking him in his shoulder and the weakened man slumped over and hit the hard ground with a thud. The horse came to a halt as Link pulled back the reins, stopping within yards of where Ganondorf and his dark horse fell. Not wasting a second, Link jumped down from the horse and marched to where his enemy was slowly standing to his feet.
Dusk faded into darkness as black clouds filled the sky. Thunder rumbled ominously and white lightning cut through the air. Ganondorf drew himself to his fullest height and threw his head back. Maniacal laughter poured from his open mouth. Link stopped in his tracks, hesitant to go forward. Zelda, now holding the reins, tightened her grip on the leather strips, watching with a mixture of disgust and regret as she saw Ganondorf's sanity unravel before her. He was no better than Zant now.
"An impressive-looking blade. But nothing more." Ganondorf's words mingled with another low grumble of thunder. He reached over his chest to unsheathe that great, glowing white sword. The wound on his chest glowed as bright as his sword. "Would you hear my desire?" He inquired. "To take this foul blade and use it to blot out the light forever."
The sky was black as night now. From her perch on top of the horse, Zelda had the perfect view of Ganondorf. For half a second, she thought that she glimpsed those golden eyes cut over to her direction, but as soon as it happened, Ganondorf was already looking away and marching menacingly towards Link. Lightning and thunder cracked the sky right above the trio and the horse reared suddenly into the air. Zelda held onto the reins and struggled to stay seated in the saddle. When the horse finally calmed down, Zelda spotted what appeared to be a golden barrier, surrounding the two fighters. Zelda moved the horse ever so closer to that barrier. It was emanating a dark energy. Surely Ganondorf had put up this barrier to keep her out, to keep her from interfering in this final fight. Not that she would have done so, not so close to the end. The Hero was destined to battle the ultimate evil on his own. Zelda peered through the barrier as best as she could and watched as the two swords clanged together, the faces of Link and Ganondorf glaring at one another as they pushed with all of their might to throw the other backwards.
War waged within the barrier. A storm threatened to break out above them. Zelda sat in tense silence, watching, waiting, and praying for the victory to be for the Hero. The harvested barley beneath their feet was trampled as they battled.
Barley.
Zelda's heart nearly stopped beating and her throat tightened. She pulled her sight away from Link and Ganondorf, frantically scanning the scenery that had gone unnoticed until now.
Sometime in her captivity, after the citizens of Castle Town were liberated and life had returned to some semblance of normalcy, the barley had been harvested. The field that had been a swaying sea of gold, was now shorn and empty. This place was now as unrecognizable as the Gerudo that battled with the Hero.
This was their field; their field of gold.
Zelda clenched her jaw, willing the tears to keep from falling from her eyes. What a glorious disaster this was. The irony of this moment was crippling. This fight to the death here in their field where so many happy moments were shared between them was just another pathetic chapter in their endless story. So she watched, forcing herself to stay neutral and numb, as Courage and Power raged on.
From what she could see, Ganondorf was terribly weakened from the previous battles. She could see Link gaining ground and coming close to victory, but somehow his adversary managed to muster just enough strength to fight him off. But only for a moment before Link was back, full of rigor and driving him to the edges of the barrier. It was a sad sight to see, Zelda lamented to herself as she continued her vigil from the outside. For someone so filled with pride and righteous indignation, certain of victory and certain of his plans for a new era, .to see him on the fringes of sanity, beaten down into the mud…
Maybe it was shameful for her to feel such pity for him, after all that he had done, but she could not help the sorrow that rushed through her. And once Link had pushed Ganondorf to the ground, his back sinking into the dirt and too weak to stand, Zelda knew that it was done. Link soared into the air, the metal point of the blade aimed directly at the glowing wound. Zelda could not look away. Even as the tip sunk into his flesh, Zelda took in every second of Ganondorf's defeat. The barrier immediately fell away. Ganondorf cried out in agony and rage. Link quickly jumped away from him, his blue eyes locked onto the suffering Gerudo at his feet. Zelda slowly made her way to the Hero's side. In his eyes she did not see bloodlust or the heat if victory. Instead, he seemed somber, as if the reality of what he has just achieved was weighing on him. She wondered what he thought of all this killing and violence. He seemed to be a gentle soul, willing to help those in need, but perhaps this journey was more than he ever bargained for…
But she did not dwell on those thoughts for long. Miraculously, Ganondorf was standing to his feet, the Master Sword still buried deep in his chest. Both Link and Zelda backed away a few feet, watching nervously as he swayed on shaking legs.
"Do not think this ends here." Ganondorf strained to speak, barking out the words in harsh tones. "The history of light and shadow will be written in blood." The threat was empty. They all knew that it was over. And even as those words left his mouth, Zelda sensed something strange pass over the trio. It was like the feeling of being swept away by a strong current, but Zelda and Link both remained where they were standing. She glanced up at Ganondorf and noticed that he was staring at his left hand, eyes wide and fearful.
Truly fearful. Deeply terrified. Then she realized what was happening. The power of the three triangles on his left hand was reverberating wildly. The light was cutting in and out, the Power weakening by the second until they faded altogether. That tugging sensation subsided and left behind a vast emptiness. Zelda could not sense anything from Ganondorf. The draw to him that had been there the second that they met so long ago in the throne room, her weakened and near death, was gone. His shoulders sagged and his ragged breathing slowed, almost seeming to melt as he felt his existence without Power for the first time in a century.
Then his woeful gaze suddenly changed. He threw his neck back and his eyes turned deathly white. Beside her, Link tensed his body, ready to spring forward in case of another attack. Yet he only stood there, still and silent until his body lurched. Then he fell heavily to his knees and Zelda knew that whatever just happened, Ganondorf was now dead.
But neither of them said a word. They stood there staring at his upright body as the wind blew over the barren field and the clouds drifted away from the sky, basking the trio in twilight. After what seemed like hours, Link suddenly whirled around and she heard the Hero gasp. She turned to see what had caught his attention.
Far on the horizon, the light spirits were dancing in the sky, their forms swirling around a single figure in the middle. Even from that distance, Link could tell who it was. Zelda could faintly make out the form of a familiar Fused Shadow. The Hero took off running to see his fallen companion. As he dashed away, Zelda mused about the nature of their relationship. They were an unlikely pair, this quiet, gentle boy and vibrant Twilight Princess. The depth of their companionship was undeniable, but as Zelda saw Link approach the newly restored Midna, she felt that there was something more between them. Something that she could understand, being a part of an unlikely pair herself. Except this one, a bond between two heroes fighting on the same side, was not marred by remorse and guilt…
Zelda peeked over her shoulder to look back at her own companion. He had fallen over, his shoulders lying in the dirt. Golden eyes gazed at her for the last time. Even in death, they still burned through her soul. Zelda swallowed a surge of emotions, but let the tears form in her eyes. She crept over to where he lay and then knelt by his side. Her hand lay on his cheek and a few tears fell onto his still warm skin.
"This was always our fate," Zelda whispered to his deaf ears. "You knew that the cycle could not be broken this way. You and I will find our way back to one another. I know that we will. It is our destiny. But maybe someday, in some future conflict, you will choose the side of goodness. Only then can we be together…" She closed her eyes and took a deep, steadying breath. A flood of memories of them together in the field came to her mind's eye. They were wonderful and dreadful. What a perfect way to describe her time with him. She had never been more miserable, and more blissful than the days she spent with him. Zelda let out a sigh and opened her eyes.
"But it was not this time," Zelda continued. "I cannot deny that is what I so desperately wished for us. I cannot deny that you have left a mark on my life that will never be washed away." Zelda leaned in close to him, not caring that Link and Midna might see her. She needed to say goodbye and lay this chapter of her life to rest. Whatever closure she could glean from this moment, it was her only chance.
"I will remember you." Zelda promised, her soft words only heard by the dust and wind.
Zelda's fingers moved over from his cheek to his eyes. Slowly, she lowered his lids over his unseeing eyes, giving him a tiny shred of decency in his death.
Four Years Later
"You'll remember me…"
Words from days past were carried upon the evening breeze. The warmth of summer was sighing its final hazy breath before giving into the coolness of fall. The last glorious summer sunset filled the sky with a charade of pinks and oranges. Hyrule was bathed in a warm, golden glow.
"When the summer sun shines down on you and the wind blows warm and gentle…"
A lone stranger roamed down a dusty path through a field of soft yellow summer grass. The air gently beckoned the tall stalks to bend and sway, the field looking so much like an ocean of gold.
"You will be drawn to the golden field…"
Zelda stepped from the worn path and into the gentle waves of the yellow field. She wore a simple, homespun dress and soft, supple leather boots. The field before her was an endless sea of gold, broken by a small clearing where a tree, long forgotten and dead, had toppled over, leaving behind a small log upon which she sat. The log was ancient, covered in knobs and rotting bark, but for Zelda, it was a sad, familiar place.
"You will sense me there with you…"
She sighed deeply as she buried her face in her hands. Every summer for three summers, Zelda would dress as a commoner and walk to this field. Every summer for three summers, she promised herself that she would never come back. When the cold of winter had melted away and the storms of spring passed, she would find herself inexplicably drawn to the field. Each evening she would don her simple clothes and come to the field alone. Every night she would return to her castle, hating herself for being weak to the draw of the field. She would cry and fume, stand at the mirror and berate herself. Do not go back there, she would scold. Going back only makes it worse. You do not belong there. Forget what happened and let go of the past.
"You will come back to feel me there…"
Those ghostly words haunted her every waking moment. Even now, four years after the Twilight, Zelda could not get that damned voice out of her head. She could close her eyes and picture him standing in her throne room, bathed in Twilight, and darkly promise that she would never forget him.
She despised him for cursing her with his relentless memory. This lingering remembrance that burned through her soul, complicated things with a certain man; one with kind brown eyes and that had pledged to marry her in a frighteningly short number of days.
Zelda truly did love the man with brown eyes. She dearly cared for him, but when she looked into his eyes, gold burned away the brown and she could no longer see the man that she loved. Instead, she saw the face of the ghost in her dreams, menacing and powerful. Zelda saw his brow furrow, cold yet enraged at her for finding another to love.
"You chose him over me," the ghost would growl. Then Zelda would blink her eyes and the brown eyes would be back, gazing at her with concern and confusion. He would gently whisper her name, drawing her back to the present and Zelda would fall into his arms…
But she would never forget the arms that held her first.
In the years that passed since the Twilight, Zelda had worked closely, secretly with the scholar Shad. Just before Midna's abrupt departure, Link had introduced Zelda to the rag-tag team of rebels who had assisted him and Midna in their journey to victory. Shad had certainly stood out to her, with his outlandish style and comical, yet endearing persona. They had become friends, of a sort, over the last four years and Zelda had tasked him with an important mission; to find the Gerudo Tribe.
Every vital piece of information on the lost Gerudo Tribe, one that her own family had slaughtered decades before she was born, was tucked away in dusty shelves in the royal library. A few months after the liberation of Hyrule, it became of the utmost importance to Zelda to study the lost culture of the Gerudo. In her findings, she became convinced that somewhere, somehow, the Gerudo still lived on. After spending weeks locked up in the library, pouring over every book and scroll and letter learning about the Gerudo, Zelda brought her findings to Shad. The scholar had been skeptical at first, but after Zelda's insistence that they be searched for, he conceded. At first, he had been hesitant to try and unearth the old tribe that had once been a scourge to Hyrule, and had given birth to one of her greatest enemies, but Zelda had convinced him. She had no choice but to try and find them. She needed to find them and to make amends for the wrongs that her family committed against them. Trying to find the Gerudo was, to her, keeping some unspoken promise to Ganondorf. He had, in some twisted way, sought to right his own wrongs against his people. In a way, weren't they working towards the same goal, even in his death?
And perhaps, it had nothing to do with an age-old stain on her past, but one that was more recent. A secret tucked away in a quiet Manor on the forested shores of Lake Hylia; one with golden eyes and bronze skin, innocent and sweet, blissfully unaware of the turmoil that brought him into existence. Everyone wondered why the Princess spent most of her time at her family's old manor, or why she had spent nearly a year living there, refusing to see anyone but the staff and a few close friends. Zelda would never tell a soul, outside of a certain circle of select people. One of the few who were privy to her darkest secrets had been convinced to help her because of that secret.
Even the kind brown eyes knew of her deepest regrets, and he still pursued her with the purest of hearts. That is why Zelda agreed to marry him. She believed that if anyone could accept even the darkest parts of her, then it was somebody worth binding herself to for the rest of her days.
And then there was the one who bore Courage. Zelda had once pondered that forgiveness took courage, and she had fought to muster the courage, after two years, to let the Hero know the truth of what happened while she stayed at the castle.
And he became a guardian of her secrets as well. Not only a guardian of her secret, but a beloved companion as well.
It made Zelda laugh now, when she thought of it. Ganondorf had promised that she would never forget him, but even this remembrance was certainly more than even he could have bargained for.
But even so, it was not just something that was for her to remember. The Gerudo needed her now, or at least that's what she and Shad believed. They needed this miraculous chance of renewing and restoring their culture.
They were no closer now to finding them now than they had been nearly three years ago, but Zelda refused to give up. If they were out there, hiding away from the eyes of the world, then they needed to be found.
Zelda gazed down and the ancient stump, amazed that it was still here after all of the years that had flown by since those days with Ganondorf. The field of gold still swayed with the rhythm of the summer wind. A brilliant sun shone down on her, illuminating the empty spot beside her. Zelda ran her fingers over the gnarled surface of the wood, allowing the memories of him to wash over her without guilt or shame. This was the only time that she thought of him without her heart breaking.
She would always feel for him. King of Evil or not, Zelda could not help the way that she had once deeply cared for him. A piece of him would always live on through her, metaphorically and physically. So he was right.
"I will remember you," Zelda promised to the barley and the sun, knowing that someday, she would meet him again. If not in this life, then surely another.
Well. It is DONE! After nearly three and a half years, this story is finally finished. Thank you to all who read. I sincerely hope that you enjoyed this short story. After many, MANY long writing breaks, huge life events, and (I have to admit) a sometimes a lack of drive and passion for this story, it was a tough road, but I got there. I think that now I'm finished here, I want to start focusing 100% on my original stories. I've been writing since 2011 and after six years, I need to switch gears and focus on the growing pile of notebooks that harbor all of my outlines and notes and random nonsense for my original works. Fanfiction has been a wild ride, full of fun and learning and adventure and growth, but its time to lay it to rest for now. Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU for reading Fields of Gold. I love you all 33333333
Ginger Sheikah
