"I think I was eight before I solved this on my own. When you're that small, you have to think two dimensionally because you can't look up at the top of the hedges and just follow your way out. ...Are you listening?"

Zelda giggled as Ganondorf stopped scratching at the back of his neck, freshly paved territory thanks to Kona's impromptu trimming. "Hmm? Oh, yes, I'm listening. You solved the maze before you were eight."

"No, I couldn't solve it until after I was eight." Zelda handed Ganondorf her parasol, and turned her attention to his ponytail. "Here's your problem, you've pulled your hair back too tightly along the trim line, and you've caught a few stragglers that pull on your skin."

Mid-morning, the royals were enjoying a stroll through the castle hedge maze. Kona had insisted on dressing up Ganondorf for the occasion, and had sent him out with his freshly tame hair pulled back like a Hylian. She refrained from chopping his mane, but attacked his beard and sideburns with the goal of making him look like less of a 'wild animal'.

"Overzealous Kona... I never have this problem when I coil or plait it on my own," Ganondorf grumbled, though he did have to admit it felt wonderful to have Zelda running her fingers through his hair. He then realized she wasn't wearing her ever present gloves.

"You can tell her I appreciate the effort." Zelda patted Ganondorf's shoulder, then with a chuckle shook her hands through his hair and messed it up right back to its untamed lion look. "Though every now and then, it's okay to be messy."

Ganondorf returned Zelda's smile, then took her hand and followed her out of the maze and into the nearby gazebo. As he moved to open the privacy curtains for more light, Zelda gently stopped him.

"That's not necessary, Ganondorf. Please, won't you sit with me?" Zelda retired to the lounge sofa and patted the seat next to her, curling a finger in her hair as he made up his mind. The Gerudo seemed to blush himself for a moment, before eagerly sitting down.

"...I don't like the word 'crazy', but there are times when I've heard it used to describe me," Zelda murmured, a candid statement which caught Ganondorf very off guard.

"What?! That's nonsense, you're not crazy!"

"Burdened with a condition they'll never understand, then? As you said, 'same potion, different bottle'. The way I do things always seemed odd to the advisors, even surrendering to Zant was something they didn't understand. We had no way to win, yet they thought I should waste the soldiers' lives trying to stop him." Zelda shook her head. "It cost far less in the long run to surrender, I'm sure they see that now. So it cost me my reputation, and spurned talk of deposing me when Ralis comes of age... Lives were saved."

Ganondorf was taken aback. "You... you know about the deposition rumors?"

With a sigh, Zelda nodded her head. "Yes, I know about them. A shame they couldn't keep their mouths shut around my guests, I would have preferred you and your family not be dragged into castle politics..."

"If it helps, I wanted to strangle them when I overheard."

Zelda gasped at the suggestion, but smiled as she realized that was exactly what Ganondorf would do if someone threatened a loved one. Thinking back to her conversation on cuddling with Ruby, she decided it was time to stop pussyfooting around and demonstrate how she thought of him as a loved one as well.

Ganondorf was dumbfounded as he watched Zelda scoot over and deposit herself in his lap, but really taken aback as she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him close for a kiss. She was a little hesitant, but when she made up her mind, it was the sweetest thing he had ever tasted. Wrapping his arms around her for support, he slowly caressed her neck and shoulders as they melted into one another.

In heaven from the moment yet growing lightheaded from a lack of air, Zelda reluctantly drew back from the embrace. She was blushing as bright as a rose, her fair skin pink all the way to the tips of her ears. The honey color of her hair did nothing but complement this change in complexion, and brought a big smile to Ganondorf's face.

"You grin as though you've won a prize," Zelda mumbled in embarrassment, her blush deepening as Ganondorf softly stroked her cheek.

"Only the best prize there is," he boasted with a laugh. "I've even got you sitting in my lap."

"...I was told you like to cuddle."

"Oh, I love to cuddle." Without warning, Ganondorf slid back so he was flat on the sofa, rolling Zelda so that she was lying in an embrace atop his stomach. "Don't you?"

"G-Ganondorf, we're not going to... Out here in the... Ohhh..." Zelda bit her lip over the activities this position implied, and looked around in a tizzy until Ganondorf turned her chin his way and gave her a quick and calming smooch.

"No, not in a gazebo. Aside from my desire to make that moment the most memorable of your life, something of which I can't do on a little sofa, you never know when Kona or her offspring are out there eavesdropping." Ganondorf pointed to the one section of the curtain they had left open. "I'll bet they're out there right now..."

Zelda raised her hand, and with a flick of her fingers, the curtain came loose from its tie and pulled itself closed across the gazebo entryway. "There, they'll just have to use their imaginations. Now, how about that cuddling? I'm a little cold without my gloves..."

"I think I can help with that," Ganondorf replied, lacing his fingers with Zelda's as they shared another kiss.