The cool mineral water had a sweet taste, and Zelda drank deeply before she put down her stone cup. Damun the Goron smiled as he offered the heavy iron decanter. "Would you care for some more?"

"A little more, thank you," she replied, and he easily poured water from the vessel that certainly weighed at least as much as she did. Zelda took short, small sips, trying to draw out her visit as long as possible.

"So how are things back at the castle?" Damun asked, after skirting around the topic for a good hour. After all, as the new Patriarch, he had a right and even a duty to know.

"As well as can be expected," she replied listlessly, staring into her cup. "He doesn't make a good King, but at least he is trying."

"I suppose that's a miracle in itself. All that madness couldn't come from the holy relic alone, after all. Some of it must have been there for him to plot to take it in the first place."

Zelda hated this topic. She had left the castle to get away from it. But the Zora King wouldn't leave it alone, either. She knew they were all waiting with bated breath for him to ruin something else. "He is protective of his own people, and seems to understand that they are less prone to attack if he ingratiates the other races."

"Sounds like things are going surprisingly well, then," Damun offered. After an awkward pause, he said, "I suppose he will have to visit on his own, eventually. How long do you think you will need to teach him?"

Zelda sidestepped this with another question. "Damun, how do your people decide who will be the next Patriarch?" The topic had been covered somewhere in her childhood lessons, but her mind had been preoccupied with the dark, foreboding man she watched from the courtyard.

"Hm?" Damun brought his hand to his face, a sign of surprise and contemplation. "Well, leadership and strength are the two qualities a Patriarch needs, so…there are tests of strength, like wrestling, carrying boulders, what have you…but as for leadership, the Gorons choose who they wish to follow. Actually, that's not really correct…it implies that there are a lot of leaders to choose from. It's more like someone steps forward."

"And you were the one that stepped forward?"

"Yes, though…it's not as if I made any declarations. Things needed to be done, and I did some of the harder ones, and then the others started looking to me for guidance. It just…falls into place."

Zelda couldn't imagine this. "There is no arguing over roles? Has there never been a fight between two would-be leaders?"

Now Damun had the uncomprehending expression. "Oh, it's happened once or twice, I suppose. But it's always settled with a test of strength. The weaker one always stands down." He turned to her as it suddenly dawned on him. "You're wondering why we never fight among ourselves."

"Yes…I mean I know you quarrel sometimes, but I've never heard of a clan battle, or something like that…"

Damun sat back in his chair. Despite being made of stone, it groaned from his weight. "Well, the truth is, we Gorons have only been living together like this for a couple hundred years. Before that, we lived more or less on our own. We're pretty independent, and we don't need much to survive. We eat rocks, sleep on rocks, and are rather hard to damage."

Zelda couldn't help but laugh a little at that last statement. "Yes, that makes sense. Is that why you have so few children, because Gorons don't die as easily as Hylians or Zora?" A surprising thought crossed her mind. "If you don't mind me asking…where do Gorons come from? I've never seen a female…"

"Gorons come from the Goddess, Din."

"Well, yes, we all…"

"No, no, that's not what I mean." Damun shook his head. "We really do come from Din's forge, deep in the mountains. Every fifty years or so, the Patriarch journeys to the heart of the mountain to find a new one, and brings him above ground."

"Fifty years!" Zelda exclaimed. "Gorons must live a long time!"

He laughed. "A long time indeed. My grandfather met the First Hero, eons ago, back before the Hylians' Guardian Goddess gave up her divinity."

Zelda sat up, ramrod straight. "Wait, you have your own version of that legend? I thought that was just something the Hylians made up to claim rights to the Triforce…"

"I'm sure some of the details differ, but the main points are the same. Din created the Gorons, Nayru the Zora, and Farore all the lesser creatures. Hylia, the youngest, created humans in her own image and lived among them, as she was too young to make beings able to take care of themselves. But when she got in an argument with the Triforce Guardian, who feared that her people were too weak to resist its call, she sealed him away and gave her own people the task of its protector."

"And she gave up her divinity, but her spirit lives on in her descendants," Zelda finished for him. "But if their resolve ever wavers, it will bring back Hyrule's Demise." She turned to Damun. "I've always wondered…why didn't her older sisters step in?"

Damun took a long drink of water before he spoke. "I don't know for sure…but among us, the story goes that the Three wanted their sister to learn from her mistakes. Hyrule as a place, as a home for the Gorons and and Zora and all the other creatures, will always exist, though its form may change. If the Hylians were to survive, well, that was Hylia's responsibility."

Zelda said nothing. Her mother had broken the chain of succession, so Hylia's spirit could not be reborn to ensure the Triforce's protection. Was that what the legend meant about Hyrule's Demise?

Ganondorf's ears caught the sound of an old wooden staff hitting the floor, over and over again. As its owner slowly rounded the corner into the study, he stood and greeted her. "Good Morning, Grandmother Mitari. Would you care for some tea?"

"I would," she said as she inched her way over to the table. She was not so much weak as she was stubborn, taking her time because she wanted to. Regardless of whether or not the person waiting for her was the King of Gerudo. "Ahhh…an old wound, it pains me. You couldn't get a cushion for an old lady to sit on, could you?"

"Of course." When he was younger, it irritated him to have to cater to the elders. Princes and Kings were not fit for such things, he said. But as he began to partake of the great knowledge stored in their minds, he became much more patient. "Sit here, Grandmother, and I will pour the tea."

Gerudo tea was much more flavorful than its Hylian counterpart, seasoned with cactus spines that tasted like cinnamon and licorice. "Ah, yes, that's much better," Mitari said as she sat down and took a sip of the tea. "It's so cold here, my bones creak with every step. Young King…I can sense a disturbance in the Spirit Temple."

Ganondorf's cup stopped halfway between the table and his mouth. "A disturbance? You mean like a lost soul?"

"Yes. Can't you hear it crying at night? No? Well, then, perhaps you haven't been practicing how to listen. Your crusade is finished; it's time for you to come back to Gerudo matters."

"I am responsible for this entire country, Grandmother," Ganondorf said, trying to keep his voice level. "It's not just about the Gerudo anymore."

"What about the Hylian girl?" Mitari demanded. Only Antiada referred to her as the Lady Zelda. All the other Gerudo called her "that girl", or even "that wench". "Let her take care of her fellow point-ears."

"She is meeting with the Zora and Goron representatives," Ganondorf answered. "She is doing more than her fair share."

"You should appoint her to a permanent position."

"I'm trying, Grandmother. But these things must be handled with caution."

Mitari groaned and sat back in her chair. "I know what you're planning, and it is foolish, Young King. She'll never agree to it. Besides, there are plenty of Gerudo women to choose from!"

"A King doesn't make alliances by surrounding himself with only his own people," Ganondorf pointed out.

"Mmm." Mitari said nothing for a while as she drank her tea. "Regardless…someone needs to travel to the Spirit Temple. If the lost soul is left too long, it will start to cause harm."

"I understand, Grandmother. I'll take care of it straightaway."

"Good, good." Mitari slowly rose to her feet, grasping her staff. "You mustn't forget your old duties. We will need to appoint a new Spirit Temple guardian, but for now, you're the only one who can both travel there and speak to the spirits."

"I understand."

Ganondorf watched her hobble out of the room, then frowned down into his teacup. He took a long drink, then stared down into the dregs. Little flecks of fine needles clumped together in a wavering pattern, a long, thin wavy line. The snake, bringer of sudden, hidden misfortune.

He snorted and turned the cup over, picking up the tray and bringing it to the kitchen himself. Foolishness, he thought to himself. Just a way for the fortune-tellers to con their customers out of a few rupees, that's all. Not a bit of truth in it.

"But Lady Zelda, this book was printed by your own people. Surely you've seen…"

"Antiada, that book is for the Royal Family, of which I'm no longer a member. Put the book away, please."

Antiada made no move to put the book down. She had found a volume of Hylian marriage customs that was much more explicit than the usual. "But you're familiar with it, no? It says in the beginning that these things should be taught to a princess when she comes of age. I'm assuming that means…"

Zelda made an exasperated sigh as she stopped unpacking. Antiada had practically been standing on the doorstep with the book and she hadn't gotten a moment to herself after leaving Damun. "For the love of Nayru, Antiada, leave it alone. Yes, I had to read the book. But it's not relevant to me now."

Acting as if she hadn't heard, Antiada thumbed through the book until she found the passage she was looking for. "I can understand why it would trouble you, Milady. There is a great deal of bad advice here. Look, this passage, page ninety-eight: 'A prince must be treated as a King throughout the castle, including in the bedroom. You must submit to his wishes, for only then can…oh!" she exclaimed as Zelda snatched it out of her hands.

Zelda hurled it into the fireplace, and with a snap of her fingers, a roaring fire filled the gap between the stones. "There. It's a bad book, so it's gone now. No need to worry."

Antiada gaped open-mouthed for a split second, then switched tactics. "But Milady, that's not how we Gerudo do these things. Creating new life should not be such a chore! Why should a woman suffer by participating in the ritual of life? Now, our King…"

"For Goddesses' sake, Antiada!" Zelda exclaimed as she clapped her hands over her ears. "If you insist on carrying on this conversation, I'm going to ask you to leave!"

She waited for a full minute with her hands over her ears, and Antiada didn't budge. The moment she lowered her hands, Antiada burst into speech again. "Milady, it is forbidden for a Gerudo man to take a woman by force! To rape or to kill another Gerudo, that is a crime punishable by death!"

"I'm not Gerudo."

"But he already considers you one of the tribe! The Elders would hand down the sentence if he tried anything like that. To kill or to rape one's own…for even a King, Milady, that would be a grave sin!"

Suddenly Zelda froze, clutching one of her summer dresses. "Antiada," she said slowly. "Do you speak the truth? Has this ever happened before, in your history? Would a King really submit to the rule of the Elders?"

"Goddesses above, of course! Why, Ganondorf's great-granduncle attempted to poison one of his advisors, and he was beheaded! For merely attempting a crime! You see, Milady, a defective seed can't be allowed to be planted. And any children he already has will be banned from taking any men; they can be warriors and caregivers only."

"I see," Zelda said slowly. "Antiada, will you excuse me? There's something I need to do."

"What, Milady?" Antiada asked, troubled by the odd tone in her voice.

"I just need to ask a few questions, that's all. Stay here until I return."

The door shut behind her. Antiada stood bewildered, wondering if her words had brought on something good or something bad.

"Ganondorf! Wait a moment," Zelda called after him as she spotted him in the hallway.

"Ah, Lady Zelda. Did your meetings go well?" There was a strange tone in her voice that put him on edge, but he showed no sign of it on the outside.

She marched up to him with purpose, so much so that he had to stop himself from taking a step back. "Ganondorf. I will marry you under one condition."

"Oh? And what would that be?" he asked, caught off guard and wondering why she would make such a forceful offer on something she had pointedly avoided.

"You must tell the Gerudo the truth about Nabooru."

All the color drained from his face. Zelda felt a sense of triumph swell within her as fear clouded his eyes. "I…I beg your pardon?"

Her face tightened, her eyes narrowing to little slits. "You know exactly what I mean. I was there, as Sheik. Link defeated Nabooru in battle, but Koume and Kotake killed her. And if killing another Gerudo is such a grave sin, they must have been ordered to do so."

"I see," he said thickly. "So you know about that law."

"Nabooru went against you, so you ordered her put into magical sleep, and then killed if she ever woke up. Link saved her from her enslavement, but she died anyway, and her blood is on your hands."

He turned away from her. "Why…why are you doing this? The Triforce…"

"Nabooru's enchantment came early on in the game, so don't blame this on the Triforce. You were perfectly sane when you gave those orders."

He turned back to her, eyes ablaze. "I could kill you," he said in a low, cutting voice that would have frozen her blood if it were not already boiling hot. "I could kill you now and nobody would know."

"You could," she acquiesced simply. "And you could freeze the Zora again, and feed the Gorons to a dragon, and let monsters run loose over Hyrule…if that's the only thing you can ever think of to solve your problems." Her expression softened slightly. "Ganondorf…if you wish to be a fair king, to undo the injustices that my father inflicted upon your people, then you must show me that you have the honor and integrity to do so."

"Then…" he said as his mind raced. "Then you are not just doing this to get rid of me?"

Her gaze fell to the floor. "If you bring your crime to the Elders, and are still alive after whatever punishment they bestow upon you…I will have no more objections. You will have paid for your crimes against me, and against Hyrule." Raising her head, she issued her final challenge. "Are you enough of a man to do it?"

His eyes flicked back to the hallway behind her. "This is…a serious decision. I can't give you an answer right away."

"Very well." She turned around without a backward glance. "I have all the time in the world."