Mora sat next to Gan; her hands wrapped weakly around the hilt of the claymore. After the Triforce of Power had awoken on his hand, he had no energy to get up from where he fell, let alone carry a lame Mora back to the village. He had started to fight Mora at one point, wanting her to get some rest but they both knew that Gan needed the energy more to get them back.
Mora looked up from the front of the ruins, looking to the sky. It was no longer black but a deep purple with a few pink streaks, signaling the coming of dawn. She gently shook Ganondorf, a whimper leaving her when he didn't wake up the first few times. "Gan… please… don't leave me like this…"

After all her shaking and nearly sitting on the prince, he finally stirred, groaning from aching joints and muscles. Gan rolled over, his large body curling around Mora, squeezing her tight against him. "No, Gan… come on… we have to go… please." He slowly opened his eyes, looking up at the girl he was curled around. His jaw dropped as he stared up at her. "Mo… you look like shit."
"You don't look any better, I'm sure." Mora was shivering from the pain in her body. One eye was swollen shut with a shiner, the left side of her face was turning a sickly yellow and purple from a massive bruise. Gan's eyes wandered down, taking in the rest of the damage. Her left side was bruised as well, presumably from where she hit the ground in the explosion. He reached out, touching her belly where she had a black marking, like some kind of weird rune.
Gan sat up, ignoring the protest from his muscles as he moved. His movements were slow, mentally checking himself for any broken bones. "Nothing is broken on you, right?"
"Uhm… I'm not sure."
Gan gave her a puzzled look until he looked down at her leg, seeing her ankle was swelling and already a deep purple with a disgusting bruise. "No walking for you." He carefully mused her hair, helping her to her good foot. He helped her climb onto his back, hissing when her leg wrapped around a bruise, pushing against it. He squeezed her when she tried to struggle away from the pain she caused him. "Stop. The faster I get us home, the better."
After securing his claymore to his hip, awkwardly while she was on his back, he started to walk away. They didn't talk for a while, too afraid that the nightmare would chase them if they talked too soon. "Mo… you could have woken me up sooner. You should have woken me up sooner, what if something had come out of those ruins and come at you-"
"Nothing did. I'm fine. We're alive. That's all that matters." Mora pressed her bruised face into his hair, fighting back sobs as he walked. "Gan… you saved us."
Gan rubbed his thumbs against the backside of her thighs, trying to comfort her. "You gave us the head start, though."
"Hardly."
"With an exploding arrow, Princess."
"I am not."
"According to Demise you are."
"Is that his name? And why are we trusting an ancient evil being?"
"Because you opened the tomb."
"And released the ancient evil on Hyrule. Way to go me. I never saw him emerge, though. Gan what are we going to do?" Mora groaned into Gan's shoulder, she let out a soft laugh only for it to turn almost hysterical as she squeezed his shoulders. "Happy birthday, by the way."
"Mo, you know we have to tell my mother, right? We can't pretend like this didn't happen, since we're covered in bruises and dirt." Gan squeezed her legs as he carried her, rubbing his thumbs against her thighs, trying to fight off the smile that spread on his lips when she said 'Happy Birthday', it hadn't gone as he had hoped, at all.
"The part about Demise."
"All of it, Mo. All of it."
The two argued the rest of the morning as Gan carried Mora, it took a few hours, but about halfway home, a small group of guard came upon them. Ubo was leading the group with Imo and Biana just behind her. "My prince. Mora. What happened to you?"
Imo moved around Ganondorf, ready to take Mora away from him. She stumbled back when Gan whirled around, snarling at her. His body relaxed when he felt Mora's hand on the nape of his neck. "Gan, take a break, you've been carrying me for hours."
Gan had to fight himself from yanking Mora back from Imo when the smaller girl gritted her teeth in pain. He kept close to Imo when they took off again, his arm brushing Mora's leg every now and again. He noted that the poor thing had finally fallen asleep thanks to the silence and the easier gate that Imo had.
"You're limping, prince." Ubo stated, trying to keep the anger out of her voice.
"Do you intend to carry me?" Gan bit back at the guard, he didn't realize how much of a security blanket Mora had become for him, he ran a hand through his hair, angrily pushing past tangles and dirt. "Imo, can I have her back? Please?"
Before Imo or Ubo could argue, Biana easily took the limp girl from Imo. "I would rather make it out of the desert alive and if our prince has Mora on his back, he is less likely to take that claymore and stab us with it while we question him." She teased her fellow guardsmen as she carefully situated Mora on Gan's back, hushing the girl when she started to stir. "I think she's made it to ten pounds dry, what do you say, Gan?"
Gan gave a chuckle and shook his head. "Fifteen wet."

Eabim was red in the face as she struggled to keep her calm façade. She glanced to Nikesa who stood to the left of the throne, the woman wanted to race over and pluck her daughter from the princes back, but they could all tell he would not willingly give her up. She leaned her chin in her palm, deep green eyes narrowed on her son. "I'm sorry… you did what now?"
Gan struggled to keep his breathing even as he locked eyes with his mother. She wasn't going to understand. She wasn't going to give him time to explain any part of this. She would blame Mora and order her out of the village. "I said… we released an ancient evil on Hyrule. By accident."
"How… does one accidentally release something evil on the whole of Hyrule?"
Gan glanced to Nikesa, his jaw turning white from the way he was clenching it. "Did she tell you about the voice?"
Nikesa slowly shook her head, frowning. "No, but I did hear her talking to herself a lot recently."
"She was never talking to herself; she was talking to Demise. He wants to end the world, and he was sealed away in that tomb. She stumbled upon him when she went into that cave and he… I don't know the details; I haven't had the chance to talk to her about it. But when I found her, he was controlling her and used her to open the seal."
"Why her?"
"Because she's a-" Gan paused, glancing over his shoulder at the sleeping girl on his back, he chewed his lip for a moment before looking back to his mother. "Maybe because she's Hylian?"
"So, any Hylian could have found this?"
Ganondorf could tell by her tone that she wasn't convinced. He huffed, giving a shrug. "I don't know, maybe? Does that much matter?" AII he wanted to do was go get cleaned up and lay down in his own bed. "There's an ancient evil and the rest of Hyrule should be warned-"
"I'm glad you think so." The way she said it had Ganondorf snapping his attention straight to his mother, the look on her face was anything but pleased as they watched each other. "Your ancient evil puts me in a tight spot, Duno. I sent out ravens two days ago letting the Zora, Goron and Hylians know we would be coming to have you meet with them. I can't turn around and say 'oops, my son, a prophesized male Gerudo, did exactly what you all said and released an ancient evil on Hyrule so, we must stay here to watch over our home.' Now can I? Though, I can't just leave my village without a leader and its' guards here. In case that thing makes a return." The queen rubbed her face in annoyance, her fingers squeezing the bridge of her long nose.
Gan lowered his head, chewing his lip once more. "No… I suppose not." He sighed, there were times he had wished he hadn't been born, to save his mother from hearing about the prophecy about a male Gerudo. Some of the guards whispered about it, Mora had asked him about it once when they were younger after hearing some whispers. "How long do I have before I need to leave?"
"A month. If I decide to still let you go."
"I will not be deterred by some monster. I need to go meet with the other domains and explain what has happened, so they are not blind-sided by its' minions. I will take two guard and Mora." Gan straightened up as best he could with Mora on his back.
"She will stay."
"You will have her stay here? Someone who is marked by the beast, putting the village at risk? You would risk your people for her?" When Eabim shifted forward in her seat, Ganondorf took a step forward, his green eyes narrowed. "You weren't in that tomb, mother. You didn't hear how… how Demise spoke to her… you didn't see…" He raised his lip in a silent snarl as his fingers dug into Mora's legs, reminding himself that she was safe and with him. That he hadn't completely failed her. He shook his head, forcing himself to relax. They were safe, she was safe. With him. He looked down at the bruised ankle that wrapped around his side, his chest tight as he spoke words he knew Mora would hate him for if she were awake. "If I take her with me… we can explain to the other domains about what happened… and see if the Hylian's will take her in. Their army is bigger than ours, and they have a closer relationship with the Sheikah, who can also help her. If anyone knows anything about sealing an evil being, it would be the Queen. They can-"
"No." Nikesa was in front of Gan, gripping the front of his shirt and looking into his eyes as tears welled in her own. "Not my baby girl, my prince. Please." She turned to Eabim; her fingers were still tight on Gan's shirt. "We had a deal! We had until she was sixteen!"
"Is that what you would do, if you were King? Beg another domain to take care of your problem child?" Eabim ignored Nikesa, finally standing and moving closer to her son, her face had softened, she knew how much he hated the thought of giving Mora up to people she didn't know.
Gan looked away from both women in front of him, his eyes on the sleeping face against his shoulder. It was almost comical what Mora could sleep through; he could add raised voices to that list now. He turned his attention back to his mother, doing his best to keep his expression void of emotion. "My people come before myself. Having Mora in Hyrule castle could prove to be useful in the coming years on top of that."
Eabim gave her son a smile and reached out to touch his cheek, her whole being going stiff when he ripped away from her, turning away from her and Nikesa. "You are beginning to think like a King, my duno."
"No, I'm being selfish. She is to never know of this plan. I will talk to the Queen and King in private and see if they will come to a similar conclusion with a little prodding." Gan started for the main entry, pausing for a moment before he changed his route and headed towards his room.
"Where are you going?" Both Nikesa and Eabim seemed to ask at the same time, their eyes narrowed at Gan. They both backed off though when he looked at them, his eyes ablaze in anger and annoyance. When no one else said anything, he made quick work of the stairs.
Though he paused when he got to his room, having not thought about how to get Mora off his back without waking her up. He started to turn to sit when Biana's head poked into his room. "May I help?" When she received a desperate nod, she entered and walked up to him, helping him remove the sleeping girl. "I think what you said was honorable. You know, there's a saying the Hylian have… if you love something, you must let it go. If it comes back, it was meant to be."
"I don't like that saying." Gan whispered as he pulled the sheets back and used pillows to prop Mora's ankle up. "I don't want to know what I would do if she didn't come back."
"I have a feeling she would have to be chained to a wall to not come back." Biana let out a soft laugh, helping her prince tuck Mora in. "I'll leave you be, Gan. I'll happily go with the two of you, I know the very thought of leaving the village scares Ubo."
"It does?"
"Yes, she's a silly one though. She prefers comfort, but she would do as you ask. For me though? I've heard the older Gerudo talk about the winds of Hyrule, the seas of green and the trees and flowers that grow there. Maybe I'll find my one true love out there." She gave Gan a wink before turning away. "Or you could take both Ubo and I."
Gan watched Biana leave, she had been one of the only ones to have a true soft spot for Mora. Probably due to the fact Mora would always be childlike to the women, never growing much taller than she was now, and being soft instead of hard muscle. He watched Mora sleep for a moment before he moved to the other side of the room to change into something more comfortable.
With a few strained grunts and groans, he finally pulled his shirt up and over his head, examining the bruises on his tanned skin. One bruise covered his stomach and wrapped around to his back while most others were around his shoulders. He started on the ties on his pants when he felt eyes on him. He paused, glancing up and into the mirror, meeting the bright green eye that wasn't swollen shut on the girl who was supposed to be asleep.
"No… no… don't stop on account of me. I'm just enjoying my show."
Gan gave her a playful look before rolling his eyes at her. "Mo… you should be sleeping."
"Ah, yeah. It's hard to sleep when my prince is whimpering in pain."
"You can sleep through shouting, but Hylia forbid I take my shirt off. And I wasn't whimpering."
Mora raised her brows at him, wincing at the pain from the motion. "Right, and I can walk."
"Mo." Gan swirled his hand in the air, asking her to look away for a few moments. "I'm only going to give you one warning, I'm changing, I don't care what you see. But what you see on me, I get to see on you." He laughed when suddenly her hands covered her face, a deep red blush added to the deep purple bruises.
Mora had to resist the urge to peek when she heard him walking around. How much fun would it be to rub it in Talo's face that she got to see Gan's butt before the Gerudo girl did? The thought had her cheeks warming and her breath hitching in her throat. Her heart all but stopped when she felt the bed sink under a new weight. She lay as still as possible, as if that would make her invisible to the male Gerudo that sat next to her.
Gan ran his hands along her legs, seeing how swollen her ankle was. He gave a little squeeze, stopping when she tried to pull away. He leaned down, his lips lightly pressing against the bruised skin before he kissed upwards. She was covered in dirt and dust, dried sweat and blood. He didn't care, he covered her body with his, his nose finding her neck and breathing her in.
Mora was frozen beneath Gan, her mind racing with all the things that could possibly happen between them. But her world snapped back when she heard the shuddering breath he took. Her arms wrapped around him, pain from a nasty bruise somewhere on her arm made her fingers go numb, so she dug them into the bright red hair, holding him to her. She found it difficult to breathe from the weight on her chest, but she didn't care, he was with her, finding comfort in her. "Gan-"
"Promise… promise you'll always come back."