A/N: I recommend readers have a box of tissues handy, because if I bawled writing it then you'll probably bawl reading it. ;)

Seven depressed faces surrounded the bed in Ganondorf's room, where their angel lay at rest. Three months had passed since Edwin's death, the people unaware of what had happened. The royal advisors were spared from Ganondorf's blade on the condition that they make no mention of Edwin, and that they carry on the kingdom as Zelda's father had done. The people would just have to think their king was lying low. Ganondorf strongly desired changing Hyrule under his leadership, but there were more important things at the moment.

His angel hadn't woken up. They had tried every spell, every prayer, and every medicine available, but nothing worked. After three months of waiting for a miracle, Ganondorf had come to a painful decision- it was time to bury her.

They chose a spot near her favorite flower field, where she spent a lot of time playing with the Skull Kid. Zant and Agahnim had built a sturdy casket, which Yuga and the Skull Kid decorated in bright colors. Zelda's life had been bright and cheery, so they wanted to honor it. Ghirahim had been roused from his depression enough to style Zelda's hair and makeup. She was never one to fuss about her appearance, so he kept it simple by tying her hair into a high ponytail with a red ribbon and curling her sidelocks into ringlets. Vaati dressed her in a simple pink dress with a fuchsia vest and pink gloves. Ganondorf then completed the outfit with a circlet in the style of his people. His had intended to give it to her in life, because it meant so much to him. But he would now bury it with her.

It hurt them all to inter Zelda, because that was acknowledging her death. But leaving her above ground would be treating her as an object instead of a human being. So one by one, they said their good-byes.

"Good journey, little princess," Agahnim started as he kissed her forehead. "Farore's Wind brought you to us, you warmed our souls like Din's Fire, and like Nayru's Love you've blessed our hearts. A shame you were wasted for such a lost cause."

Yuga was next, and he placed a kiss on her left cheek. "I take back what I said before. Your art is perfect, you don't need anymore practice." On that note he lifted up the Skull Kid so he could say his good-bye. He tucked his flute in the princess's hands, then removed his mask and pecked her nose before hugging her tightly. She had become almost like a mother to him, but now he was back to his original misery.

"Skull Kid, don't worry," Vaati consoled as he came up. "Her Highness is going to keep watching over us, just now from the sky." He choked back his own tears as he continued. "There's a whole world of people above the clouds, you know, where the Goddess Hylia keeps watch. Maybe she'll let the Princess's wisdom come down to us from there." Vaati kissed Zelda's right temple, before turning away.

Zant let Vaati step away to cry before he approached. "Sssorry forr ssstrangling yoou... It'ss goood that boy isss out off the waay, yoou're too goood foor himm." He kissed her other temple, before slipping something into her vest. "It'ss a Twili charmm. Soo we'll recognizze each otherr inn the nextt lifffe..."

Zant moved away, and pulled Ghirahim to the casket. The youth was a sobbing mess, his eye shadow smeared over his face and his collar soaked with tears. He fell over Zelda, weeping into her chest. After several minutes he was cognizant enough to speak, and mumbled into her neck while hugging her. "It's my fault, it's all my fault. I should have been more cautious, especially after I failed you the first time. Demise's fire, what was I thinking?! I'm horrible, I deserve to be dead instead of you... I love you, my Princess. I love you with all I have. You're my family, my beloved sister, my best friend... If there was any way to take your place, you know I would have already done it. Oh, Zelda..." He lost his composure again, leaving a sloppy kiss on her right cheek before pulling away and burying his head in Agahnim's chest.

It was now Ganondorf's turn. "I've been to many funerals in my years, but this is the first where I am at a loss for words. You caught my attention from the start, so innocent and frightened. But you opened up to us, a group of men who by all accounts should never be graced with an angel's presence. You gave us self-esteem and love, something a lot of us forgot existed. And yet out of all, you opened your heart to me. I was cold to you, I ignored you, I even insulted you. But you gave me affection, seeing past the reputation. That's the thing about you that Edwin never knew- you were the relic he sought. You're the embodiment of wisdom, and you're the embodiment of kindness. Thank the Goddesses that selfish bastard never knew. He would have kept you locked away. He wouldn't have ordered you killed, you wouldn't have come to me, and you would have never taught me what it was like to love again." He carefully lifted Zelda into his arms, and smoothed her hair. "My angel... I am hesitant to give you back to the Goddesses, but I can't be so selfish as to keep you from rest. Good-bye, Zelda. I will never know another love as deep and moving as yours." Ganondorf cupped her face, and as a parting act, gave her a firm kiss on the lips. He then held their foreheads together, taking in her scent one last time.

A twitch.

Ganondorf opened his eyes, convinced that he imagined it. But there was another twitch, then a third. Zelda was moving.

Her shoulders shook, her head bobbed, her face winced. The other men couldn't believe what they were witnessing. But then Zelda lurched up and began coughing, a piece of apple falling from her mouth. Ganondorf saw it, and immediately understood. He laid her on the ground and rolled her to her side, rubbing her back as the coughing subsided. Her breathing normalized, and she rolled onto her back by herself. Slowly she opened her eyes.

"Ga...non...?"

Ganondorf let out an exasperated sigh and squeezed Zelda to his chest, still in disbelief. "Please don't let this be a trick," he mumbled, watching Zant pick up the apple piece.

"The sspell isss goone..."

The men all shrieked in delight. Ganondorf loosened his grip on Zelda, and she gazed at him in confusion. "What happened...?" she started to ask, but was interrupted when Ghirahim tackled her out of his master's lap.

"Oh, Goddess, thank you! Zelda, my Princess, my spirit maiden, my friend, alive!" The teen hugged her tightly, nearly drenching her bodice in tears. She smiled and rubbed his head. The rest of the gang came over and cuddled with her, and soon Zelda was sniffling too.

"What's wrong? Why is everyone crying?" she asked. "You're making me sad, too."

"We thought you were dead. You've been gone from us for three months," Agahnim explained as he wiped off her cheek. "Edwin poisoned you with an apple. But you needn't worry about him now. You're safe, and no one will ever hunt you again."

Zelda's bewildered look spoke for her, so Ganondorf stood and pulled her up out of the cuddle pile. He kissed her passionately, wiping away her confusion. When they broke, she nuzzled into his neck while he caressed her shoulders.

"My apologies, Princess, but I have rather upsetting news for you..."

"He's dead, isn't he?" Zelda recognized Ganondorf's tone, and made the conclusion for herself. "When?"

"The day after you were poisoned."

She tried to mourn, but there were no tears. She had barely known the recent Edwin, after all he was a different person from the loving brother she grew up with. She had long since mourned the loss of that part of him, who seemed to die with her parents. She dwelled on the loss of the monarch for a moment, before the consequences hit her. "Does that mean I have to go back?"

"No!" everyone shouted in unison, spooking her. Ganondorf unhooked the circlet on the princess's head, before setting her down and kneeling before her.

"My Princess, no one knows of your survival. Even the boy who wanted you has chosen someone else and moved on. As far as the royal advisors know, I killed Edwin out of revenge for what was done to my kingdom."

"Your kingdom?"

"Yes. My people, the Gerudo, they were a race of female warriors and I their king. I had always desired to conquer Hyrule, but I put it behind me when I found something else to placate the sorrow." Gripping her hand, he placed the circlet in her palm. She glanced at it, and recognized it as matching the charm he used to cover his forehead scar. "You are free to go wherever you wish. If you want to return to your castle, we will take you there. But it would mean the world if you would stay here with us. I don't have the right to ask, but... Zelda, stay with me. Be my wife."

The silence in the field was maddening as everyone waited for Zelda's response. She looked surprised, then pensive, and finally resolved. "...Are you sure you want to marry me? After all, I have six very needy children." She motioned to the group, who immediately cheered and swooned.

Ganondorf grinned and pulled her close, reaffixing the circlet and kissing her passionately. She giggled as he nipped at her ear, and turned bright red when he whispered words of love into her ear.

"What do you suppose he said to make her face so red?" Vaati pondered to the group as they watched the lovebirds embrace.

"Probably something intimate," Ghirahim replied. "Part of me hoped to be the one to marry her..."

"Whatt nonnsenssse..." Zant coughed into his sleeve.

"Zip it, Twili! But as I was saying, I'll see her every day, so I guess it doesn't matter which one of us she calls her husband."

"Ten minutes ago you considered her a friend and a sister, now you're talking like you two were lovers. If anything, you stuck to her like a rotten child to its mother," Yuga retorted, causing the two to return to their friendly bickering ways. The rest of the boys laughed at the return of the youth's vigor. The Skull Kid picked up his flute and played a celebratory song to go with the lively mood, and Agahnim said a few words to thank the Goddesses for answering their prayers. The new family then headed inside to escape the October chill.

Ganondorf held Zelda close as he recounted the days after her collapse. He told her of their visit to Lon Lon Ranch and Link's indiscretions, which made her pout and say some very strong words that shouldn't be in a princess's vocabulary. He also told her of the current leadership arrangement, and she decided the people at least deserved to be told the truth of Edwin's death.

"I guess then they'll want to know why you killed him," Zelda said as she twirled her fingers in Ganondorf's hair. "Maybe I should let people know I'm alive..."

"Then they'll demand you return to lead them," Ganondorf answered.

Zelda stared at the ground, before an idea came to her. "And I'll do it! So long as I can bring my priest, my wind mage, my artist, my usurper, my musician, my knight, and my king, that is." She jumped out of his lap and motioned around the room. "Why should the men who delivered Hyrule from a power hungry king be forced to sleep on straw and stone? You know how to run a kingdom, right? What do you think?"

"I think you're crazy," he replied with a playful grin, pulling her back to him. "Crazy, and brilliant."

A/N: Epilogue will be up momentarily!