After a day of napping, lounging, and doing silly things to Daddy's hair, Mina headed out with Sheik to enjoy the Forest presentation of the conference. That left Zelda and Ganondorf some alone time to discuss their plan for the rest of the week.

"If we are going to expose the castle bureaucracy for what it has become, it might be best to do so while we have our allies here to support us," Zelda suggested, beginning the conversation. "I hate to move so soon, but we may have no other choice."

"No, we should be alright," Ganondorf wagered. "As of right now we have Darbin and his kin, Aveil and her guard, myself, the hero, and Impa to fight on your behalf. Even if we fail to persuade Ignatius to give us the support of the Zora, that is more than enough to take down any Hylian knights that may have switched to Kanalet's side."

Zelda processed his words for a moment, confused. "So what do you propose we do? Announce that everyone in the higher government is a traitor and just see how they react? I don't see how that will help."

"It's a surprise attack," he explained. "They're not prepared to retaliate, so they'll have to accept it. Then, by the time they raise up their army and return, we'll have fortified our defenses and gathered the rest of our allies. Besides, Kanalet is only about the size of the Gerudo Desert and the forest combined. Hardly a threat to the awesome power of Hyrule."

"Alright," Zelda conceded. "How do we do this?"

Ganondorf scratched his chin for a moment. "Hmm... what did you have planned for the Nation of Light's exhibition?"

"Mina was going to debut her rendition of 'Ballad of the Wind Fish' on the ocarina. She's been practicing very hard and I intended to reward her by letting her play on the Ocarina of Time. I will be accompanying on the lyre."

"That's very pretty... How about a wedding ceremony afterwards?"

Zelda nearly dropped the tea cup in her hands. "A wedding? Are you talking about us?"

"Yeah," he answered. "What better way to announce our plan than to summarily stomp theirs in the face? They want you to seem worn out enough to take a husband, so take one. Let them threaten their coup, which you can then counter with the allies you've gathered."

"I... I don't know if I'm ready to go that far," Zelda admitted. "I mean, we are still married. But you hurt me, especially when you didn't come back. I thought it was just going to be a normal fight, that you left to cool down and would return in due time to reconcile. But eight years? You didn't even write! You missed our daughter's beginnings!"

"I know, and I have no excuse for my behavior. The bravado I expressed when I arrived failed to reflect how much of a burden you've faced over the years. Whatever I can do to make it up to you, I'll do. You're my queen, Zelda, and you always have been."

Zelda listened carefully to Ganondorf's confession. She calmly sat her tea cup down, and then without warning slapped him square in the face. Once he was finished rubbing out the sting, she came over and sat down in his lap. "Don't you leave me again," she warned, leaning her head on his shoulder.

"I swear on the Goddess of the Sand, I won't do anything so stupid again," he promised, and wrapped his arms around her. "So, what's the standard procedure for these things? I remember the Hylian ceremony for first marriages, is there one for a second?"

"This wouldn't be a second marriage, it would be renewing of the vows," Zelda explained. "Hylian culture doesn't have a set ceremony for the practice, because most peasant marriages are common-law. Usually only the higher class can afford to celebrate their marriage at the beginning, let alone on down the line."

"Oh..." Ganondorf scratched his head. "Well, we need some kind of ceremony."

"...I could always coronate you King instead of King Consort," Zelda suggested.

"That might start a war," Ganondorf joked.

"Well, you know they would insist on making Richard a full king if I married him," she retorted. "Anyway, I think the requirements by law are that you furnish an heir, hold the consort position for ten years, and demonstrate concern for the good of Hyrule. You've clearly met all three. Plus you hold a piece of the Golden Power, same as I."

"No one ever said you weren't gifted with Wisdom," Ganondorf chuckled as he kissed Zelda's forehead. "Your plan is sound, and it offers a chance to expose their treasonous forgery. Of course, I will always defer to your word as Queen."

"Yes, you will," she said, leaning back against her husband and closing her eyes.

Zelda sat on the edge of her bed, working a dose of warming oil into a cloth. Once it was sufficiently saturated, she leaned over and began tenderly rubbing it into the skin.

"OUCH! Can't you be a little more gentle with that thing?" Ganondorf seethed as Zelda applied the salve to his bare back, sore after one too many losses against the Gorons. He winced and recoiled with every swirl of her cloth, even as Mina laid beside him and soothingly scratched his scalp.

"I'm barely touching you as it is, any less pressure and it wouldn't even have an effect," Zelda admonished. "You know, you didn't have to keep going. That first match was a loss, yes, but that was really your first time in the sport. You should have realized that they let you win the second match, and stopped there. Mina was satisfied. Weren't you, baby?"

"Yes, Mommy. Daddy did a great job playing sumo," she answered, continuing to scratch Ganondorf's head. "Daddy's so strong, he was just less experienced that's all."

"...As long as my girls are happy, any pain is incidental," Ganondorf said, squeezing Mina's hand and holding back another shout from Zelda's ministrations. Once Zelda had treated his entire back, he rolled over and pulled Mina under his arm. "Will Mommy be joining us?"

"Considering how it's my bed you commandeered, I suppose so," she answered with a sigh, and sat down at her vanity to prepare for bed. Once she was ready, she put out the lights and laid down beside Mina. "Lucky for you I still have this large bed you insisted on."

"You toss in your sleep, so a wide bed is best," he remarked, pulling the covers up and making sure Mina had her pillow and doll. "All the better to share, right Mina?"

"Imma Mommy Daddy sandwich," Mina mumbled through a yawn, then snuggled against Zelda's chest and closed her eyes. She was asleep within minutes.

"Quite the tired little girl," Ganondorf mused, stroking Mina's hair. "All that cheering she did at the sumo match wore her out."

"She wanted you to win," Zelda replied. "She's really excited that you've come into her life. Before, she used to shy away from the topic of her father. When she was about four or five, she asked me where her daddy was. I said you were gone, because I didn't know what else to tell her. I didn't know if you planned to come back, and I didn't know how you'd react if I wrote and told you there was a daughter here waiting for you. My first thought was that you'd hurt me-"

"I would never hurt you," Ganondorf interrupted, laying his hand on her shoulder.

"You have hurt me in the past, Ganon," she reminded him. "I lost four children before Mina, you can't fault me for being cautious. I told her you were gone, and she never asked me about you again. But she is a smart little girl, and eventually devoured every piece of literature about the Gerudo I had. She knew deep down that even though I loved you, it was hard for me to discuss you."

"That explains her secret trip to come find me," Ganondorf said with a chuckle, prompting Zelda to ask for an explanation. "Right before she asked me if I was her dad, she confessed that she planned to go to Gerudo Valley and ask every male that she came across if he was her father."

Zelda furrowed her brow. "There's no doubt in my mind considering you're the only man I've ever slept with, but that is definitely something a daughter of yours would do."

"That's exactly how I reacted," he said, pulling Zelda close and casting an enchantment over the door so the happy family wouldn't be disturbed. "Now, goodnight, my love."

"Goodnight, you big bed stealing oaf," she answered with a chuckle, and settled in for a good night's sleep.