Chapter 11: What Home Is
Ganondorf shifted slightly in the saddle as they passed into the Kokiri village. It was being around children that disturbed Ganondorf, the fact that no matter how old these people are, some were rumoured to be even older then Ganondorf, they still held onto this incredible innocence. Not the innocence that stops you from doing bad things, but the innocence that seems to make someone committed. They never left their home. That was what made Ganondorf uneasy. And they never grew. Never truly changed.
But despite this, Ganondorf still strided as confidently as ever through the area. All the Kokiri stared at him, and partly at the horse. Something told him that not many large animals make their way into the Kokiri Forest, and this one was as terrifying as they come. And then it stopped, quietly, in its tracks. Ganondorf looked down past the horse's head, and nodded. He solemnly and calmly got off his horse and walked slowly and daringly to the front of the horse, never taking his eyes off the Kokiri in front of him. The small figure tried not to tremble, but he didn't quite seem able to control his legs from shaking frantically. Even his fairy, which normally flew lofty above his head, now trembled and hid inside his hat. To Ganondorf, it was really quite pathetic, and in a not at all funny way.
"Do you have something to say to me, Kokiri?" He said, softly. He continued his passive glare at the being.
"I… I am…" It began to spit, in-between his teeth chattering. "I am… The head of the Kokiri!" He quickly squeaked, like a mouse facing off a cat. "My name is Mido, and I want to know why you're here!"
Ganondorf looked down at him. Mido felt the world get colder and colder with each passing moment, and then felt the environment reach sub zero. And all Ganondorf had to do was chuckle beneath his breath.
"There are few who can talk to me in such a fashion, Kokiri." Mido felt the eyes penetrating his skin, like some kind of invisible sword. He had never felt so weak before.
Ganondorf took a single step forward. Mido felt his legs crumble into a pointless mess beneath him, but remained standing. "I wish to know… About a boy."
Several of the Kokiris that were able to hear him let out gasps. They all knew only one boy had left the village. What they didn't know was where he was.
Mido stared at Ganondorf, with the type of shock that is evident in a rabbit looking into headlights, then shook his head and looked down at the ground. "We.. Don't know anything about him." Mido paid his fullest attention to the ground. It appeared evident to Ganondorf that he was avoiding the gaze of a very certain Kokiri.
Ganondorf crouched down next to the small cowering figure. Despite Mido not looking at Ganondorf, he could still feel his eyes. "I know he came from here, Kokiri. He was wearing your type of tunic. He even had a fairy. Why was he outside of your village?"
Mido looked up at Ganondorf, with a rage created out of terror in his eyes. "Because he was banished from here!" For the first time in quite a while, someone had yelled to Ganondorf's face. Mido suddenly seemed slightly taller to Ganondorf, but Mido continued to view Ganondorf as a type of living fortress. And the Kokiri had never seen, let alone built a fortress before.
Ganondorf slightly withdrew a single finger, and carefully tucked it under Mido's chin. Mido was forced to look into Ganondorf's eyes. He felt his knees finally collapse beneath him, but his body did not crouch.
"I told you, few speak to me in such a matter, but none, no Hyrulian, no Goron, no Zora, has dared to yell at me. Except for you, Kokiri. So that is why…" Ganondorf's cape rushed around his shoulders, as he stood up at full height, holding Mido above his head in a harsh grip. "I will not kill you."
Ganondorf stood before, what could only be described as, himself, completely dumbfounded. He saw that only less then a minute ago, that this figure was dead, or at least not in a state of living. And now it wasn't.
It, or he, was looking frantically around the room, as if it hadn't seen it before. Then it occurred to Ganondorf that it probably hadn't. If it appeared to be dead before, how would it know about this room? How would it know anything? But then again, it did just speak, and in a tone that Ganondorf knew he didn't adopt.
It put its hand on a table and regained some balance it seemed to have lost. Remaln still stood with his back to it, but his face was partially turned at it. His hat, which he'd adopted before coming into the desert and never seemed to take off, hid most of his face, and his hair which had grown far longer since arriving in the desert blocked out the back of his head.
"Why am I here?" He said. He looked at one of his hands, and clenched it open and closed, like he was exploring using it for the first time.
Ganondorf approached him, like a mouse coming towards a mousetrap that lacked cheese. He reached out and put a hand on his shoulder, and then the Ganon shrugged his shoulders viciously and pushed his hand away. "Answer me! Why have I been summoned?!" It shouted, in tones that Ganondorf rarely found himself exploring.
Ganondorf was lost for words. 'Summoned'? He had been summoned? Like the warriors of old that Troto had spoke about, being called to their final fight? But… Perhaps it had a different meaning.
Remaln turned to face it. He walked up to it, and grabbed its chin and held up its face. It grabbed Remalns hand, drew it down to his waist and twisted it around. Ganondorf swore he heard a crack.
Its gripped slowly yet, somehow hastily released its grip once it saw that Remaln's curious expression did not change.
"Ganondorf," he said, in sombre yet commanding tones, and even released his glare on the clone "Tell this creature how you brought it here."
Ganondorf looked at it, and then turned his face slightly to the ground. "It was… An accident…"
The other Ganon looked at him questionably. "You… Did…" It muttered, then grabbed Ganondorf around the throat. Ganondorf noticed that he actually felt nothing. No pressure, no tightening, nothing. "You brought me here by accident?!" It said, with tones of both horror and anger.
Ganondorf nodded wearily. It was the truth. He knew it was. Ganondorf gingerly held its wrist in his hand, and it willingly came down. There was absolutely no resistance. He looked in its eyes, and saw what could be called the biggest pool of doubt and hopelessness he had ever seen.
"Ganondorf," Said Remaln. "Do you know of a remote shelter in this desert?"
Ganondorf lowered his gaze, and turned to Remaln. He did know of one.
It was only fifteen minutes later when Remaln and Ganondorf walked out of the fortress. They had managed to carry a rather heavy and cumbersome wooden box, taken from the storage room, just a few doors down from the watchtower. They tried to hold it steady, although every now and again it would bump into a wall, and make noises that most Gerudo wouldn't think of muttering, unless completely and utterly alone. Most of the passing women managed to ignore this, although some of the younger girls, who tended to pay a particular and embarrassing attention to Ganondorf and Remaln, merely because they were somehow different, but really none of the mothers quite felt like saying how just yet, were getting dangerously curious of the contents of the box. Remaln would generally scowl at them if they glanced at him, and this made some of them depart from the interest of the box.
As they reached the complex stairs, which lead to the outside, a familiar face popped around the corner.
"Ganondorf!" Said Nurse Wayamad, with the expression that explained if you were to make a joke, it would be your last words. "Where have you been all morning!" It wasn't a question, because blatantly, she didn't expect or leave time for an answer. "Marget has been looking all over for you, and Nabooru is about to wake up and-" She stopped suddenly, and looked at Remaln. "Oh, hello Remaln." She said, in the tones that a busy businessman may address a housewife. She then directed her attention to the box, which was currently pressing down on Ganondorf and Remaln's fingers, as it began to slip out of grip. "What's this? What've you got in there?"
Before Ganondorf could open his mouth, Remaln said "Training supplies. Ganondorf and I have to go to study certain matters." Ganondorf looked quickly to his face, and it was beginning to show signs of strain. His fingers tried to wrap around the corners of the box.
Wayamad looked at them both curiously, then walked up to the box. "Oh, really? And since when have either of you actually paid attention to studies?" She said, in the way a judge would express evidence before giving the death sentence. Wayamad was not a vicious woman by nature, but she was justifiably annoyed, after the events that happened on the bridge just a day ago, and she, being the deliverer of Ganondorf and best friend of his mother, made her feel somewhat safe at yelling at the Great Prince of the Gerudo. "Nabooru has been in her bed all morning and you haven't even visited her! Your mother is worried sick because she thinks you may have ran away and just what is so important in this box that gives you the right to ignore them!?" She screeched, and slammed her hands on the lid. And just that second of more weight was all it took for Ganondorf and Remaln to lose grip on the box.
It fell quickly, not in the way something precious tumbles down a cliff face, but in the manner of a cursed item falling into oblivion. It clambered against the ground and a noise came out from it, which very much sounded like a loud 'Ow', in a familiar voice. Luckily, it didn't open.
Wayamad glared at the box, and looked at Ganondorf. He was standing upright, staring nervously at the box. Remaln slapped his hand against his brow in annoyance.
"Did… Did that box just… Speak?" Wayamad said.
Ganondorf looked up at her. He heard it too. "Uh, no! That was, that was me!" He said. He picked up his foot and jumped up and down. "Ow, ow, see, it hurts?" He said, in an eager to please manner. Remaln would have jumped out of a window right then and there, if only one was large enough.
Wayamad looked at the foot Ganondorf was still holding up, hopping on the other one to keep balance, back at the box, which appeared very motionless. Remaln was rubbing his eyes with his thumb and forefinger, possibly to escape the embarrassing events surrounding him.
Wayamad just wrinkled her brow, looked at Ganondorf curiously, and walked away, muttering certain opinions about men which she normally wouldn't say in the company of Ganondorf or Remaln.
Ganondorf carefully put his foot back onto the ground, and Remaln opened up one eyeball, to inspect whether or not it was safe to come out. Ganondorf picked up one end of the box, and Remaln wordlessly accepted his, and they walked, carefully, outside of the fortress.
About a mile away from the Fortress, Ganondorf and Remaln set the box down and opened it. The figure from the watchtower emerged quickly, and rubbed its back. And then stared at the sky as he was facing that way. Then he nodded, in a sort a wary confidence, and then looked at Ganondorf. Its expression was not what you would call friendly.
"Follow us." Said Remaln, and he set off into the direction of the setting sun. Ganondorf followed next to Remaln, but the figure stayed several feet behind them, and faced its head to the ground.
Ganondorf leant next to Remaln. "What is it?" He asked, in the simple tones he had managed to master over the years.
Remaln merely stared in front of him. "I've never seen one myself. Nor have I known anyone who has managed to create one." His eyes became glazed and misty, as if he was losing himself in his mind. "Except you." His tones were of disgust, instead of admiration. But Ganondorf learned not to expect such things from Remaln. "They are called Phantoms, and are magical copies of the caster. It is said that they cannot die." He took a deep breath. It was as if he hated to say that. "But they lack the same soul and passion of the caster. Apparently they are sometimes the complete opposite of the creator. But they remain the exact mirror image."
Ganondorf looked back at the 'Phantom' Ganon. He was familiar, and that must be the reason. He WAS himself. He saw brief glimpses in the Oasis, but they had never managed to hold his interest long. Ganondorf did however see reflections of himself in the long metal organ pipes when he used to play it, but they appeared strange and distorted, so it had rarely occurred to him that it could be him. In fact, the only Gerudo he knew who owned mirrors were Reeta and Geta, and they tended to keep them hidden, under the influence that too much use could dull the reflection. Gerudos all knew that almost anything will wear out with age and use, so it hadn't occurred to Reeta and Geta yet that perhaps it was not the same to glass.
The only difference between the Phantom and Ganondorf was their clothes. The Phantom was wearing white, while Ganondorf black.
"What about our clothes?" Said Ganondorf.
Remaln paused, then responded. "It may have been a way for the creator's company to distinguish between him and the Phantom. Or perhaps it was to symbolise the opposite passions." He sounded confident, but somewhere inside him, Ganondorf knew, like all students under their teachers, he didn't have any idea of what he was talking about.
Ganondorf looked forward. On most days of the summer the winds would be dangerously high around this area of the desert, but today they seemed strangely calm. He couldn't even see the Poe, a ghost of which had been given the job of guiding people who could see him (and according to Troto, these people were few and far between) but Ganondorf swore that times when he was out here he saw something flying directionless in the sand being thrown into the sky by the winds.
He also couldn't help to notice that Remaln had kept his fists tightly clenched since they entered the desert.
On the horizon he could make out the outline of the temple where they were headed. It was about two miles in front of them, and was the tallest structure in the desert.
The Phantom behind them picked up some sand and ran it thoughtfully through its fingers. It was like it didn't know what anything it saw was, but took it in his stride, and never asked questions. And then it occurred to Ganondorf that it was the complete opposite of what he would do.
Once they reached the Temple doors, Ganondorf pushed them open painstakingly, and was followed by Remaln, who apparently didn't notice that Ganondorf was opening the doors, and the Phantom who went into the temple not breaking his pattern of movement. It did however notice the different sound his boots made on the stone. Ganondorf pushed the door closed, and Remaln released his grip. The winds exploded from all directions and threw sand into the sky.
The room inside was large, and headed off into two directions. A large rock blocked one to the east, and the other door inside the entrance was barely large enough for a child. This is as far as Ganondorf had ever been in the temple. Once all of Troto's class had gone to the temple. But only once. It was partly because the sands surround the path to it for most of the year except in spring, where the winds temporarily die down, but also because it was sacred. Most Gerudo never stepped into it twice. This place had wide historical importance, and was a sign of the Gerudo way of life. It even was supposed to hold something of great power that helped the leader of the first Gerudo women. And when Troto told them this, Ganondorf could see that she knew more then was willing to tell. On the stone there was an engraving of three triangles, which Remaln kept his head from facing.
Triforce…
"So is this where you had in mind, Ganondorf?" Said Remaln, slowly inspecting the room from his standing point.
Ganondorf nodded. "Hardly anybody comes here anymore, and it's got a small Oasis outside so he won't get too thirsty." Ganondorf seemed quite pleased at this. At this point in life he didn't think much deeper then two steps, and they usually contained of merely the larger essentials. His problem was he would miss small but essential details such as 'Avoid the Tiger'. Or even 'Tigers are here'.
"That won't be a problem." Said Remaln. The Phantom was currently sitting against the large stone in the way of the door elsewhere. "He's a magical being." Ganondorf's expression went plainly blank. Remaln ignored it and went on as if he intended to. "So he only needs a presence of magic to survive. He does not need food or water, he doesn't have the same needs, nor desires, as a normal person. As long as he has magic, he won't die, and Hyrule has the most magic of anywhere in the world." Remaln then turned to the door. "Are you coming Ganondorf?"
Ganondorf looked back at the figure. It was still leaning against the stone, with his head facing down between his legs. It was a pose of pure depression. "We're just going to leave him here? Without telling him anything?"
Remaln didn't turn, or even slightly shift. He never did. "I told you he doesn't feel the same way. He doesn't care." And Remaln opened the doors and left. The Ganondorf saw the sand fall immediately from the air as soon as he stepped out.
Ganondorf turned back to the crouching figure. It didn't care? Then why did it look like its world had fallen down around him? Ganondorf looked back to the door, and glanced down for a minute. You cannot leave someone alone without a word. No matter how it came into the world.
He walked over to it. Him, that is. He sat down next to him, but the Phantom didn't lift its head.
Ganondorf tried to find something to say. There didn't seem like much he could say, without somehow finding himself wishing he were in Remaln's position. "This is your home." He said. It seemed simple enough. He didn't respond. "You have the whole place to yourself." Still no response. "What do you think?"
He lifted his head. "I should not be here." His face was wrought with despair. "Go away and leave me. I do not deserve to exist." He lowered his head again. "I was an accident."
Ganondorf felt uncomfortable. Usually people did not try to make him feel bad. And then he thought, usually I don't try to make people feel bad. How can you talk to something that's supposed to be the complete opposite of you? "So you don't think you should be here because I didn't mean to create you?"
"All Phantoms have a purpose. I lack that purpose, so my existence is meaningless." His head seemed to sag from his skull. "Some are created as sacrifices, or a distraction. Some are intended to be worthless." He lifted up his head and looked Ganondorf in the eyes. His eyes burned with a type of coldness, in which both hopelessness and fear crept into. "But none have no meaning."
Ganondorf returned the stare, but in a lighter mood. "So neither do you." Ganondorf looked away from the Phantom's expression. "If I didn't give you a purpose before, then I'll make one for you. I don't know when, or how, but I will."
Ganondorf picked himself up, and began to walk towards the door. "I'll visit you occasionally. Maybe we can find your purpose together." The Phantom didn't lift his head, but it did give a small nodding impression. Ganondorf opened the doors, and the sunlight burned through. Remaln still stood outside, but was facing the opposite direction from the door, waiting for Ganondorf to follow. Ganondorf stepped out, and closed the doors behind him.
The Phantom then picked himself up and began to study the walls, and hear what sound his boots made on them.
Ganondorf walked back with Remaln. Remaln remained silent throughout the whole walk, but this was better to Ganondorf. It gave him a chance to think.
Ganondorf often found himself thinking to himself. He was the type of person who often agreed with himself, while some people are betrayed by their own thoughts. Ganondorf had a feeling that one of the betrayers was trying to rally followers, himself being one of them.
The Phantom said that he wasn't created with a purpose, so he was pointless. What Ganondorf's traitorous mind was thinking was 'Do I have a purpose?' And then Ganondorf realised that he did. He was meant to be the King of the Gerudo, to lead them to a new age.
But no, that was the purpose of the male Gerudo, born once every century… But not Ganondorf, that was what he was, not who. Did he have a purpose in himself? And if he didn't, was he pointless as well?
What was the point of it all?
And really, when Ganondorf thought hard about it, he realised how insignificant it was.
Ganondorf came back to the temple two days later. He had spent some time with Nabooru during the first day back, but she still couldn't walk properly yet. He also had to avoid Wayamad, as every time she saw Ganondorf she'd look at him curiously, and if Remaln was anywhere around him, for some reason she'd flash him a look which had the same effect as a snakebite. Marget wasn't happy with them either, after avoiding her for the previous day, and not giving an explanation. The last thing that Ganondorf or Remaln was going to say to Marget that he was learning how to control forces beyond which the normal human mind could handle. It'd probably get them both grounded, for a start.
Today Remaln was not going with Ganondorf. He'd apparently been called to a meeting with the teachers of the fortress. Gerudo politics works in a similar way to a normal democracy, but it was a shared responsibility between the teachers and nurses of the complex, as the Gerudo were large believers that their daughters were the future. And son, of course. It wasn't an iron fist rule, and the King had more influence over the decisions of the race, but during the century between the death of the old king and birth of the next they had to manage themselves, and in their opinion, they did a good job of it.
Ganondorf had read a book that Remaln had brought with him, in the small satchel that he brought with him, containing a few books, some Hyrulian water and a single change of clothes. It was pretty obvious that priests packed light. This book didn't have a cover on it, probably torn off at one point or another, but its first page presented, in a fancy style of Hyrulian script, proudly proclaiming 'Magic'. It explained in a way that Ganondorf could just make his head around after two nights of reading about the elements. They were apparently what made up the world, and they all seemed simple enough. They were all things that Ganondorf had seen before in life, Water, Wind (while Ganondorf would admit he hadn't actually seen wind, he knew it must be there, otherwise the sand was doing a very strange sort of jumping), Fire, Wood and Earth (he gathered that this was the strange type of ground he had seen while at the great Oasis, but he curious as to why one of them wasn't sand).
And magic was the control of them. It seemed strange to Ganondorf that for some reason somebody wanted to do have control over them. He'd always got on fine without having to force them to act as he wanted. But the fact that he wasn't currently being crushed from all sides by sand picked up by the winds did have its uses. And he also didn't understand the apparent 'Stress, strain and long lasting effects,' that magic was supposed to have on the caster, as the book instructed. He found that stopping the wind was very easy, because it didn't actually try to put up a fight, and all he had to do was intend for it to stay where it is, unlike the book which proclaimed the years of training and severe energy drain it was supposed it bring. It did bring him a headache after a while, but no real stress.
The temple was coming up much closer now. Amazing how near it actually was when you could see it. He could almost make it out from his room in the fortress even. He wondered what the Phantom would be doing…
As he came closer to the temple, he found himself looking up.
Remaln stood in front of the board of the Gerudo. Usually when a man is meeting with a foreign government or leaders, you expect a large half circle desk with all the users sitting on seats far too tall for them to take advantage of the head rest, and their faces shrouded in a darkness, but their hand gestures easily visible, and an un-named waiter coming past at random times to refill glasses of sherry.
In that respect, the Gerudo meeting room was something of a disappointment. It was two small wooden tables pushed together with several seats, which were usually used for children's classes, littered around them. Some of the women were standing up in the back of the room, and the youngest nurse, a woman named Peito, who had arrived back from Hyrule after her mother took her there as a child when she got married to a Hyrulian man, was sitting crossed legged in front of the table. It wasn't rare for women to come back after a few years in Hyrule, but they hardly ever talked about it once they got back. When you were in the desert, you were a Gerudo, and that's all there is.
Marget was also there. She wasn't officially a member of the board, as she stopped being a nurse after Ganondorf was born, but as the mother of the prince she was obliged to join in the affairs of the Gerudo. She was giving Remaln a concerning look, which made Remaln feel slightly uncomfortable, but compared to Wayamad, who since the incident with the box had not been on talking terms with Remaln, and was currently giving him cobra like stare, it was like sleeping in on Sundays.
The committee didn't have a head or leader. Everyone's opinion mattered as much as everyone else's, however people were more likely to listen if you had a higher position.
Remaln didn't shift however; despite the fact he had his suspicions of what the meeting may be for. He was prepared for them all to stare it him, innocently and waiting for him to ask what this is for. And he was ready to outwait the awkward silence that followed.
Wayamad leaned forward. "Do you know why you're here, Remaln?" she said, in cold speech.
"I have an idea, but if you can correct me." He said, returning the chilly manner, but in a disheartingly kind way.
Wayamad leaned back. It was no secret around the Fortress that Remaln and Wayamad didn't see eye to eye. Perhaps it was because he didn't have children over a religious matter, this being offensive to a professional midwife, or perhaps it was because she didn't respect the idea of priests in not having children, this being offensive to priests. All anyone could figure out it was something to do with children. "Well, as you should know that as soon as the girls that are on the Sending are back, the crowning ceremony for Ganondorf will take place." Wayamad studied Remaln's reaction. He hadn't changed at all in stance, although his eyes appeared even calmer than before. "This means, Remaln, that Ganondorf will officially be leader of the Gerudo, and will have utmost power over the decisions of the colony." Still, calm. "This will mean, Remaln, that we will have no further use for you. He will be, by your standards I believe, a man. So it would be best, we believe, if you went back to Hyrule."
Remaln nodded and then bowed to them, then straightened up. Wayamad now saw his eyes clearer. That wasn't just calm she saw. "I agree with you totally, Wayamad." There was something else. "I will indeed head back to Hyrule, the day after Ganondorf is crowned king." And now she knew what it was. "And I believe that Ganondorf should come with me." Confidence.
Wayamad stood up in her seat, and if her eyes were that before of a cobra's bite, now it was injecting the venom. "Are you mad Remaln?" She asked. She knew her opinion of the answer very well. "Take Ganondorf to Hyrule? Why? He doesn't need to be out there! He needs to remain within the Gerudo Fortress! He has no need for the world outside!"
Remaln looked back at her coldly. His stance didn't change. "Ganondorf appears to be the only one of the Gerudo who doesn't have to go to Hyrule." He took a step towards the table, in front of Wayamad. "Can you tell me what is the Gerudo's main export?"
Wayamad was still standing up, her eyes burning and her hair was ruffled from those few moments of stress. "The Gerudo do not need to export. We don't need anything from them, so we don't give them anything. That is the way of the Gerudo." She said, in calmer tones. She knew this.
Remaln took another step, and leaned on the table in front of Wayamad. Their eyelashes could almost have been beating against each other. "Wrong." He said. And that was all he needed to say. All of the Gerudo looked at Remaln in a burning manner, but no one was as furious as Wayamad. She blinked, in order to control her anger, but also out of confusion. "The main export of the Gerudo is women."
While nobody actually saw what happened within the next few moments, they could all picture it in their minds. Wayamad's hand slapped Remaln, and his hat flew to the other side of the room, but Remaln stood in the same stance, completely unaffected. Wayamad was not very strong, but she knew she could do more than that. Remaln quickly picked up Wayamad's hand and placed it back on the table. Wayamad's eyes were shaking now. She was afraid of him.
"Every year the Gerudo send off an amount of women to Hyrule. Hyrule gains women for company, you could say, and the Gerudo get back children. And then they have girls, only girls, except for one incident, and then the cycle continues. The babies grow to be women, and they come to Hyrule." Wayamad was shaking now. Her whole body had become uncontrollable. She sat back down in her seat, still staring at Remaln. Her eyes didn't want to look, but she feared what would happen if she was to loosen her gaze. "But Ganondorf could change all that." He said. "He could make it so the two countries could live with each other, instead of living on this futile dispute that's lasted so many years."
"No." Said Marget. She hadn't said anything this whole time, just standing in the back corner. But now she was the only one who could stare Remaln in the eyes without shaking. Remaln had lived under her roof ever since he came to the Fortress, and she knew more about him than any other Gerudo. "We have survived all these years without having to give Hyrule anything. They've just given us children, and we've done what we must for it. But it was our choice." She stepped towards the table. The women separated from their seats to let her through. She stood next to the shaking Wayamad and put a hand on her shoulder. "Ganondorf can lead us how he wishes, not how you should."
And then Remaln smirked. It was a small one, but you could make it out on his face, mocking everything that was Gerudo. He nodded, and walked to the other side of the room to pick up his hat. He delicately put it back on his head, and headed towards the door. With his back still turned, he said in cheery tones "If that is how you wish to survive." And left. The wooden door hit gently against the stone frame. Wayamad leaned down and cried into her hands. She knew, against all she believed, he was right.
Ganondorf was standing next to a huge pile of sand, just outside of the temple. It had to be at least forty feet high. There were some footprints still left in the sand. There was nothing strange about the pile, except for the fact that it was there. It had no writing, no designs, nothing. It was plain.
Ganondorf, still looking up at the pile, backed up onto the stairs, and opened the door. The Phantom was sitting solemnly in the corner.
Ganondorf walked up to it, and dropped the books on the ground. "Did you make that thing outside?" He said, pointing to the door.
The Phantom looked up and nodded. His expression didn't change from depressed.
Ganondorf didn't have to search for what to say. "That, that's amazing! How'd you do it?" He asked enthusiastically. Usually he wouldn't be this excited about sand, but under the circumstances, it was unlikely to see it there.
The Phantom looked into his hands, and then pushed them towards Ganondorf. "With these." There wasn't a hint of sarcasm in his voice. The gloves he had where almost worn through. His previously white clothes were now dimmed with the colour of sand.
Ganondorf didn't know what else to say. Maybe, considering Remaln said it didn't have the same emotions and needs as a human, maybe it didn't have the same drives. Maybe it couldn't distinguish what was fun and what was boring. Maybe it just found things as something to do.
Ganondorf picked up a book and presented it in front of the Phantom. On the front cover it read 'The Code of the Gerudo".
"This is a book I picked out for you. I think that if you know things about the world, then it'll be easier to find your purpose." And it was the truth. If purpose meant that much to the Phantom, then Ganondorf would find its purpose.
The Phantom slowly took it in his hands, then turned it upside down. And on its side. Then knocked on it.
He held it by a single cover and the book quickly flopped open, and made the Phantom jump. He looked down at it, then bended over and touched it. Ganondorf stood in front of him, wondering what the problem was. Then it occurred to him.
He hadn't seen a book before.
The Phantom picked it up, and looked at the pages inside the book. Then turned it around, and flipped to the start of the book. He looked at the symbols of the book, written in old Gerudo, and then nodded accordingly. He placed a finger on the page and spoke out loud.
"To… The… Followers… Of… The… Gerudo…" He said, spacing out the words. Old Gerudo is written much in the style of the Japanese Kanji, with each symbol representing a different word. It was a very difficult language, the only two people in the Fortress to master it were Refise, the old Gerudo teacher, and Nabooru. Ganondorf had never gotten close to mastering it. But the figure in front of him was reading it like a second language. And at every symbol he saw, he gave a small nod, as if remembering them as he saw them.
The Phantom leaned against the wall as he read the words, some of which Ganondorf didn't even know what they meant, but whenever the Phantom got to a strange word, he'd just pronounce it then nod accordingly. And while his expression didn't seem interested, it was paying attention. Doing nothing but paying attention.
A few hours passed. Ganondorf picked up one of the books and began reading. It was in Hyrulian, a simpler text to Ganondorf, because each word was composed of different symbols, allowing him to sound out the words. After an hour, the Phantom picked up a book with the same text, and was reading even faster then before. He seemed to know everything, but had just forgotten what it was.
Ganondorf looked around the room. It was still as it was the day before. The Phantom hadn't done anything about the interior of the place, but seemed more interested in its outside. Ganondorf picked himself up and headed towards the door.
"I'm going to go now." Said Ganondorf. The Phantom still paid attention to the book he was holding, 'The Rights and Trials of the Gerudo'. "I'll be back in maybe a day or two." He opened the door. "Read the books as much as you want." He said. It didn't seem needed, he knew the Phantom would. Or at least as much as he felt was right to read.
He lifted his head from the book. "What is home?" He said, just before Ganondorf took a step outside.
Ganondorf withdrew his leg that was heading outside the door, and turned. "Home is… Home is…" He stuttered. He realised he didn't know exactly what it meant. It was just one of those words you came across everyday when talking, and never really thought about. "Home, I suppose, is where you belong." This was suitable for Ganondorf. The more he thought about it, the righter it sounded.
The Phantom looked back down at the book. "So, this temple is where I belong?" He said.
Ganondorf looked up at the roof, in the manner of all people who had an idea what to say next, just not how to say it. "Yes." He said, and looked at the Phantom. "For as long as it's your home, you belong here."
The Phantom continued staring at its book. "For as long as it is…"
Ganondorf nodded, and headed outside, back to the Gerudo Fortress.
The Great King Ganondorf slammed the Kokiri's head against a wall. He turned into a limp bag. Ganondorf then thrust him harshly to the ground, where he tumbled over to the hands of the other Kokiris.
Ganondorf looked at the other Kokiri crowd around him, protect him, and look at Ganondorf in a terrified manner, and then slowly dragged his body away, into the hut in the near centre of the village. One of them, a tall girl with a true forest green head of hair, a characteristic unique to the Kokiri, quickly muttered something, which Ganondorf just made out. Then she ran into a hut not far away.
Natasusemo shook his mane, in an impatient manner. Ganondorf walked silently away from him. He knew where he had to head.
Reached the shallow water, and, unlike most, ignored it. He took a step on it, and didn't fall through. Ripples spread across the otherwise still water, and if you really took notice, you could make out the footprint in the water, which disappeared almost immediately. And then he reached the path leading down past the village, and into the court of its past leader. No water came off Ganondorf's boots.
The tree was as he expected it. Withered and dead, with the ancient eyes that once appeared with such wisdom gone forever. The Great Deku Tree, the grandest and oldest of all the trees within the lost woods, was dead at Ganondorf's hands. But still, something was wrong about it…
Still the small snakes of light, born from the tree, and shown only to the Kokiri and those who are gifted with magic can see were continuing to fly about its leaves. If the tree truly was dead, then why did it still give life? Ganondorf heard a slight rustling in the leaves above his head. A small item fell from the branches and landed innocently in front of his feet. A single acorn…
Ganondorf picked it up, and held it between his fingers. His fist began to close on it, but then something struck him. Something from deep inside his memory, and he had covered as to never live again. He looked at the seed, then crouched down. He scooped some earth into his hands, placed the seed inside, and covered it up. He patted the dirt down with his hands, and stood back up. A figure appeared behind him. It said nothing. It barely moved besides the cape blowing gently in the wind, just as Ganondorf's.
Ganondorf continued to look forward, at the tree. "I want you to watch over this place. Make sure none of the Kokiri manage to leave the forest." He remembered the words of the forest girl. "Especially to go to the Lost Woods. Watch over them from the forest temple." Ganondorf turned away from the tree, and walked past the Phantom without taking any notice of its presence. "That is your home now."
The figure nodded, and disappeared from sight. Ganondorf drew himself onto Natasusemo, and just as he did, he saw a small figure rush around the small town. Without paying heed, he left the Kokiri Forest, just as sound filled the air and the Deku plants filled the area.
The Phantom would know what to do. This was where it belonged now.
