Chapter 12: Alliance
Surrounded by soldiers, Ganondorf was led into another, smaller courtyard. He annoyed that he had gotten himself caught in a trap after working so hard to get himself freed, but he noted with satisfaction that none of the soldiers took their eyes off of him for a moment. If he was going to be executed, his captors would be afraid of him until the moment his head hit the floor, and even then they would treat him as a worthy opponent.
The elaborately armored man stopped at the far end of the courtyard. He turned to address the guards who surrounded Ganondorf.
"Release him," the man commanded. "You may leave us." The soldiers obeyed and left without question, although the bindings on Ganondorf's wrists were left on as a precaution. Behind him, the guards who were standing by the door also turned and followed the others out. The two of them were completely alone in the courtyard.
"You are one of the desert people, correct?"
Ganondorf remained silent. Nothing would be gained by answering the enemy's questions, and each question unanswered meant one more thing that the enemy wasn't aware of.
"Ah, the legendary silence of the Gerudo. Come now, what do you have to fear here?"
What indeed, Ganondorf thought. You have me disarmed and bound, but I could still kill you before you can get the guards to return. The only reason you're still alive right now is because anybody who does something as stupid as leaving themselves alone with a prisoner who has proven himself to be vary dangerous has to have a very good reason, or else they aren't a threat to me anyway. You'll tell me what your reason is no matter what I do, so until then you won't get anything from me.
"Are you thinking of killing me, Gerudo?" the man inquired. "According to the reports I have received from my soldiers, you are certainly capable of doing so. Of course, none of them are firsthand eyewitness accounts, but I think that the lack of direct witnesses speaks for your skill more than it takes away from the credibility of it. You certainly were very thorough when you were forced to kill, even though you did more running than fighting."
What, does this man read minds? Or is he smarter than he looks? Certainly he isn't too smart, or else he would have realized how pointless his last statement was. I haven't killed him yet because he may have something to say, but everything he says brings me one step closer to deciding that he has no worth. A captive always should know what it is that keeps him alive, and I know he won't kill me until he says what he wanted to say. On the other hand, he's just as much my captive as I am his, but it remains to be seen whether or not he realizes what will kill him and what will spare his life.
"The fighters of your tribe are certainly fierce, but it certainly raises the question of why you keep to yourself," the man continued. "Why you only send a small band of warriors once a year. Why you send only your women, and never the men. Fortunately, we have the answers to all of these questions, because there is only one answer. I assume that I don't have to tell you what it is."
Ganondorf decided to speak up. "What do you want?" he asked.
"You send your women because you don't have any men. In all of the years that your people and mine have fought each other in the spring, no male of your people has ever been seen. You survive only because you take them from our villages."
"Your point?"
"Why must there be conflict between our people? Join with us. Lend us the strength of your warriors, and we will send you our males. Together our people will become stronger than any of the other races."
"Why should we give our strength just so that we can gain by peace that which we already take by force?"
"This is true," the man conceded. "I've rarely heard any of your warriors falling in battle, although I suppose you bring their bodies back when you leave and wouldn't be inclined to tell us just how many of your troops fall. However, there is a more pressing concern. Have you ever seen a Goron?" He waited, clearly waiting for an answer that Ganondorf refused to give.
"No? Such a shame," he remarked as he went on. "They're wonderfully strong creatures… one wonders why your people don't use them to father your children, and gain their strength. What about the Zora? The Kokiri? Tell me, has there ever been a recorded case of a Gerudo who wasn't fathered by a Hylian?"
For the first time since entering the room, Ganondorf found that something he hadn't foreseen had occurred.
"Your silence gives me all of the answers I need, Gerudo. You need the Hylians if you want your race to continue. Unfortunately for you, there's a bit of a war going on at this time. We've managed to hold off the Gorons for this long, but nobody knows how many of them there are, and even a single Goron juggernaut can decimate an entire squad without breaking a sweat. Lend us your strength, Gerudo."
From a door in the side of the courtyard, a blonde-haired soldier entered.
"Lord Daphnes!" he called. The rest of his message was told quietly to the armored man, so Ganondorf had no chance to hear it.
"Is that so?" he heard the armored man respond. "Well then, I suppose we should go take charge of the situation." He turned to Ganondorf. "Have you come to a decision yet, Gerudo? Will your people consider my proposal?"
"My lord, the situation requires immediate attention," the soldier insisted. "The stalemate will not last much longer."
"Very well then, I suppose this matter will have to be postponed… although I would like for the Gerudo to accompany us."
The two of them followed the soldier through the corridors. Ganondorf knew that he should have been memorizing turns for a possible escape, but found himself unable to concentrate on anything other than the offer he had been given. No matter what reasons there might be against it, the Gerudo did need the Hylians to remain if they didn't want to die out, and that was enough to warrant serious consideration of the alliance.
On the other hand, the Hylians had no such need for the Gerudo. How easy would it be for them to betray their Gerudo allies when all tribes except the Hylians were worn out from fighting? For that matter, what would stop them from simply switching to an alliance with the Gorons or Zora? To the Hylians, it would remove the threat of the annual raids forever. It would be better to remain out of the war unless the Hylians were in danger of losing, when they would be forced to take action.
Suddenly, they were at their destination. It was another courtyard, this one containing a sort of amphitheater upon which dozens of soldiers were massed together. At the base of the amphitheater, surrounded with a stone wall to the back and rings of soldiers on the other side, there was Terai. The woman's sword was out and ready, with her face showing none of the weariness that had plagued her since she'd arrived back at the fortress. Instead, there was only a blank, emotionless expression that the woman adopted whenever she fought. She had ceased to think about the world around her, and would fight purely by reflex. The soldiers, made alert by the ease with which Ganondorf had cut through their forces when he had escaped earlier, were keeping a respectable distance between them and the Gerudo.
"My my, what an uncomfortable situation," Daphnes remarked to Ganondorf. "Naturally, she'll kill several of the soldiers, but there is no way that she can take out all of them. She's as good as dead, unless something were to happen."
"Are you trying to pressure me into accepting your alliance?" Ganondorf asked irritably. "This only shows your lack of knowledge of the Gerudo. If soldiers must die for the good of our tribe, than they will do so."
"Heavens no, I'm not trying to manipulate you. My soldiers shouldn't attack unless they are attacked first. Of course, there is a chance some may forget orders. We also can't guarantee what your person may or may not do. You, however, can give whatever orders you please. I would advise that you give whatever orders you want before the entire situation gets out of your control."
"Provided that I accept your deal, of course," Ganondorf remarked. "Otherwise, we are treated as enemies and make it no farther than this courtyard, unless it is to your gallows."
"You know nothing of us Hylians," Daphnes informed him. "If you so choose, we will allow you to remain neutral in this war. You will both be allowed to leave without interference. We'll even overlook the fact that you killed so many of our men, since it was us that attacked your people in the first place. You are only an enemy if you declare yourself to be, and she is only an enemy if she attacks us. The choice is entirely up to you."
Out on the other side of the courtyard, the soldiers were oblivious to the conversation going on between Ganondorf and Daphnes. Terai raised her sword as she prepared to charge into the mass of soldiers. The soldiers saw her movement and likewise made their own adjustments, shifting their shields to provide them with more protection from attack.
"Terai!" Over the slight noise of the soldiers' armor and weapons, Ganondorf's voice carried clearly. "Terai, come here." The soldiers shuffled about in confusion for a few seconds, but quickly cleared a path as Terai strode directly through them toward Ganondorf and Daphnes. She came to Ganondorf's side and stopped.
"I am Ganondorf, ruler of the Gerudo people by the will of the great desert-spirit," he announced. "It is my decision and decree that from this day forth, the soldiers of the Gerudo shall cease all combat with the people of Hylian race, and that our two races should ally together for the duration of the current war."