Zelda was vaguely aware of an annoyed Sheikah hovering over her as she woke, but discovered the reason why when she opened her eyes and found a large brown chest filling her vision. She was equally surprised to find herself entwined in an embrace with the owner of said chest, with Mina sprawled out to the side as though she had just gleefully rolled away in her sleep (and taken all the blankets with her).
"Looks like somebody had an exciting night," Impa said with a hint of annoyance in her voice. "He's not taking advantage of you, I hope? Because if he is..."
"No, Impa, nothing of the sort," Zelda said with a yawn, embarrassed to be caught with her arms around Ganondorf. "I was helping him recover from the sumo match. He just stole my bed after, that's all."
"Uh huh. That's why he enchanted the door and forced me to slip in through the shadows," Impa snorted.
By this time Ganondorf started to stir, and the first thing he did was roll over atop Zelda and give her a big kiss, which she melted into immediately. Once Impa realized he was doing it to show off, she ignored him and left to prepare Zelda's bath.
"Mmm, what was that for?" Zelda asked when he finally released her lips.
"I need an excuse to kiss my wife good morning?" he cheekily asked, before flopping back down on the bed. "Ugh."
"Is your back in pain?" Zelda asked, rising and repositioning Mina so she wouldn't fall off. "You will probably have to rest all day. I thought this might be the case, given how sore you were last night. Since you're already here, you might as well just stay in bed."
"Will you be staying in bed with me? Think of all the rekindling we could accomplish..."
Ganondorf was abruptly silenced as Impa returned from the bathroom and dropped a pile of linens on top of his head. "The queen has a full schedule today, including a VERY IMPORTANT meeting with King Ignatius and Queen Rutela before the Zoran Water Ballet. There will be no time to fool around. You're welcome to play with the princess until the ballet starts, but she is also expected to attend. Your absence is more easily explained."
"I really should go with you for that," Ganondorf said, grumbling at Impa's sense of humor. "Ignatius is a stuck up dick who took your father's side back when we were getting married. Who's to say he won't give you trouble now?"
"I'm not asking him to approve our marriage, I'm asking him to stand up for Hyrule," Zelda grumbled. "Whether he likes it or not, I'm married to you and we have a baby together. The purpose of the meeting is to ask for his support in eliminating the corrupt from castle government. If he honors his commitment to peace in Hyrule, he'll support us."
"The servants have been instructed not to enter Her Majesty's chambers, so you are free to rest in here for the day," Impa explained to Ganondorf as Zelda took her bath. "Soldiers who answer only to me guard the outer door, and they allow only myself, Sheik, Mina, and Her Majesty to pass. You've been bypassing the system anyway by just warping wherever you want, but keep this in mind. The castle still doesn't know you've reconciled."
"Yeah, yeah," Ganondorf grumbled, and snuggled up to the snoozing Mina.
Zelda donned her finest formal wear and sat in her office, awaiting the king and queen of the Zora. Impa was there for moral support, but Zelda couldn't help being nervous. After all, Ignatius was one of her father's closest confidants and if anyone held stock with the old bureaucracy of Hyrule, it was him. Convincing him to lend support to a radical change in leadership was an uphill battle.
The guards alerted Impa of the Zoras' arrival, so Zelda stood and straightened her attire. "King Ignatius, Queen Rutela, thank you for seeing me. Please, make yourselves comfortable. I have chairs here, or if you would prefer, the couch..."
Queen Rutela curtsied, then took Zelda's hands. "Zelda, it is so nice to have a chat with you. Isn't it, dear?" Rutela looked to her husband, who grunted and made a direct line for the couch. She sighed, before turning back to Zelda. "Please excuse him, he is a little tired after preparations for the ballet."
"What did you want to discuss, Zelda?" Ignatius asked, once planted on the cushions.
Zelda nodded in Impa's direction, before pulling a chair around. "Right. King Ignatius, Queen Rutela, I wanted to discuss a matter of utmost importance to the safety and security of Hyrule. It has come to my attention that the ruling body of our kingdom is slowly being infected by traitors."
Rutela gasped. "Traitors? How so?"
"The short of it is that they wish to undermine my authority and capability as leader," Zelda explained. "For several months, these traitors have been mounting a campaign to make me appear weak and incapable of leading on my own. In addition, and I am sharing this with you two in confidence, through forgery they have attempted to remove my daughter from her legitimate place along the line of succession."
"What would they gain from that?" Rutela asked.
"These threads all lead to one inevitable intersection- they're setting me up to take a husband of their choosing, who will then produce heirs they believe to be legitimate," Zelda answered. "They wish to take over control of Hyrule, in a manner that spares war but makes me look insane and makes my innocent daughter into a castoff bastard. This makes a mockery of our rules of law. I am telling this to you because as our allies, I would hope for your support in eliminating these traitors from the bureaucracy."
Rutela made to speak, but Ignatius interrupted her by raising his hand. "...What would be so bad about taking a husband?"
Zelda was caught off guard. "I beg your pardon?"
"You're clearly tired all the time from the stress of ruling a kingdom and raising a daughter on your own," he said. "Maybe you should get a man to help you out. Someone from your allies might be best... How about Richard of Kanalet? He'd be much more of a husband to you than that other waste you married."
Before she realized what she had done, Zelda stood from her chair and angrily threw it back behind her. "Richard? You want me to marry Richard? Marry the cowardly louse that started this whole thing? Marry the man who got his spies to forge a divorce certificate between me and Ganondorf while I was six months pregnant? Marry the self centered son of a bitch that told me I was tarnished because after five tries I finally had a baby with the love of my life? Marry the asshole whose underling caused a seven year old to scrub her arm raw with a wire brush because he called her a 'sand rat' with brown skin? No. I have a husband. My husband may have his flaws but he loves me. He doesn't go behind my back to take my kingdom from me. He doesn't call me crazy because I might have a down day here or there. He fights for his allies. He fights for his family. He loves us. He's not a waste!"
Impa quickly came over and held Zelda back. "Your Majesty..."
"Your Majesty, please forgive my husband's utter stupidity and rudeness," Rutela said, standing and giving Ignatius a stern glare. "He does not know what he's talking about."
"Rutela!"
"QUIET!" Rutela snapped at Ignatius' outburst, startling Zelda and Impa. "Do you forget that my mother Ruto is the reason you are king? Silence yourself before I decide to divorce you!" Turning back to Zelda, she bowed her head. "I did not know my husband would upset you so. If you need the support of my people in getting rid of these traitors, you and Ganondorf will have it."
"Do you know if Kanalet has approached your people for support?" Impa asked.
"Answer her," Rutela ordered.
Ignatius grumbled. "...I had a trade meeting with some Kanalet advisors a few months back. They didn't say anything concrete at the time, but they did say that if I had the chance, I should pass along to the queen that Richard was available."
"Hmm. I will recommend that Ganondorf send a battalion of Gerudo to the Zora lands for support," Impa suggested to Zelda. "Zora's Domain is the closest to Kanalet, and they could use support should our efforts this week cause retaliation."
"We will accept your aid," Rutela said with a smile. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to have some stern words with my husband before the ballet begins." Rutela dragged Ignatius out of the office, leaving Zelda and Impa to sigh in relief.
"That was way too intense," Zelda said, crumbling into her desk chair.
"Yeah, but know we know one thing," Impa said with a grin.
"What's that?"
"The reason why Ignatius never wears pants."
Zelda groaned at Impa's joke. "You're as bad as Ganondorf."