A/N: This chapter takes place early in the story between "Escape" and "Baby Goats", and I'm going to say shortly after Link revealed her secret to Ilia, Rusl, and Colin. One of these days I'm going to fix the "Baby Goats" chapter so it's not a flashback mess...
A thundercloud crackled outside the open window of the bedroom currently occupied by hero of Hyrule, forcing the barely recovered girl to stumble out of bed and pull it closed. Link had been enjoying her sleep, as it was the one realm where Ganondorf could not intrude. She didn't have a problem with him, but rather his little rehabilitation regimen.
After pulling the window shut, Link stayed for a moment and stared out at the crowd down below in Castle Town, hurrying to find cover from the impending downpour. They looked so determined, so happy... Link turned to the vanity mirror up against the wall.
Sitting down in front of the glass, Link stared at her reflection. She looked so thin, so worn out. Her skin was pale, and thus any bruises she sported stood out as dark blooms against her pink flesh. One such bruise was peeking out from the collar of her nightgown, and as Link noticed it she quickly grabbed her collar and pulled it up, covering the mark and turning her head in shame as the memory of Ganondorf's advance came back to her.
Ganondorf was the source of most of her bruises, but he wasn't giving them to her in ways to which she was accustomed. Link knew what it was like to wrestle Gorons, chase bokoblins and bulblins on horseback, even to fall off the back of a dragon hundreds of feet in the air. These things hurt and they left bruises. But Ganondorf, he was strange. He would massage her shoulders, and while doing so lean in and suck on her earlobe. The next day, she'd be left rubbing a bruised ear, wondering why it didn't hurt despite the marking.
Maybe I'm the one who's strange, Link thought as she looked back up into the mirror. This is romance, right? I don't even know how to be a girl, let alone what real romance is. She looked around the vanity to see if there were any trinkets she could use to enhance her dull and boyish appearance, when she saw something glinting in one of the drawers. Pulling it out, she realized it was Princess Zelda's tiara from before she was made regent.
Link studied the tiara as she held it in her hands. It was beautiful silver, with the band made to look like vines winding out from a deep blue lapis lazuli gem. It was quite the contrast to the crown she wore as regent, which resembled a chain of golden leaves. Link turned the tiara a few times in her hands, before slowly placing it atop her own head.
"...Now that looks far better than it could have ever looked on Zelda."
Startled, Link nearly fell back from her chair as Ganondorf entered the room. He crossed swiftly and knelt down beside her, wrapping his arm around her shoulders and steadying her in her chair. As he looked at Link a warm smile came over his face, and he reached out and curled a finger in a loose strand of her hair.
"I shall have to have a circlet made for you in the green of Courage, for while that blue complements your eyes, we both know green is your color," Ganondorf purred as he ran his fingers along Link's cheek. "That tiara looks as if it always belonged upon your head."
Link cocked her head, unsure of his meaning. She never wore jewelry before, so while she thought it was pretty, it looked out of place to her. "I... don't understand."
Ganondorf chuckled, then grabbed his stool from the corner and sat behind Link as he gathered her hair into his hands. "You have beauty befitting the members of your royal family," he began, setting the tiara to the side and slowly brushing through Link's messy golden hair. "I've studied the Nohansens, they are known for their long ears, thin clear skin, and fair hair. This current Zelda is the first in a long while to have such dark locks. You on the other hand, have vivid golden hair, long pointed ears, and pink pale skin that dare I say mimics the goddess Hylia herself."
Finished with brushing, Ganondorf tied Link's hair into a small braid and gingerly replaced the tiara on her head. "What I meant earlier was that you are destined for more than just a life of sacrifice as the Hero of Light, Link. You deserve a life of luxury and rest, and dare I say it, you're the princess to my king."
Link's eyes widened as she stared at Ganondorf's reflection in the mirror. "Huh?"
"What I mean is that I want you to become the hope for your people, much like Zelda once was," he explained. "I am going to rehabilitate you into a wonderful and strong young woman, and teach you skills to make you even more formidable a warrior than you are now. You can then take what you have and use it to inspire the citizens."
"...Why?"
"Why?" The king smirked, and leaned closer. "Is it not obvious?"
Link bit her bottom lip in discouragement, and bowed her head. He could have anyone he wanted, and yet he fancied the scrambled up farmhand who lost spectacularly to him in battle. He literally wiped the throne room floor with her when they were in their beast forms, and now he wants her to be like a princess.
"...Maybe I need to show you." Ganondorf removed his circlet and touched their foreheads together, massaging behind Link's ears to ease her anxiety. She closed her eyes, and as she did so, he leaned in and pressed feather light kisses to her cheek. After he finished, Link laid her head on his shoulder in a daze.
The Gerudo king smiled at the action, as it left a clear view of the dark bruise peeking out from her collar. He scooped Link from her chair onto his lap, then turned his head and pressed a kiss to the dark bloom on her neck. "Do you understand what this is, Link?"
"...Bruise," she mumbled, hoping to hide that she really didn't understand the mark.
"No, not exactly. It's a love bite, something that lovers give to one another as a physical reminder of the way they feel. When I did this to you, it was during the heat of passion, so it turned out rather large. Have you noticed the others I've given you? They disappear quite quickly, as they aren't as intense. But the feeling is still there, no matter the size. These bruises are not the same as those you receive in battle, so you need not be ashamed of them. These mean that someone loves you, enough to let others know they can't have you."
Link curled against Ganondorf, rather confused. He was marking her so no one else would take her away from him? But who else would even want her, after all her failures?
"Hey." Link looked back up at Ganondorf, who was raising his eyebrow. "I know that pout. You're disappearing into your rotten pumpkinhead again, digging up all that I've been trying to bury, aren't you?" He bonked on her pate, the surprised grimace she returned making him chuckle. "Remember what I've been teaching you. It doesn't matter that you were raised as a boy, or that you lost to me in battle. You are a worthy person, and people need to respect that. You are not a failure, you are a hero. And you are beautiful."
"Huh?" Link started to question Ganondorf's admission, when he suddenly clamped down on the opposite side of her neck. He was a little more gentle this time, but his actions caught her so off guard that she actually moaned and dug her hands into his hair.
"Your heart is racing," Ganondorf murmured as he finished, pressing a kiss to Link's pulse point before detaching her hands from his head and leaning back. "Do not worry, we shall proceed no further today. I can tell you have a lot on your mind to absorb, and love is not something to rush along. Take as much time as you need, for you are certainly worth waiting for."
Link remained silent as Ganondorf helped her back into her chair, though she did crack a smile as he kissed her hand farewell. "I'll have your lunch sent up for you, you may use the day for rest."
After he departed, Link turned back to the mirror. The reflection staring back at her was still pale and thin, but perhaps there really was a respectable young woman hidden beneath all that misery and self doubt...
Her spirit lifted, Link ran over to the wardrobe and grabbed one of the dresses that Ganondorf had given her as part of her rehabilitation. She emerged from the bathroom just as Aveil arrived with her meal.
Aveil saw Link in the raspberry dress and smiled. "Oh, you look wonderful in that outfit, Miss Link. It makes your hair stand out."
"Um..." Link pointed at the lunch tray and mumbled, "do you think... um... he... together?"
The Gerudo tilted her head for a moment, before suddenly understanding. "He would be honored," she answered with a smile, and led Link toward the King's Study.
Link hurried along, eager to give this 'respectable young woman' thing a try. She had a tough critic, but if he believed in her, then she had nothing to lose by believing in herself.
A/N: You may remember a line in the original story, where Link said that Ganondorf had never kissed her before "the big one". Technically that is still true, he didn't kiss her on the lips. :p I will eventually move this chapter to its proper place in the story, but for now it's the last chapter just because it's the most recently written.
I've also been working on another female Link story, this time in the Ocarina of Time universe. Except that story will be about Link and Sheik, and what happens when two dorks fall in love, goof around, and forget what happens when you goof around... :x