The rest of Ganondorf's day was spent touring the Fortress. Though he had seen nearly every inch of his stone-made home, he had always left room for the possibility of discovering something new. Ever since he was a child, the fantasy of discovering some unknown passageway, or exploring a hidden cavern within the Fortress had been brandished in his mind. He would walk through the halls of the fortress, keeping a hand on the walls as he walked. He did this in the hopes of finding that one stone that would push into the wall, revealing some ancient,long forgotten corridor within his home.
Though now at the age of fifteen the flame of exploration had long since shrunk, he at least kept an ember alive. After Breakfast, Ganondorf aided the serving Gerudo with the bowls and cups, taking them from the tables, washing them in the large water basin, cleaning the tables, and other acts of culinary cleanliness. The seperate Gerudo schools took turns in various meanial duties. Each month, the chores would shift in rotation. One month, the Archers would serve food. The next, they would be in charge of cleaning the lavatories, while another school would handle the serving, and so on. While Ganondorf was exempt of this rule, being both a high ranking member of the tribe and not affiliated with any school, he took pride in aiding his people, believing these duties were never beneath him.
Once the chores were done, He bowed to his Sisters, who graciously returned the gesture, and left the kitchen. He made his way outside to the courtyard, where Jafora was busy training the children. Ganondorf watched them all, practicing the martial arts poses and strikes, switching between the forms at their Meister's call. Ganondorf folded his arms and chuckled as he watched them try, succeed, and fail. Their failures alone were not amusing to him, but he remembered how it was when he was that age. Back then, perfection was not expected, and it showed thought the actions of the children.
"Having fun there?" Jafora called out to the young prince, causing the children to turn around and jump at the sight of him. They seemed to be awe struck, rarely seeing him this close. When they did see him, it was usually after his morning exercises with Jafora, just as he was sent to other schools for training. Seeing him here, now, was almost overwhelming for them.
Ganondorf froze as he thought of a proper reply, but before he could say anything, he was swarmed by the children. Jafora stood up from the martial stance she had been in, and watched with a small smile as the tall young man was overtaken by a sea of little Sisters. His eye were wide as the girls pulled him down to their level and began asking him all sorts of questions. Finally, Jafora came over and shooed the girls away from Ganondorf. She tilted her head to the side as she watched him crouch there, eyes wide, breathing heavily.
"This may be the most terrified I have ever seen you" she stated, making the girls laugh. When Ganondorf regained his composure, he stood up to his full height, standing a little taller than his Meister. Th girls oohed and awe'd at him, as Jafora was the tallest Gerudo they had seen. "I... was not scared, Meister Jafora. Merely surprised" he said, hoping his words would instill respect back into Jafora's mind. Unfortunately for him, it did not. "Ah, I'm sure" she said in a sarcastic tone and looking to her girls, who chuckled amongst themselves. Ganondorf knew any other rebuttal would be simply shrugged off, so he did not press on. He had been defeated, by kids no less. He was willing to let it rest.
"So, girls. This old hag teaching you well?" he asked the children, attmepting to shift the focus of the girls from himself. They all nodded, "yes, King Ganondorf" they replied, almost in unison. Ganondorf smirked at his Meister, who had shifted her stance so her weight was on one leg. Her left hand rested on her hip, while her right dangled down. Her eyebrows were raised as she looked at her student. "Old hag, am I?" She asked. "Well, just look at yourself" he said gesturing at her, while turning his attention to the kids. "In just a year or two, she won't look any different than old Magaru!" he said holding his small smirk.
The girls laughed out loud, but went silent as Jaforas gaze moved over them. Her amber eyes slid back up from the children to Ganondorf. "Well, this 'old hag' can still beat you down, oh great King" she remarked. A challenge had been called. The girls gasped and retreated far from the two Gerudo, giving them a fighting circle. Though Ganondorf was a little surprised to find seriousness behind Jafora's eyes, he did not back down from the call. "We shall see" he said, readying his body for the duel.
Ganondorf took his neutral Leever stance, placing a flat hand on his lower back, while holding out the other, inviting Jafora to make the first move. "Children" she called out, keeping her focus on her opponent. " What stance is that?" she asked. Several of the girls yelled out the correct answer, while the rest of them remained silent. While fight among the young children were encouraged, a battle between two older Gerudo was rarely witnessed.
Jafora took no stance, but began moving toward Ganondorf. Cautious and unnerved by this, Ganondorf staggered back a step, his stance wavering. Jafora took another step closer, her smooth posture was similar to seduction. The prince took another step back, and was done waiting. She was obviously toying with him, and he would not have it.
His stance shifted suddenly from Leever to Serpent, bringing both hands in front of his body. With a growl, the prince lunged at the woman, fire burning in his eyes. She was little more than a few feet away from him before his attack, but that gave Jafora plenty of time to react. Her body rotated, pulling her right shoulder back, dodging Ganondorf by mere centimeters.
Realizing that he Overshot his target, Ganondorf slammed his foot hard onto the ground, denting the solid stone. His final halt, however, was not caused by him. His eyes shut tight and he cringed as he felt the sting of a hundred bright red hairs being pulled on the top his head. Jafora had him in her grasp, standing still in her casual pose. Her tanned, tone arm was oustretched, holding the large young man in place.
Without any sound of stress or struggle, Jafora yanked Ganondorf backwards by his hair. Her body shifted to a crouching position as she pulled him down quickly. The girls gasped as Ganondorf's head slammed into the ground with a loud "smack". The young prince spat out from the pain of the swift attack and laid motionless for a moment. Jafora looked over her paralyzed foe, making sure she did not injure him too much. When she decided he was fine, She let go of his head and flipped up in the air backwards, giving space between the two.
Enraged by this simple yet effective attack, Ganondorf's legs shot up in the air and twirled like the blades of a windmill, building up the speed and force he needed to hurl his body up from the ground, back into a fighting position. Jafora grinned at him, pleased he did not concede so easily. Anger still building up within him, Ganondorf charged again, this time with closed fists.
Gerudo, especially those that carried more upper body muscle, only fought with clenched fists when they meant to deliver serious damage. Yet no matter how many punched he threw, or how fast he was, Jafora always seemed to dodge him. Even more frustrating to the young prince, Jafora seemed to do so effortlessly. It was as though he was attacking the wind. That wind fought back, however, the moment she got a hold of Ganondorf's wrist as he punched once more in vain.
Though his muscles were more pronounced than hers, Ganondorf could not pry his arm from her grasp. His red amber eyes flashed to his Meister, who returned his glare with cold conviction. His eyes widened as he knew, she had him. With a swift jerk, Jafora pulled Ganondorf towards her. His breath was knocked out of him, as Jafora slammed her knee into his gut. With that final blow, Jafora let Ganondorf's wrist go, making him topple to the ground, defeated.
"Girls" she said, staring down at the beaten prince. "Never let any man think he is better than you". The children nodded, staring in awe at the results of the fight. All Ganondorf could do was exhale quietly, shocked both by his defeat, and the pain surging through his body. Jafora crouched down over him, speaking softly, so only he could hear.
"Next time you feel like fighting me, better make sure no one else is around. We wouldn't want word getting out that the King of the Gerudo was defeated by an old hag" she said. Ganondorf could make no reply, so he just eyed his Meister. "Also, control that anger. Your reckless when you let it out. Don't disappoint me like that again". With that, she pried him from the ground and sent him off to the healing ward, before continuing with the children's training session.