Oof. I made y'all wait a long time for an update and I am so, so, so sorry! Life and work got in the way and I slowly lost motivation for this story, but my motivation is back and I have a small vacation coming up! Hopefully I can crank out a few chapters and get this story going strong again!
~With Love, Chika!
Tanned fingers gently worked the thick oil into the freshly cut hair, working out any tangles in the short, shoulder length brown locks. Amber eyes finally looked up, meeting deep green ones through the mirror. "Mora-"
"It's been a year and a half, Najida. My birthday and coronation are in," Mora glanced at the tiny pocket watch that hung from the mirror. "thirty-six hours and you still haven't explained what's going on." She growled at her personal guard. A year and a half ago, Mora, Ganondorf and Najida, along with Ubo and Biana, had made their back way to Hyrule to celebrate the defeat of Demise and celebrate the life of Link who they lost against the monster. Queen Zelda had also announced that Mora would be staying behind in Hyrule so that she might take over the throne once she was ready. Which Queen Zelda had decided that time was a year and a half later on Mora's eighteenth birthday; though if Mora had any say, she wouldn't be on that throne for very long before handing it down to her younger sister, the next heir to the throne. "Every night you ask me if I've heard from Demise, as if I should be hearing from him, which I shouldn't be. We defeated him and lost Link. Link didn't die in vain."
Najida stayed quiet as she quickly braided Mora's hair, chewing on the inside of her cheek as she thought out her words as best as she could before sharing her thoughts.
"You've never been shy before, Na. I can't have people tiptoeing around me if in two days I'm to receive the crown."
The words that left the Zonai warrior came out so fast that it took Mora a full minute to process the weight of them. "The Sheikah are working with Corro, the amulets we gave to you and Ganondorf were just traps and we have reason to believe that Demise is in the castle somewhere."
With her heart in her throat, Mora closed her eyes, her bottom lip starting to tremble as she swallowed the bundle of nerves that threatened to block her breath. She didn't know what she was expecting when she tried to focus on that feeling she remembered getting from Demise, but she felt nothing, no anger, no hunger. She felt almost…
Empty.
As she had since Demise had been defeated. "He wouldn't stay quiet if he was this close to the one person he had control over for years." Mora reminded herself, exhaling slowly to rid her shoulders of the anxious tension building there.
"He would if he couldn't reach you…" Najida whispered softly as she stepped back and wiped her hands off. "There's a reason we do this cleansing every day." She leaned around the princess, blowing out the candles that sat on the vanity. "Also… I did as you asked… it turns out he wasn't getting the letters you've been sending. I found the ones from the last month in the mail room, like you suspected." She glanced to the door to Mora's room, eyeing the small bag there. "I… still don't think-"
"Corro needs to understand that he can't control me. Mother asked me to look into some prospects that had lined up. She said they were his idea." Mora let out a hateful laugh as she abruptly got up, smoothing out the skirts of her nightgown.
"You'll eventually have to marry…" Najida frowned as she watched Mora move to the large closet and pull out a simple outfit for the next morning, she was due for riding lessons with her younger sister at Lon Lon Ranch.
"I'd succumb to Demise before I marry a prospect that Corro picks for me."
"Mora… do you…" Najida straightened up, frowning at Mora who wasn't paying her all that much attention. She knew her question would earn a bite back. "You sympathize with Demise." Mora whirled around, staring at Najida. Before she could say anything, Najida slammed her against the closet door, a snarl leaving the Zonai. "You miss Him! You miss having Him inside of your head!" She forced Mora back against the door more when the princess started to fight back. "Would you hand Ganondorf over to him?!"
"What- Najida! You're insane, I don't know who put that idea in your head. Look, it's late and I have to be up early for riding practice in the morning-" Mora quit struggling for a moment, letting herself look smaller so Najida would loosen up. She gently laced her fingers with the Zonai, pushing her back.
Najida squeezed Mora's hand, gnashing her teeth as she watched the girl. When Mora went to pull her hand away, Najida didn't let go. "Answer the question, Mora."
Mora twisted her wrist, trying to get Najida to loosen her grip, but the warrior only moved with the princess. "Na, c'mon. You know I would never do something so outrageous. Why would I fight Demise like that and then just… give him what he wants?"
"Because… you love Him."
Mora moved quicker than she had meant, her eyes wide as she stared at her outstretched hand, her chest heaving from anger and shock. She looked over at Najida who was now turned away and holding her face where Mora had slapped her. "Na… I… I'm so sorry, I didn't…" She tucked her hand against her chest, eyes wide as she backed away from Najida. "I could never… never love Demise. He used me, and now he wants to destroy what I hold most dear. I would…" She couldn't stop the growl that left her as she turned and opened the doors to the balcony so she could look out over Hyrule fields. "I would destroy anyone and anything that threatened Gan's happiness. He isn't the Evil King, if I… if I can help it, he will never meet that fate."
Najida was facing Mora, still rubbing her cheek. She swallowed the sudden lump in her throat as the warm spring wind blew in, lifting Mora's hair and nightgown some. Najida's whole being went slack when Mora looked at her from over her shoulder at the same time lightning struck the fields beyond. The Zonai warrior could feel the threat in the words the princess spoke, she meant them, she would do anything to keep the Gerudo King safe.
Mora looked up from the book in her hands, blinking rapidly to wake her eyes up. She stood, a brow slowly climbing as she turned in a circle. She was standing in the grand hall of the castle, but the light that shined through the old stain glass windows told her that servants and guards should be bustling around her. That Najida should be standing watch nearby. That her sister should be running up to her, asking her older sister if she was excited to go riding this morning. Mora slowly looked, turning her attention to the book in her hands. No words graced the old pages.
When the princess looked up again, the stain glass was broken, and the walls were crumbling. She could hear the familiar 'buzzt-blip' of nearby Guardians as they roamed around somewhere nearby. She put her hand over her mouth, trying her best to ignore how her body was producing more saliva as if getting ready to throw up, but she couldn't ignore the way bile built up in her stomach. She crashed to her knees, her body giving in to the need to expel the last thing she ate.
Tears burned her eyes as she stared at the dark puddle in front of her. Malice. She reached over, pinching her own arm. "C'mon. Wake up. This is a dream. Wake up. Please. Please!" She stumbled to her feet and wiped her mouth, unable to stop her sobs as she pushed the doors to the dining hall open. A pathetic cry left her as an eye made of malice turned to her, blinking at her. It studied her, tipping and twisting to watch her leave as she ran out of the room and towards the back of the Grand Hall. She looked down again, stumbling to her hands and knees when she saw what she was wearing, an off-white and blue satin dress with the Hylian symbol embroidered on it in a soft golden tone. "No… why am I wearing this?" It was her coronation gown; her mother had insisted on the Hylian symbol being large and over her middle so the people would know she was of Royal blood.
Mora had heard the underlying message, as long as she wore these colors and this symbol, Corro couldn't accuse the Queen of lying. Why it mattered that Mora wore this dress, she didn't understand, it wasn't like she would combust if she wore it while not being of Royal blood, but it was a message the citizens would see and that Corro wouldn't dare fight against.
Mora went to turn down the hall that led to her room when the doors to the Throne Room suddenly opened, showing her that everything was crumbling and decaying. In the center was a large black and red beast, patiently waiting for her to come inside. She looked down the hall towards the safety of her room, seeing it was pitch black now, endless and unsure. She slowly turned, taking one step towards the Throne Room. Then another. And another. Until she was just inside the room.
The doors slammed shut, making her jump and give a loud squeak. She watched the monster change before her, leaving her staring at a man in obsidian armor that was lined with gold. His deep red hair was brushed back and flowing freely to his lower back. A large ruby sat on his forehead with the help of the simple golden headdress he wore. His skin looked almost gray as he slowly turned to Mora, a knowing grin on his lips. "Now, now. This isn't right."
He changed again; this look caused a strangled sob to leave Mora. His skin was deeply tanned and had hair that went down lower with intricate braids pulled in seemingly random design, his chest was bare save for the simple Gerudo wrap that was laid over his shoulder, the headdress had changed slightly, the top was pulled back more, looking almost like a halo. His strong hips were draped in more royal Gerudo colors, golden rings and bangles covered his arms and hands, but the one that caught Mora's attention was the one that matched the one she wore every day and every night for the last year and a half. "Is that better? Don't we look good like this?"
Mora stared up at Demise, seeing the four sharp teeth that sat in his mouth, like little tusks ready to burst forth. "Why…?"
"Why not? The planets are about to align and-" He let out a rolling laugh at the annoyed look on Mora's face. "I'm kidding, I'm not that cliché. No, no. But things will fall into place all the same. Did you know… tonight is a full moon?" He walked around Mora, his fingers gliding through her short hair. He frowned at her when she looked back at him. "I liked it long."
"Good, makes me glad I cut it." She let out a gasp when Demise took a handful at the back of her head, making her look up at him again. "H-Hey!"
"You left just enough for me to keep you complacent, Princess." The title dripped from his tongue like poison, sending chills through Mora. "In twenty-four hours, a crown will be placed on your head. In those twenty-four hours, a series of events will aid my… how many times have I been released on this world now? Four? So, re-re-re-"
"Get on with it." Mora swore at him, instant regret filling her when he threw her to the ground and loomed over her, the monster from the tomb threatening to swallow her whole. But then he was back to the attractive form he had moments before.
"If I didn't need you to fuck up everything you touched, darling, I'd kill you right now." He hissed as he grabbed her arm, yanking her to her feet and dragging her out of the Throne Room and out of the castle so she could see the ruins of the castle from the outside and the ruins of castle town below. He ignored pathetic noise that left his companion as he turned her attention to the moon that hung above them. "When you wake up, you should see something… similar to this."
Mora turned her attention from the blood red moon to the pleasured look on his face. He was enjoying this; he enjoyed the way she trembled against him. She watched him, hearing him click his tongue quickly, dread filling her when she realized it was in time with her quickened heart rate. "Demise… where have you been locked up this last-"
"Year and a half?" He grinned down at her as he used the hand that was holding her up to poke just above her left breast. A laugh left him at the horrified look on her face. "Just kidding." He put his palm to her forehead, slowly helping her down as she collapsed. "The Sheikah have my… body isn't the right term. They have my essence…" He seemed to be weighing the thought of that word, apparently liking it to describe what the Sheikah had. "The essence of me, what I can become."
He picked her limp form, the grin on his face growing at the sight of fear in her eyes as she lay frozen in his arms. He carried her back inside the castle and to her room. "I toyed with the toy you had been wearing while we were traveling, I knew it was a trap meant for me. I anchored my soul to yours, in a way. That way, when you defeated me, the Sheikah would think they had won-" He carefully set her on the broken and tattered bed, clicking his tongue softly as he ran a thumb under her eye. "Why are you crying? You and Ganondorf will live forever, if I have any sway in how things turn out.
And I will, oh, I will. Just trust me on that, hm? I had to stay quiet, withdrawn. You're horrible at keeping secrets, if you had known that the Sheikah hadn't captured all of me, then they would know. I must say, you have quite the imagination, do you really think Ganondorf would take you on the-" Demise pulled back quickly, laughing when Mora tried to lash out at him, but her arm weakly flopped to the edge of the bed. He held his muscled belly as he let out a roar of laughter, resuming his relaxed position on the edge of the bed and looking down at her. "That doesn't really matter, now does it?" He gave her a coy look, licking his lips at the way her face turned red. "All I'm saying, is if he doesn't, I might." The next laugh was softer than the one before it, but it was still a laugh at her expense. "The blood moon is what will start the series of events," he glanced at her again, shrugging. "and nothing you do will stop it. Actually, whatever you do, might make it happen faster. I won't complain, I'm rather sick and tired of those stupid Sheikah picking at me, trying to figure out what the Malice is. They'll never understand it."
Mora wiggled her fingers, frowning as she closed her eyes to focus on moving her legs. "It's no use." Her eyes snapped open and she glared up at the man sitting next to her. She licked her lips, huffing at him when her voice wouldn't work. She got a grunt and a snarl out when he put a hand on her thigh. "Though, I must say, I'm proud that you got your arm to work like that." She watched as he shrugged, her skin crawling when she felt him rubbing his thumb in a slow circle on the top of her thigh. "Anyways, as I was saying. I know the series of events that will send Hyrule into a spiral, and luckily for us… for me, really, is that you and Ganondorf are in the exact center of it." He gave her a playful bop on the tip of her nose, earning himself a dirty glare. "What's that look for? I'm here to help, just stop Corro, the Sheikah and the Zonai. Then you and Ganondorf can die happily in that silly little canyon over looking the sea while Princess Zelda rules Hyrule and Talo rules the Gerudo."
Demise leaned over Mora, his red hair spilling over both of them like a cascade of blood. "There's only one way to do all of that, though. And that's with my help." His voice became like honey to Mora's ears as he spoke, she didn't notice the dark hunger that filled his eyes and the way his muscles tensed as if he was readying himself to pounce. "Just give yourself to me, whatever you give to me, I'll give back tenfold. Only with my help can you save Ganondorf." Her arms moved, wrapping around the back of his neck. "How much are you willing to give? A soul for a soul? All you have to do… is what I say…" Her fingers tangled in those coarse red locks, making it easier for her to pull herself against him. "I wonder… how does Courage taste… Power was always so delicious."
Wake up.
Mora flinched, her eyes snapping open. She noticed how the light from the moon painted the walls of the room red first, then she noticed that this wasn't even her room. She looked down, staring at Najida who was asleep beneath her. The Zonai warrior made a face in her sleep, her hips pushing up against Mora's. She slowly began to stir, amber eyes slowly blinking as she tried to focus. Mora stared down at the other girls' neck, seeing the steady pulse there. Najida wasn't fully awake, Mora could take the other girl still.
Mora gasped and pushed herself up, landing on the floor with a thud. What was she thinking? She couldn't kill Najida. Yeah, the other female had annoyed her with her accusations, but that didn't warrant killing. She watched Najida with wide eyes as the other girl slowly sat up, rubbing her eyes.
Look outside, Princess. What are you wiling to do to save him?
Mora scrambled to her feet and threw open the window, fear choking her as she stared up at the blood red moon that had climbed to her highest peak. She ripped away from the window, running into Najida who was suddenly very aware of the princess in her room. "Mora! Mora! What's going on? Talk to me, Mo."
Kill her, Princess. Kill her and you'll be one step closer to saving him.
"Mo! By the Goddess… breathe!" Najida slapped Mora on the back as if that would help the girl breathe evenly. "Ow! Fuck me, Mo!" She pried Mora's hand off her wrist, looking down at where her nails had bitten in and drew blood. "What's gotten into you?" She froze, seeing the fear in Mora's eyes. "Mo…?" She gasped and jumped to her feet when Mora pushed her away. "Seriously, what's gotten into you?"
"Nothing. Sorry, I had a bad dream." Mora looked out the window again, seeing that the moon was no longer red. She got up and went to the door, stopping when her fingers touched the golden handle. "Najida… the Zonai… are you guys thinking of moving against Gan?"
Najida was watching Mora carefully, making sure to stay very still where she was standing. "No…" She swallowed a few times to get rid of the dryness in her throat, she could tell from the way that Mora hunched her shoulders that the Princess didn't believe her. "Not… entirely." This had the princess looking over her shoulder at Najida. "If… and only if, Demise shows back up… will we… step in to keep Ganondorf safe."
"How will you keep him safe?"
Imprisonment is a fun choice. Death is a pretty solid second choice. Though… that would allow for a new reincarnation to crawl out from between the legs of the Gerudo. I guess they could block the Gerudo out of Hyrule… annihilate an entire race…
"I don't know."
She knows.
"Najida."
"I don't know, Mora. The elders have only said to keep an eye on you and make sure Demise doesn't reappear. If he does… I'm to let them know. Your dream, did it have-"
"No. I was in my coronation gown and walking around town, everyone was whispering about me. I'm not the true heir, they kept whispering that. Over and over again. I tried to tell them to take the damn crown then, but they wouldn't."
That dream was always annoying.
"It is an annoying dream." Mora hissed as she left Najida alone in her room. She walked down the hall, back to her own bed. She felt like a bunched-up spring that was about to be let go, a hunger filled her, eager and excited as it waited for the kill. With a sigh, she flopped over in her bed and curled around one of her pillows as she closed her eyes.
Demise looked up from the book in his hands when Mora spoke. "If I give you everything… what will I get in return?" His green eyes slowly drank in the thin nightgown that clung to the princess before him. He finally met the determination in her green eyes.
He held a hand out to her, seeing her hesitate for a moment before an emotion he didn't recognize crossed her face and she took his hand. When she did, her gown changed back to her coronation gown. He smirked at the confusion on her face. "When I said everything, did you really think I meant letting me see you as you were the day you were born?" He let out a laugh and pulled her down into his lap, that hunger making his eyes darken. "No, what I meant was letting down the barriers of your mind, let me… consume… no, blend. Yes, blend, with you. You still fight me."
"I don't…" Mora started to get up, her eyes on the being when he let her up without a fight. "I don't want to be the bad guy."
"Who said I was the bad guy? The people that won't give you a straight answer about what they'll do to 'save' Ganondorf?" He raised his hands and wiggled his fingers when he said 'save'. "I'm telling you exactly what I can do to help you save Ganondorf. We put a stop to the Sheikah, the Zonai and to Corro… and your little sister, for safety measures. Who knows what the heathens she'll give birth to one day will do?" He relaxed back into the chair, brows climbing when the room changed on him and he was sitting on the throne with Mora sitting and leaning against it next to his legs.
"I don't want the throne, though."
"Why not? It's rather comfortable." He stroked her hair, petting the top of her head. He glared down at her, seeing the way she was slowly beginning to lean against him. She was becoming more comfortable with him, but she didn't trust him completely. "You have to trust me, you know. That little shadow of doubt that you have in the back of your mind, that's what's stopping you from accepting me."
"You wanted… want me dead."
Demise let out a throaty growl as he leaned forward, his lips moving against her temple as he spoke. "Fine, let me give you a thread and see where that takes us. Tomorrow, you can choose to save one of two people. Or, if you can swing it, you can save both, I doubt it, but perhaps you can. Your mother will be having brunch with an old friend, stop that, and the fever won't take her. Ganondorf will begin his journey to Hyrule via horseback through the canyons with a small troop of warriors. They'll stumble across some of my minions, I won't tell you who, but someone will die there as well. Save whoever you want. Only one will of those choices will halt the course this Hyrule is on."
