Chapter 9.
"Are you sure you know what you're doing?" Ganondorf hissed as he crawled on his belly through the seemingly shrinking tunnels above the palace. Grace stopped, forcing him to shove his body into hers.
"Positive." She stated, her eyes dimming. He huffed as he motioned for her to continue.
The ceiling of the tunnels seemed to be getting tighter as they continued further. She had no trouble moving about but then again, she was half his height and less muscular than he.
"Here we are, be completely quiet." She whispered as she pulled part of the wall back. He glared at her before staring through the small opening. Shockingly, he was able to make out the table of men and creatures that had assembled at the table.
"Gorons? Zora? When did they arrive?" He mumbled as he continued to search the room. Grace wanted to explain to him when the others arrived and of all the things he didn't know but she also realized that this information was all she had to peaked his curiosity.
Two guards were placed typically by the door. Grace felt her stomach flip when she recognized their faces. It wasn't unusual for them to be positioned with the king's private session on such an important day, though. Darunia, King Zora De Bon XVI, and some foreign noblemen, and the King of Hyrule's personal court all sat assembled in a disorderly fashion.
"Let us commence with our first and only order of business, the Gerudo King." The King announced lethargically, sitting down in front of the men. Ganondorf's face filled with resentment, he already despised this session.
"What about him, brother?" Darunia asked brassily, looking at the food in the center of the table suspiciously. The King motioned for the guards to lift the covers from the platters, revealing numerous types of food, including rocks, to accompany each visitor's taste.
"Are you not paying attention to the world around you...zora… Look! It was just last month he came begging for peace to me, zora! It is ambition! I am not the only one who see's this as a danger! Zora…" De Bon spoke quickly, his fishy accent making his voice sound trapped in water in the back of his throat.
Grace looked at Ganondorf, concern making the corner of her lips drop into a frown. He didn't even take notice that her hand had crept on his shoulder. Both of them were completely baffled by what was being said.
"It, is not the peace you fear, but the man himself, is it not?" A man spoke up. The King shuffled back against his chair, placing a hand on his beard in thought.
"Not the man...no, his capabilities. He is too strong, too eager, too…oh, what's the word… grave. He reeks of desperation yet, that very stench also smells like deceit."
Darunia grunted, taking a handful of rocks from the pile and placing them on the plate in front of him.
"No, no, brother. He is young. Mentor him!" He protested with a hearty laugh. The table all stared at the rock-man with contempt before continuing the session.
"I move that we put him through a trial, test his humanity, see what he is like. Certainly, he can't be a pawn. He is a king after all."
"Yes, but he is wretched, zora! He leads thieves to pillage us!" The Zora King spoke up, his blobby face twitching as he gasped. Then, just like clockwork he doused himself with water and became no longer breathless.
"True. True. But Darunia brings up a point. If we can test his humility, look behind his facade of a politician then perhaps we could decipher our dilemma." The Hylian stated, nodding at the Goron leader.
"How can we do this without bringing it to his knowledge?" A council member objected coldly, slamming his fist on the table. The room fell silent.
Ganondorf's eyes narrowed as he watched the men think, a new idea, a new plan forging itself in his mind. Grace waited patiently, slowly withdrawing her hand. He hadn't needed nor wanted her sympathy. He was capable of taking care of himself and as the minutes flew by she realized he liked it that way.
"There is a ball to be held, is there not?"
Ganondorf perked up at the mention of this, his new plan sewing together with the old one, making carefully contemplated stitches so to ensure that it would last.
"Yes, what are you saying?" The Hylian King practically fell out of the chair at the mention of an idea.
"What if we carefully observe his behavior then? He'll never suspect anything out of the ordinary and we can see his true personality."
The room began to fill with noisome chaos, each shout his own opinion. Ganondorf curled his lip with distaste.
"They are so uncivil when I'm not around." He whispered. Grace smiled, holding her breath so she wouldn't laugh.
The rest of the meeting meandered on pointlessly of social expectations and standards of gentlemanliness over fine wine. Ganondorf soon grew bored of their pointless formalities. Then carefully, Grace and Ganondorf crawled away.
"You need to answer my question now." She stated haughtily as they dust themselves off outside. It was almost evening by now. The sun had already begun to set.
"Fine. Be quick about it though. I don't have time." He grumbled, towering over her small frame. Grace twiddled her thumbs nervously.
"Do Gerudo really think women can do anything?" Her voice was barely audible, almost as if she were afraid to speak. He snorted, finding her question ridiculous.
"Yes, women are just as capable as men. I thought you were going to ask me something important." He sneered, glaring at her with mirth. Her cheeks flushed as she bit the inside of her lip, reopening the scars on the inside.
"It is important! Nobody thinks a girl can be smart or strong or-or anything!" She responded with a passion that made him feel uneasy. She was so urgent for change he knew if he wanted she would be easily persuaded under his rule, but even he didn't want that. He wanted a fight from someone, something to work for.
"Ah, Miss Grace. A young vai as yourself is capable of the world if she is molded with the proper ideals and dreams. Tell me, do you think you are capable of something more than motherhood?" His intent behind his words were a dangerous play on her mind but out of desperation she ate them up with eager anticipation.
"Yes! Yes! I think I'm capable of being a scholar! I want to study magic!" She replied, her eyes glimmering wildly with glee.
"Then you can be, pave your own way." He insisted so earnestly even he thought his words tasted foul. She locked eyes with him, her purity and childishness mocking him.
"You think I'm able to?"
"Of course." He lied with a grin, she would do well...
The two guardsmen walked side by side, silent. Nothing seemed out of place, everything was still, the only sound was that of the insects as the called out for each other.
"Father?"
The older man looked down at his son, nodding for him to continue.
"I felt like we were being watched today." He stated softly, trying to make his voice so subtle no one could hear. His father sighed, thinking over the statement.
"I felt it too, something unnatural. The kind of feeling you get when a wild animal is watching you… Something wasn't right, but it is not our place to say anything. It is Lady Impa who will see to it to ensure our privacy." The man spoke prudently, continuing to walk along the dark path. Gadrel huffed, disgusted with the idea of their safety in the hands of the Sheikah woman.
"Father! This needs to be brought to the King's attention!" He protested, halting in front of his father's way. The older man groaned as he placed a hand on his son's shoulder.
"You are too ready to fight. You seek war instead of letting war seek you. That will be your destroyer someday." The man's voice was somber as his grip tightened gently.
'No, I just see fit that our protection is the best it can possibly be. If Ganondorf was sitting in in that meeting-"
"Ganondorf was not in that room! You need to forget about the Gerudo!" The older man snapped, shaking the young man violently. Gadrel furiously shoved his hands away from him, grinding his teeth.
"Grace is the one who is meddling with the Gerudo! Not me! I am only trying to protect us!" Gadrel hissed before storming off. The older man shook his head as he watched his son. He remembered the day when he was head-strong and blind to reality. In those days he had something to hold onto, perhaps that's why his son was so different. He had nobody, nothing to his name except his father's label. He was expected to be just as great but his insecurity was pathetic. His anger made him seem cold but in reality, he was a frightened young boy, terrified of making a mistake. He hadn't meant to raise him to be guileless and bitter against the world. He supposed it's roots rested in the way things had changed when his wife had died. Gadrel relied on her for comfort. Maybe he had been too rough or maybe he had spoiled them, whatever it was he knew deep inside that it wouldn't have happened if his Mother had been alive.
"Grace! Dinner!" Gadrel demanded as he barged through the door of their home. Grace hurried out of her room, surprised by the familiar bark.
"I'm sorry Gadrel! I was so busy today I nearly forgot!" She laughed as she grabbed a plate from a shelf.
"Busy? You have one duty and that's taking care of this house." Gadrel scoffed as he sat down at the table. Grace bit her tounge in aggitation but knew she would have to formulate her words carefully. He was in such a foul mood tonight even she could hardly stand it. She tolerated lots of things but her happiness always seemed to fade when she was around him.
She sat a cup of warm milk down in front of him in her matronly way, hustling over to whip up something for them to eat. She knew her father couldn't be that far behind him and would be practically starving. They would be suspicious of her, but at least she managed to get her chores done.
She cut a slice of nutcake, humming something as she worked. She quickly cut up some vegetables and meat and placed them over the fire.
"Is that the best you can do?" Gadrel roared as he grabbed her by the wrist.
"Don't touch me!" She screamed, breaking away from his grip. He threw himself back into his chair, unsatisfied with himself.
"It was a long, hard day Grace. Something you women never will have to worry about." He hissed, tapping his feet impatiently as she began to busy herself with something else.
"Never?" She asked sweetly, her eyes beginning to fill with hateful tears. She loathed him, the way he made her feel
insignificant. Today she had a sweet taste of womanhood, her dreams, and he had already begun to make them sour.
"Grace. Women have the purpose of taking care of the household. You do your part well, you just need to stop reading so much." He said quieter than he had previously been. Grace turned around fiercely.
"And be miserably stupid and dull like you? Never!" She yelped, swallowing hard so her words wouldn't break. Gadrel stood up, knocking his chair to the ground.
"Why you ungrateful-"
"Hello, children. Fighting already?"
The always jolly voice of their father disrupted the duo, forcing them to their own corners of the room.
"Is this alright?" She asked as she handed him a plate. He nodded as he took his seat at the table.
"The floors are dirty again, Grace. Do you think you can wash them tomorrow?" Her father rumbled gently, unlacing the metal plates away from his boots.
"Yes, Papa."
Gadrel looked at his father resentfully. It was not a calm night like the family had been used friction between them was beginning to creep into their broken hearts, tearing them further and further apart. She was opinionated and sweet, gullible, naive, and young. He was bitter, angry at the world, and restless. Their father had become numb, tired from his children, and cold with the loss of his wife. The strife caused by their past poisoned them from ever truly coming together again. Yet, Grace tried to bring them together, her ideology separating her from the two, their father was the peacemaker, and Gadrel ran the household as strong as any man could.
Ganondorf put his pen down, his eyes tired from writing his report. Nabooru would be pleased with the information he had gathered today, yet he wondered what else he could gain from the little girl. She was so needy, so curious, it was simply vile to take advantage of her and he loved it.
The candle flickered violently, the breeze that came through the window was so different than the wind that blew through the desert. It was strange for the wind to smell like flowers and summer rain, he was all too familiar with the rancid smell of death and hopelessness. He watched carefully as the candle fought for its life, something he sympathized with the flame. They had a lot in common, he thought, they were both bright, burning to share hope, both clawing their way in life to stay alive.
The wind finally defeated the flame, making him sigh as he pulled a match from his desk drawer. It would be a long night, he was to meet early tomorrow morning with the king. Dull conversations with pointless accusations and topics were sure to ensue.
"You can't suppress me…"
Ganondorf grabbed his hair, the words were so loud in his head, the voice never leaving him. It echoed in his head while he slept and the face of hate itself reoocured in his dreams. Demise had long been a childhood friend, the inner voice he had tried to deny all these years, but fate had a funny way of making destinies come true. He would pursue peace in pursuit of humanity until he could no longer control the demon and that made his pain worsen. It was all for not, nothing could be achieved in this way of life. Even as a child his surrogate mothers had raised him to accept his fate, but he couldn't. He was destined for much more. He was going to be the Gerudo's liberator. This had infuriated his mother's but he didn't care, they weren't loving to him to begin with. They barely provided him with essentials. Yet, they had prepared him, taught him survival and judgement but he couldn't forgive them for what they had done to him. Even as a man the days of youth haunted him with screams and images he wished he had never experienced.
Ganondorf threw his fists on the table with a frantic shout, panting as he watched the inkwell slowly spill its contents across the table. He didn't try to stop it as it flowed and sunk into his paper. It was all too familiar. The black pool that had ruined his work was almost as the same that lived in him, tearing him apart from the inside.
A pain began to creep into his chest, something he had somehow repressed until now. He grit his teeth, fingers digging into the table. It began to overwhelm him, forcing him into a cold sweat. He was dying, it was only a matter of time before his soul was completely gone.