Hi guys! It's been a while! Thanks for sticking with the story! I had some family emergencies and wasn't able to partcipate in Nanowrimo, however, everything is getting better and I should be able to write and update this year! HUGE THANK YOU to Marie._.tea on instagram for the cover art!

Chapter 15.

Little Ganondorf ran quickly through the halls, laughing as he walked into the small room high above the sanctuary. He was only four and exceptionally bright. His curiosity often had the best of him. He didn't have much patience to not be answered either, when he wanted to know something he wanted the answer right away.

"Come, Ganondorf! Come sit!" The fire witch beamed as she held out her misshapen hands. She motioned for him to sit on a stool, the cauldron behind her bubbled.

He swung his feet over the stool looking curiously into the bright colored liquid.

"What that?" He asked as he pointed inside the cauldron. The witch paid no mind.

"Potion." She replied gruffly. He kicked his legs impatiently, looking around the room with wonder. He had seen this room many times before. This was where he always came midday. The witch would work and he would sit, anxiously waiting to leave. He looked up at the cluttered shelves examining the bottles and strange scripts.

"What that?" He gasped, crawling down from the stool, pointing to a scroll with strange and grotesque pictures. The witch paused her work. She bent down to his level with a disgusting grin.

"That," she began, "is Demise. The greatest master you will ever serve. He has chosen you for a special purpose! He has found you the greatest vessel we have offered. He will use you to create a new world where there is no light nor darkness. A world of endless justice. Only those he deems fit will live and the world will finally be what the gods meant it to be." The excitement in her voice almost frightened the boy as he stared at the monstrous figure on the paper. He didn't quite understand anything the witch had said but he didn't care. He was special. He was chosen to be something much greater and that excited him.

The witch left his side and resumed her work, eyeing him now and then as he gaped over the picture.

"Why he has monsters?" The little boy demanded curiously. Koume grinned.

"They are his army, and one day you will rule over his army for him until he returns." She explained, stirring the cauldron. Ganondorf clapped his hands gleefully. He liked the idea of being in charge, being important. He giggled as he ran over and crawled onto the stool.

"When? When?" He asked eagerly, his tiny hands pulling on her sleeves. The witch brushed him off, entertained by his excitement.

"Soon."

Ganondorf did not like that answer. He wanted it to happen now. He sighed as he looked up at the ceiling. Koume yawned. He looked at her and grinned. He hadn't yawned so he could make a wish and it would come true!

"I wish that Demise come faster." He whispered under his breath. The witch smiled.

He hadn't known then that he was wishing for death.

oOo

A week had passed since the arrival of the Hylians. Ganondorf had become more and more frustrated that every question he asked was avoided or ignored. The Hylian king was taunting him, playing petty political games that led nowhere. The insult of this in his own kingdom cut his pride deeply and at times his anger would be fully revealed. In the evenings he'd return to his room and be greeted with endless questions and accusations from Grace. He was beginning to think there would be an easier way to obtain information on Hyrule than dealing with her, but she was so naive he couldn't help but wait. Patience, he knew, would give him exactly what he wanted.

The Hylian king, on the other hand, was grateful his wife forced the girl to come along. She was a nuisance with her questions and babbling that nothing could ever get done. He wished the court would be dismissed in such cases though because her voice had begun to irritate everyone. It was clear that she was a distraction and through her, he could peruse the Gerudo text for information Ganondorf would never give.

Grace was pleased with herself but she dreaded the evenings. She did not understand why Ganondorf still had not found a room for her yet, especially now that a week had passed. She would purposely chatter trying to fight sleep to which he would give her empty threats.

Tonight she was surprised to not see him in his chambers. He was late, a rarity she knew would likely never happen again. She sighed happily as she threw her shoes off. Her feet were sticky against the stone floor. She hated the desert heat and today seemed especially hot. She was beginning to understand why her father hated the desert so much.

She took off her dress, standing barefoot in her slip. She was uncomfortably warm, her skin was burned and it radiated heat. She slowly peeked out the door. An empty hall. She laughed madly, running towards the wash basin. She had refused to bathe when Ganondorf was around which seemed to never happen. She pulled her hair up, humming to herself as she lowered herself in the tub. It had felt like ages since she had felt relaxed.

oOo

Nabooru sat down at the long table, tired from the behavior of the Hylian men. Ganondorf nodded to her, acknowledging her presence, but his eyes never left the window that was above them. She glanced upwards but saw nothing, just the typical night sky. She half-smiled, reminiscing of when they were children. He used to look to the night sky when he needed guidance or to clear his mind. She hadn't seen him do that for years.

"There is no purpose for them staying here if you can't get the Hylian vai to shut up." She teased. He clasped his hands behind his back, tilting his head back.

"She's more of a vehvi than I remember." He replied back. Nabooru shrugged, leaning on the table.

"She's not that much different than you." Nabooru insisted waiting for him to finally turn around.

"What is that supposed to mean?" He snickered. The Gerudo woman laughed, bringing her knee to her chest.

"Well, she's careless, irrational, curious, loud...loud…" She trailed off, giving a small smile as she watched his face drop into anger.

"Careless? Irrational?" He hissed, turning to face her. She put a finger to her lips, a playful gleam in her eye. He leaned his head back, swearing under his breath.

"Why even keep her here? Why not send her home?" Nabooru suggested. He sat down across from her.

"I can't. She is here for some inane reason. Until I know why she stays, and she stays with me." He affirmed. Nabooru nodded, not quite agreeing with him, then again, he always had his reasons. He was sharing less and less with her and she was beginning to think it was in her best interest. She couldn't pry anything out of him while the Hylian were there. She would have to wait.

"Then maybe… fill both her needs and yours." Nabooru stated. He fell silent, staring past her, his thoughts far from her reach. They sat completely still until he looked back at her. She could see him thinking, she hated it when he thought too much.

"What are you proposing?" He asked finally. She shrugged, a grin spreading across her face. He knew she had something in mind, she was just waiting for him to come to the conclusion.

"Does she know our language well?" Nabooru tried again.

"She can read and write well, she is able to recognize words, but she has no practice speaking it." He scoffed. Nabooru grinned.

"You want her gone, she wants to learn, I'm sure some kind of arrangement could be made…"

His eyes lit up at the suggestion, it was true, he had enjoyed her company, but he did not enjoy her curiosity while they held court. He couldn't blame her for wanting to know but then again there was a time and place for questions.

"She will need a teacher." He murmured, crossing his arms in thought. She nodded.

"You teach her. I trust you." He stated. Nabooru shook her head.

"I trust Aveil, and I've already made the arrangements. She starts tomorrow. Oh, and you might want to find something suitable for her to wear, she will die in those stuffy Hylian gowns." Nabooru winked as she handed him an outfit from under the table. He smirked.

"Do you really think she will wear it?" He laughed with disdain.

"No." She admitted, standing up. "But you should find a way to make her. She hasn't even been outside much and still suffers."

He pushed his thumb across the fabric, noting the unusual color.

"Why blue?" He asked, watching Nabooru pour them drinks.

"Why not? Hylian's love that color, don't they?" She replied, handing him a glass.

"Such a strong drink for a quiet night." He noted. She let out a deep laugh.

"It's in celebration, the voe are quiet and the vai is gone!" She said before drinking her liquor. He stared at the cup for a moment before following her lead.

"What is on your mind?" Nabooru asked, seeing his lack of enthusiasm for alcohol.

"I think she should stay. If anything, it would in the very least upset the Hylian royalty."

"And then what? Do we keep her as a prisoner? Ganondorf-"

"She could become one of us…" He eyed Nabooru as he spoke. Her golden eyes flared at the suggestion.

"No. She will never be one of us. Teach her but do not let her think she could ever belong. She's simply a diversion." Nabooru retorted. He laughed coldly.

"Are you jealous, Nabooru?" He hissed with a grin.

"Of a Hylian vai? Never." She huffed, throwing her cup down. Ganondorf smiled darkly.

"Have Aveil tutor her during the day from now on." He ordered. Nabooru crossed her arms defiantly.

"Do not give her false hope, Ganondorf. She is not as strong as you believe she is." Nabooru stated before leaving. He watched her as she disappeared down the hall.

Grace was anything but strong, she was so hungry for acceptance it was pathetic. He inwardly laughed at the thought of her. She was becoming more and more intriguing. If only he could pry her open and use all the information she held of Hyrule. It would take time. Not enough time with this stay. She would have to stay longer than the men. But how? His mind began to spin with ways to break her. She was fragile but held her own. She was a force to be reckoned with when it came to a battle of wits, but even she had her breaking point, it was just a matter of finding it.

He opened the door to his room, unsettled by the strange quietness. He looked to the bed only to find it empty, perhaps she was walking the halls? She seemed to be quite reckless in that sense.

"I wasn't expecting you to be back!" Her embarrassed squeak made him laugh. He glances over, noticing her small frame in the doorway of the washroom.

"I wasn't expecting you to bathe." He replied with a smirk. She tried to cover herself as she walked towards her bag. He watched her as she slowly walked into the room, surprised that she had even dared to come out in nothing but a slip. She whimpered softly as she searched her bag for something to throw on.

"Please… don't look at me." She pleaded, failing to find her nightgown.

"Oh, don't feel bad… perfume can't fix all odors. Everyone bathes." He taunted. Grace froze, humiliated by his statement.

"You're a foul and cruel man…" She whispered as tears stung her eyes. He sighed as he leaned back.

"Yes… I have nearly forgotten. The king who sleeps on a floor so you can have a bed, the very person who has spent his evening arranging lessons for you, the man who takes care of your every need. He's such a wicked person, isn't he? It's all his fault you are practically naked in his room!" He growled, throwing his arms in the air. She spun around, her face red.

"If I'm such a burden, why don't you just get rid of me? Send me home!" She spat, her eyes glowing with anger. He huffed irritably before he leaned on the table.

"Because I'm not done with you." He said simply. She blinked, bewildered by his statement.

"Oh?"

He nodded slowly, thinking carefully on what to say next. She wrapped herself in a blanket, giving up on her bag. She couldn't look at him, she felt ashamed for her backlash. It was rude, yet when she was around him he let her be that way. They had always been informal. It bothered her, especially now.

"Lord Ganondorf, please accept my apology. It was rude of me to neglect your hospitality." Her voice was soft as she spoke. He looked at her with disgust as he stood from his chair.

"Don't be like that." He said roughly as he lit a candle. She looked at him curiously, her forehead wrinkling ever so slightly.

"What do you mean?" She was so calm as she spoke it made him bitter.

"Don't act so high and mighty! You Hylians and your formalities… You act like you are better than everyone else with your manners, that's what I liked about you. You weren't like that. Who changed you?" He ranted as he began making his bed. She frowned.

"Everyone must grow up sometime." She replied. He let out a short laugh.

"Not you. You are a vehvi." He stated before blowing out the candles in the washroom. Grace curled up underneath her blanket.

"I'm not a child. I'm a woman now." She replied haughtily. He shook his head with a smirk.

"No, you are a vehvi." He bickered. She groaned as she turned away from him.

"Fine! Be that way!" She whined.

"Exactly." He quipped. She turned, her mouth agape. He smirked, picking up the blue Gerudo outfit. "Here."

"What's this?" She asked as she carefully took it from him. He motioned for her to unfold it, tired of her questions. She gasped as she held the top up and then the bottoms.

"They are beautiful…" She whispered, admiring them as she gently folded them back.

"They are yours... You will wear them tomorrow." He stated gruffly, sitting on the poorly made bed. She leaned over the side of her bed.

"What's tomorrow?"

"Your classes begin."

"Classes?"

He turned, meeting eyes with her.

"Yes. Classes. Then maybe you won't bother everyone so much while we hold sessions with the King." He replied shortly. She felt her face flush in embarrassment.

"I'm sorry… but that's why I came." She was quiet as she sat up, her face sullen.

"They brought you as a distraction?" He mocked. She shook her head.

"No… not exactly." She admitted, playing with the bedsheets. He stood up, curious with her sudden submission. She looked up at him then back down at the sheets.

"I'm here because the queen thought...well. The queen though the only way to outsmart you was to have a woman around. Men are stupid when it comes to understanding us but she knows that you have, well, feminine wit… I came not to distract but to work as a way of understanding. That is why I am here." She felt tears sting her eyes as she confessed to him. He nodded, eyes darkening.

"So you betrayed me?"

"No!"

"I am providing you classes, private information, and you were going to tell the Hylian court?"

"No! It's not like that!"

"Then what is it?"

Grace trembled, she didn't like being alone with him, she was terrified of his sudden anger. She hadn't done anything yet.

"It's treason… I can't… You don't understand!"

He grunted as he sat back down.

"Do you really want peace?" He asked as blew out the last candle. Grace bit her lip before responding.

"Yes…"

"Then you need to trust me."

"I trust you but I also value my life! Hyrule is not what it seems… They have ways… Please, I can't say much more. If they find out I said this much already…"

Ganondorf frowned, turning uncomfortably. Of course, she would be frightened, she had grown, she now knew the reality of what she had chosen.

"I know what Hyrule does to those who commit treason… I have been there before…" He stated quietly, thinking back to the war, what he had seen, how he had survived, the strange torture they had used. It was Hyrule's best-kept secret, something he would destroy if he only could.

"You-"

"Sav'saaba." He said sharply, not letting her speak.

Grace leaned back in her pillow. He had seen them with his own eyes, and he had survived. She knew it was something that should not be spoken, the chambers were hidden beneath Hyrule. They were not to be spoken of and those who knew of them were either watched by Hyrule or had been there and never seen again. It was created by the Sheikah, she remembered, and the Gerudo had blindly sided with the Sheikah during the war, allowing Hyrule to gain advantage. The Sheikah had lied, revealing the Gerudo's true motives. These were things she had learned as a child, listening to her father talk about the war to other soldiers in her home. They laughed at it. They accused the Gerudo of being desperate.

She swung her feet over the side of the bed, blindly digging through her bag. He growled at her as she continued to make noise. He already didn't know what to do with her, angering him more was not in her best interest.

After a moment of silence, he felt something brush his hand.

"I'm sorry… for whatever may have happened. And, I am especially sorry that you can't forget whatever it is that you saw." She whispered before crawling back in bed. He said nothing, she had no reason to try and earn his sympathy in his opinion. He had learned to live with the past. She should as well.

He looked at the envelope that had been placed by his hand. It held the Hylian seal. It was an official document. He lit a candle and wandered to his desk, carefully tearing the seal away. Inside were numbers and letters. He frowned, thinking of what it meant. He looked at the sleeping Hylian and pondered what she could have stolen. The captain had nothing of importance when it came to politics. He knew it wasn't a code, no, it was much simpler than that.

They were coordinates.

Puzzled, he tucked them in a drawer. She hadn't betrayed him after all. She was biding her time.