A/N: I don't own Zelda.  Well, I would if I was Miyamoto, but I'm not.  So I don't own Zelda.

                The night was dark.  The sharp clang of horseshoes on stone pavement rung through the town square of Hyrule's capital as a tall black stallion and his cloaked rider made their way through the winding city streets to the Castle Boulevard.  Up the dusty path the horse and his master went, stopping at the iron gates of the palace.

                "Halt!"  The gate guard called.  "Who goes there?"

                From the folds of his cloak, the man produced a letter and handed it down to the guard.  "I believe you've been expecting me," he said in a voice that betrayed nothing.

                "I'll be the judge of that," the guard said.  He unrolled the letter and read it by torchlight.  "Let me see here. . . oh, yes, I believe we have!  You may pass," he said, and gave the signal to another guard on top of the gate, who started the mechanism that slid the iron bars apart.  "Give the king my regards," the guard on the ground said, but the man was already gone.

                "Who was that?" Asked the guard up top.

                The horse and rider continued up the Boulevard until they reached the castle's small front drawbridge, which was lowered.  Inside, the tired stallion was taken to the castle's stables and the man was shown to the king's audience hall.  It was not so late at night that the audience had ended for the day.

                "Your majesty!"  A page called.

                The one who had just arrived stepped forth and removed his cloak.  He was a tall, dark man, clad in black armor, with piercing yellow eyes and hair so red that he could only have belonged to the Gerudo.

                "I beg to put before you his Lordship Ganondorf Dragmire, King of the Gerudo," the page announced.

                "Welcome.  I am pleased to make your acquaintance," the king said kindly.

                "The pleasure's all mine," the man called Ganondorf said all too cooly, bowing as he did so.

                "He wishes to form an alliance between the Gerudo and Hyrule," the page said to the king.

                "I believe that could be arranged," the king said thoughtfully.  "Come with me, and we will discuss terms of the agreement.  Audience is closed."  The king and Ganondorf followed another page and disappeared down the hall towards the meeting rooms.

                On the other side of the castle, Princess Zelda woke up screaming.