Chapter 15

Ganson awoke in a soft bed, unaware of where he was. When he sat up, he winced and put a hand on his sore chest. When his vision cleared, he realized that his shirt was gone, and that bandages covered his chest where Ganondorf blasted him. He then looked over at the person who was sitting in the chair next to his bed. It was Link. He had stayed up all night watching Ganson.

"Link," asked Ganson. "Where am I?"

"You're in the castle infirmary," replied Link. "We checked you over for any injuries while you were unconscious. We found a couple burns on your chest, but they were minor ones. You'll be fine in a day."

"I see..."

"Hey, Ganson? When you said before that you never thought you'd see me again...did you know me before?" Ganson then frowned.

"Yes. I was five when you were born, and when we were forced to flee," started Ganson. "Mother had just given birth to you a few days earlier. Our home was attacked. Father was killed in the battle. You, Mother, and I got separated when we were fleeing for our lives. I thought both of you were gone forever, but...now I know that I still have a family."

"But what happened to you to make you who you are now? When did you find out that Ganondorf was your real father, and how did your magic corrupt you?"

"I knew Father wasn't my real father. He had blond hair and blue eyes, just like you. I had red hair and hazel eyes, like a Gerudo. Everyone around the village I was in knew I wasn't full Hylian. I started doing background checks on myself and I found out that Ganondorf Dragmire was my real father. That was during the time I was practicing magic. I didn't know back then how evil he was; I was just a kid. Soon I started studying dark magic, and it just consumed my conscious and my soul. I became obsessed with freeing him when I found out the Hero of Time and the Sages of Hyrule sealed him away."

"And then all of this started."

"I owe you an apology, Link. If I had known you were the Hero of Time, things would have been different. And I'm deeply sorry for all of the pain and torture I've put you through the past month." Link just shook his head.

"It's okay. I understand now. It wasn't totally your fault."

"You're too forgiving, Link...just like Mother was."

Chapter 16

Link and Ganson spent the next week together, training with each other and catching up on old times. It was still hard to believe that they were brothers. Zelda knew one thing, though. Link was happy again and finally out of his depression. Knowing that he was happy made her happy as well. Things were slowly going back to normal around the castle.

Neither sibling wanted to leave the other alone, knowing that Ganondorf was after them both, so the king decided to have Link and Ganson share a room, moving an extra bed into Link's room. They stayed up that night, talking as usual about their pasts.

"So let me get this straight," started Ganson. "You're technically engaged to a Zora?" Link rubbed the back of his neck and laughed slightly.

"Yeah, I had no idea that the Spiritual Stone of Water was also the Zora's engagement ring." Ganson stared at him for a few moments, then started laughing hysterically. Link fumed. "I was ten, I didn't know any better! I didn't even know what an engagement was!" Link realized how funny the story was and started laughing with Ganson. Suddenly, the candles in the rooms blew out and the boys stopped laughing instantly.

"Hey...Link?"

"Yeah?"

"Did you open a window or something?"

"No..."

"...Oh crap."

Chapter 17

Zelda sat at her vanity table in her room, brushing her long, golden hair, looking at herself in the mirror. Though she was happy for her friend being over his depression, she couldn't get rid of this feeling that something else was going to happen now that Ganson showed up.

People don't turn over a new leaf that quickly, thought the princess. At that moment, she heard a knock on her door. She got up, put a robe on over her nightgown, and opened the door, greeted by her nursemaid.

"May I come in, Your Highness," asked Impa. Zelda nodded and stepped out of the way, allowing her in. She shut the door behind the Sheikah and sat down on her bed. "I wanted to see how you were doing. You seem like something's troubling you again."

"I think something's up," sighed the princess. "People don't just turn over a new leaf just like that. What if he's just acting to catch Link off guard and--"

"Zelda, you're over-reacting. I've been keeping an eye on Ganson since he got here, and nothing out of the ordinary has been happening. Do you remember how his eyes were when we went to rescue Link?" Zelda shook her head slightly.

"I wasn't paying attention."

"His eyes were hard, cold, and foggy, like a possessed man. Now look at his eyes. They're gentle. I think someone was controlling him. Maybe even Ganondorf himself."

"Now that you mention it," started Zelda. At that moment, they heard two male, familiar screams come from down the hall. Zelda and Impa quickly stood up.

"Link and Ganson! They're in trouble! Let's go!" They quickly ran out the door to the brothers's room and kicked it open. The room was a complete mess, with broken glass and some broken furniture to top it off. The window was wide open, the curtains blowing with the cold breeze. Link and Ganson were gone. Zelda's face quickly turned into one of horror.

"Why is all of this happening!?"

"I don't know, but we're going to find out!"