Chapter Six

Garen sat outside in silence, staring up at the night sky. It was cold, as it always was, but even more so tonight than any other that he could recall. The frigid air pierced his sand-colored tunic, and he shuddered, closing his eyes. He had been sitting there for over an hour. At least, that was his guess. To him, it had felt like at least six hours had passed. He was starting to worry.

There was a sudden piercing wind, but it faded almost immediately.

"…Lord Garen…?"

Garen inwardly rolled his eyes. Ever since he had turned eighteen, everyone had decided to start calling him 'Lord' Garen. He didn't like the title much, but they refused to call him by just his name, so he learned to accept it.

Garen stood and turned to look at the woman who had spoken. She was all but covered in blood. That in itself wasn't a good sign.

"How is Kaya?" he asked softly.

"…She's dead…" the woman replied, bowing her head respectfully, "…There was too much blood… We tried… but we couldn't save her…"

"…And… what of… the child…?"

"…I'm…" she fell silent, turning her head away slightly, "…She was dead before we could do anything… I'm sorry… We tried… But…"

"That's enough."

She looked up at him in silence. His face bore no expression, although his eyes were sharp and cold. She shifted uneasily under his gaze, quickly averting her own. Finally, she hurried inside again, and Garen's gaze followed her. He looked inside, watching in silence as the women inside hurried to clean up the mess. Kaya's body lay hidden under a bloodstained sheet. More disturbing was the second bundle of swaddled cloth laying at her side.

It was just too much for him to bear.

He quickly turned away, starting down the hill in silence. He made his way for the gate leading into the wasteland, neither looking nor speaking to anyone else. Once he reached the gate, the two guards stationed there moved to stand in his path.

"Move aside," Garen said darkly.

"We cannot allow you to venture into the wasteland. At night, it is nigh impossible to see. You could get lost."

Garen scowled at them. "I. Don't. Care. Move aside, and open the gate."

"But sir-"

"Do as I say," Garen snapped.

The guards exchanged glances, frowning slightly. One of them hastened to climb the tower, slowly opening the gate. The other looked up at Garen. "Sir, don't do this. You could get lost and we wouldn't be able to come to your aid. You could die out there, especially if a storm comes. You know very well that sandstorms can get so fierce that they can tear the flesh from your bones." Garen just listened in silence, brushing past her when the gate was finally open. "Garen, don't! We need you! How can you expect us to get by without you?"

Garen stopped. "For a week, expect me to return. If I don't return at the end of a week, declare me dead, and let my second-in-command take control. She'll be your leader then." With that, he left, treading onwards into the wasteland.

He didn't care where he was going or why he had even come out here in the first place. He needed time to think, and he needed to be alone, without the stresses of his position as King of the Gerudo. He ignored the biting cold, the freezing winds. He cursed the wind. All throughout his life, the wind had only brought death. It came during the day with searing heat, it came at night as a frigid gale. The wind was blowing as his mother died. Even now, with the death of Kaya and their child, the wind continued to howl triumphantly at his pain.

He scowled. Hyrule… The wind that blew across the plains of Hyrule was different. The wind brought no blistering heat, no freezing cold. The wind was calm, gentle… And yet the Hylians, stupid and greedy creatures they were, they still found the need to attack the fortress. For no reason whatsoever.

He slowed to a stop. The war had ended three years ago. He still remembered the meeting between the leaders of each race. He had been discriminated against because he was young, and because he was Gerudo. That had angered him to no end. He wanted so much just to kill them right there and be done with it. They had committed wrongs against his people already. To condescend him like that would have pushed him over the edge.

…But the King of Hyrule had put an end to that. The King seemed nice enough, and he had been patient with Garen, calmly answering any questions Garen may have had. Even after Garen had refused to swear allegiance to the Hylians, the King was still willing to assist them in times of need.

For the past two years or so, they faced a terrible drought that had dried up even the oasis. Some died of starvation and thirst, and even more became ill. Garen himself had given up most of his own food to those sick and dying, as well as to the children, who needed it most. Some days he'd go without food or water, going out into the wasteland and hunting what small game he could find, always managing to bring back something to at least feed the children and the ill. Somehow, the King had gotten word of their situation and had food and water delivered immediately. Under normal circumstances, pride would have forced Garen to turn down the offering, but the welfare of his people came first, so he accepted it gratefully. Over the course of two years, the King continued to supply them with food and water. But recently, since maybe three months before, the supplies stopped coming. Garen had heard that the Queen had died, and that the King and his five-year-old daughter were mourning over their loss. Now the Gerudo were in the same position they had been in two years ago. But this time, they did not have Garen to support them.

Garen's progression slowed considerably. The cold was finally starting to get to him, and fatigue was starting to set in as well. He staggered, managing to catch himself before he fell. This was stupid… how could he have let himself do this? If he stayed out here, he was going to die. If hypothermia didn't get him, dehydration and malnutrition would. If a storm didn't come by the next day.

"Well?" he breathed, looking to the sky, "Well, Goddess, is this what you want? You're supposed to protect us. Yet you allow this to happen. You let us suffer through a war, you force us to endure the blistering desert sun and the frigid nights that come immediately after. You starve us, force us to endure a drought that lasts two years. Two years! And you expect us to still look up to you? What Goddess makes her people suffer? How can we respect you after what we have had to go through?" He spat on the ground angrily. "You have no power over me. I will not follow a Goddess who lets her people die. You are dead to me!"

He continued to stare up at the sky, almost as though expecting to see some sort of divine wrath forced upon him for infuriating the Goddess of the sand. He could care less what happened now. He was going to die anyway. What was the point anymore?

He staggered forward again, finally turning his attention forward. He could hardly see where he was going anymore. He was certain that he was going straight, but he wouldn't be surprised if he was going in circles. It had happened numerous times when he'd gone into the wasteland before. Except those times, he'd been out during the daytime, and during times when the desert winds weren't blowing so hard, scattering sand everywhere to obscure his vision.

He stumbled again, but this time he fell, landing hard on his stomach. He lay still, his body too tired to really move. "…So this is how it ends, huh?" he breathed, closing his eyes. The cold just seemed to vanish as he let his mind drift into black nothingness. He wondered vaguely if Kaya had felt this way, or Seiya for that matter. He thought about it for a moment, and eventually all train of thought was lost as he fell into a dreamless sleep.

'

Garen was woken up rather abruptly by cold water being dumped on his head. He awoke with a start, his eyes wide with shock and confusion. He found himself sitting chest-deep in water, a hot-spring, from the feel of it, with his back resting against a wall. His shirt and shoes had been removed, but his pants, fortunately, were still on. He sat still for a moment, trying to get over the shock of being woken up so suddenly.

"It's about time you woke up."

He started, turning to see who it was. A hand was placed on his chest, stopping his progression. "Sit still. You were out there in the cold for so long. Your body needs to warm up, to regain its strength." The voice was that of a woman, the words kind, gentle. Almost motherly.

"…Who are you?" Garen asked hoarsely.

"We are Twinrova. We found you out in the desert, and we brought you back to the temple. We saved your life."

"…'We'?"

"We are two sisters, powerful witches that reside in this temple. We use our magic and become one. It is incorrect to say 'I' when there are two of us."

"…If you say so…" Garen said. He noted absently that her touch was unusually warm. "You say that you saved my life… Thanks, I guess…"

"What do you mean 'you guess'?"

"I came out into the desert to die anyway. There's really nothing for me to live for."

"What about the Gerudo? They need their King."

"They're better off without me," Garen replied.

"Oh, but that is not true," Twinrova said, a smirk audible in her voice, "They need you. Especially because those accursed Hylians tried to kill them, to take their home… and the Gorons and Zoras are not any better. They discriminate against us because we are Gerudo."

Garen was silent, a dark scowl crossing his face.

"See? You agree with us. We can sense your power, the magic that burns within you. We can help you harness that power."

"…You can?" Garen asked softly.

Another hand came to rest on his chest. The touch was surprisingly cooler, an exact contrast to her other hand.

"We can."

"…Then teach me… Help me become stronger."

"We will. And more. You will show those Hylians that the Gerudo are not people to take lightly. Your name will become known, and you will overshadow your predecessors. You will become more than the King of the Gerudo. You will become the King of Hyrule. You will take Hyrule, claim it as your own, just like those accursed Hylians tried to do to us."

"…I will… They will pay for what they've done…"

"Yes… That's it… You will make them suffer." He was held close in an almost motherly embrace. Finally, those arms were withdrawn and he felt Twinrova's hands playing through his hair. There was the whisper of a knife being unsheathed and he felt the cool blade pressed against his flesh. The blade was pulled upwards, and thick strands of red hair fell to the ground.

"…My son… Ganondorf."

Author's Notes: YES! FINALLY! After... six months--holy crap!--of writer's block and writer's sphere--double-teaming jerks--I have finished chapter six of Chikara no Yume! YAY!!!
Sadly... this was supposed to be the last chapter... but I didn't know how to write the ending! -cries- BUT, thanks to Selphie Louise, who helped me decide, I know what I want to do to wrap the story up. So just hang in there! It will be done soon. And Children of the Gods will be updated soon, as well! Fear not!
...That's enough out of me. Back to drooling over Kadaj and Sephiroth. Yay for Advent Children. o.o -flee-