Disclaimer: Look, we all know I don't own Zelda, so let's get on with it.

Chapter 5: Marriage

Malon was not adapting well to castle life. For starters, everything in King Ganondorf's Castle was black or charcoal gray or blood red, metal or stone or coarse, hard leather. There was no hint of nature, no trace of softness, no speck of true life. Then there were the servants. It wasn't that they weren't kindly to her; that was just the problem. They were all so stiff and formal, or timid and afraid, and jumped at every mistake. On only her second day living in the castle she had mentioned that her soup was a bit to hot, and the servant that had brought it to her immediately fell to his knees and begged her forgiveness. They treated her as if she were royalty, and it was starting to irritate her. She wasn't accustomed to people doing everything for her, or being around her all the time, or being afraid of her. She couldn't seem to find privacy anywhere. Even in her own room she felt as if someone were watching her.
Then there was the royal family. Link of course was nice to her, and friendly for the most part, and really seemed to like her, but he was the only one. When Link had brought her here and introduced her to his family, Ganondorf had merely nodded absentmindedly and made a gesture that suggested that he didn't mind her existing. The queen had been no more comforting. She was a young, beautiful Gerudo wearing a gown fitting for someone of royal stature, but left her shoulders and upper chest exposed. Link had said she was once the Gerudo leader Nabooru's second in command, but when Ganondorf seized power and Nabooru opposed him, Ganondorf...dealt with her, and married her right hand woman. Link wouldn't say exactly how she had been "dealt with" though...
In any case, the queen had made Malon very nervous. Not because she was royalty, but because she acted so kindly and warmly, almost motherly, but it was so obviously a charade.
The worst though, was Link's sister, Ketume. Link had said that she was most likely the one behind the assassination attempt that had almost left Malon dead instead of Link, and yet they acted like it was only business as usual between the two of them. There was very obviously tension between the siblings, actually, more of a deep rooted hatred. However, Link acted as if he genuinely loved his sister, platonically of course, though as with the queen it was obviously a charade. Ketume on the other hand, made no effort whatsoever to mask her hatred of Link, and that hatred carried over to Malon. She did, however, mask her hatred of Malon, however poorly, and insisted on spending much time with, as she put it, "her future sister-in-law." This made Malon even more uneasy, because although he had never said anything to indicate this, Malon had a sneaking suspicion that marriage was exactly what Link had had in mind when he came to her rescue.
Malon sighed. Castle life was so complex; she almost missed the simplicity of her life on the ranch under Ingo. Almost.
"Is something wrong sister?" asked Ketume, who was sitting across the table from Malon, sipping a cup of tea. Malon quickly shook her head to clear it, and answered back.
"No, I'm fine. Just...a lot on my mind."
Ketume nodded knowingly, and took another sip of tea. Drinking tea with Ketume always made Malon even more uncomfortable. It was only a reminder of how Ketume was hiding her hatred of Malon and trying to appear friendly. Also, Malon always thought it would be more fitting to see Ketume drinking some steaming green liquid from a shallow bowl, rather than tea. Malon tried to clear the thought from her mind, and took a drink from her own glass of milk, ironically enough, from Ingo Ranch.
"Anyway, you were saying?" she continued.
"I asked you why you want to marry my brother."
Ahh. More small talk. Whenever they spoke to one another Ketume would ask her questions like this, questions that would result in meaningless small talk between the two young women. Malon didn't understand Ketume's motives for these questionings, but she couldn't see any harm in answering her questions.
"I've told you before that I'm not even sure I really do want to marry Link. I mean, I like him, sure, and I owe him a lot for saving me from Ingo, but...I'm just not sure that he's the one I want to spend the rest of my life with."
"But then why did you accept his offer to come to the castle?"
"Well, where else was I going to go? My father is most likely dead, and I don't exactly know anyone else in Hyrule who would take me in. Besides, when he offered, I didn't know just how much he had changed..."
This seemed to get Ketume's attention.
"Changed?"
"Yeah... I can't say how, but...he's not the boy I remember."
Ketume sat back, disappointed in not getting any new information.
"That would be father's influence. I remember when my dear brother first came to us. He was such a weakling. He'd actually cry himself to sleep some nights, if you can believe that."
Malon could believe it. It sounded so much more like the Link she had known as Fairy Boy back when they were just kids. So much more like the Link she could have fallen in love with.
"Anyway, after father started training him that all went away. Now, he leads our army in combat, and when father dies, he will be king." Ketume laughed. "If it weren't for the fact that I wasn't to rule after father, I could almost like the guy!"
Malon laughed nervously along with the Gerudo princess. Elsewhere in the castle, Ganondorf and his son were having a conversation revolving around a similar topic.
"Yes, I understand that you like her, but beyond that, why does it have to be her? Why not Princess Jenova of Memivar? She's pretty enough, and from what I hear she's very quiet and obedient. Not to mention that she's the heir to the Memivar throne. You know how large a kingdom that is."
Link sighed. "Yes, father, but we both know that in only another five years time at most we will have sufficient forces to take Memivar by force."
"Have I taught you nothing?" asked Ganondorf, decapitating another of the phantoms he used for exercise and entertainment. "Never take by force what you can gain by manipulation." He paused for a moment. "Very well, if you don't want Jenova, what about Lady Chirico? She has control of almost as much land as Jenova."
"I'll pass, thanks," said Link, parrying a phantom's attack absent- mindedly, then stabbing it through the heart.
"Isn't there anyone else you would consider as an eligible bride?"
"I'm sorry father, but Malon is the only girl alive that I really want."
"How can you know that? You've never even met Jenova or Chirico. For all you know you could love them twice as much as you love Malon."
"I will have Malon, father. No other."
Ganondorf sighed. "What about for a mistress? Would you marry a princess if you could have Malon as your mistress?" Link was silent for a moment, considering this as he felled another phantom.
"No..." he said presently. "I don't think such an arrangement would sit well upon my mind."
"Well what if you married one of the other girls and she met with an accident, then you married Malon?" Again, Link took this into consideration.
"No, I don't think so. You know I'm not particularly fond of...unnecessary assassination."
Ganondorf sighed more heavily. "You're impossible, Link." After a few minutes more of phantom slaughter, Ganondorf spoke up again. "You know, when I first started training you, I thought you might marry Ketume..."
Link was so surprised at his surrogate father's comment that he almost didn't block the phantom's attack in time. Ganondorf laughed at this.
"It quickly became apparent to me that such a union would be...unbeneficial...for both of you."
Link coughed audibly. "Does Ketume know this?"
Ganondorf laughed. "Not at all! The girl is not so...controlled as you. She would positively explode if she ever knew."