Before the Game Begins...
The Death of the Queen
Chapter 5 Kaepora Gaebora
Ganondorf paced between the tents of his army, deep in thought, clearing his mind of troubling things, but the troubling things would not go away. How could he forget what that old man told him? It ate at him day and night. It drove him into dank abandoned libraries. It brought him to this darkened field. It compelled his every waking moment. Because of this, his men admired and feared him. He swore out loud. He could do only one thing now.
They had kept the Hyrulians holed up for two weeks. His face twisted into a smile at the thought of the desperate townfolk, who must be eating their annoying pet dogs by now. Even though the townfolk had cannily repelled his initial attack, (how had they known?), he knew that their every move since then had been counteracted. Now he was at the part of a conflict that he hated: waiting. He sent stalfos scouts out every night to ensure that no one left the town by stealth. Any who did would die gruesomely at their hands. Only the Sacred Sword could inflict permanent damage on them. Because of Ganondorf, evil things would forever roam Hyrule Field. He had unleashed the undead with forbidden rituals. They would return again and again to harrass unwary travellers from sunset to sunrise, and only the end of the world would release them.
Kaepora Gaebora, the old sage who had entrigued him with tales and prophecies, had paid the price for his encounter with Ganondorf. At that time, being one of his first victims, he was not turned into a stalfos as the rest had been. Because of his own inherent power, he had only been turned into an owl.
But not before reciting this tale.
"Amoung the Seven Sages, it is said there is a book of prophecies that tells the tale of three goddesses: Din, Farore and Nayru. Din created the land, Farore the sky, and Nayru every living thing. When they had accomplished these tasks, they left, leaving behind the sacred triforce. One of the prophecies say that one day, this triforce, which is a gateway to a future world, will be threatened by evil, and only the Hero of Time will be able to take it for safe-keeping.
Some say that the triforce is the source of all power in our world. Should anyone take it, they would be able to travel through time. They would be able to heal all wounds. They would be stronger than anyone else in the land. They would not be afraid of the worst monster. They would have enough wisdom to solve any problem. In other words, whoever has the triforce, would become the greatest ruler ever known."
Ganondorf had heard similar tales before and dismissed them as bedtime stories, but Kaepora Gaebora had within his possession, a strangely colored medallion. Upon setting his eyes to the thing, Ganondorf felt a powerful desire rising up. Kaepora Gaebora saw it and smiled, not realizing the danger he was in. Kaepora himself felt the compelling pull of the coin and felt so confident in his ability to safe-guard it, that he did not see the desert man's intention until too late. With a deku nut, Ganondorf immobilized the old man. He took the coin from the paralyzed hand, and as he touched the coin, there came the certainty that all the legends and prophecies were true. In his mind's eye, he could see the young prince smiling and wielding the Sacred Sword, surrounded by a brilliant light.
He wove the deadly forbidden spell around the old man, expecting him to be reduced to bones, but found that somehow, the old man had counteracted him, and turned into a giant brown owl.
Ganondorf smiled at the memory. The old man had been troublesome, but Ganondorf had captured him in his owl form and caged him. From time to time, he fed him field mice and gave him a plate of water. The old bird was somewhat bedraggled, but Ganondorf enjoyed to see suffering, and tortured him more by thanking him for the gift he had handed over. Kaepora Gaebora said nothing. He only blinked and turned his head, waiting for an unguarded moment.
Before transforming the Sage, Ganondorf had learned from the old man a certain trick where by he might travel in ghost-form to a distant place and spy on whomever he pleased. In this way, he entered the fortified town, and found himself at the Temple of Time. Surprising the guards there with his sudden appearance, his reflex was to silence them. He felt a pleasant thrill of power emminating from the strange coin in his possession, when their blood flowed. He dragged them into the nearby bushes and entered the dim temple. How could this be? he wondered. Kaepora didn't say anything about the ghostly projection becoming solid.
He saw the legendary jewels hovering in place above the altar, but the ante-chamber was closed. He heard footsteps behind, and just on time, hid behind one of the giant pillars. He stole a glance and recognized the King of Hyrule. A thrill of pure glee travelled throughout his being. What luck! he thought. I can take him here, in the temple. The King, however, whirled around and challenged the slightest sound. Ganondorf froze. Faced with his enemy, he hid, focusing on the coin as Kaepora had directed. The King relaxed, then took out a strange object and put it to his lips.
At the sound of the Ocarina of Time, Ganondorf felt the kind of dread that kept him frozen to the spot. This was not what he expected. The melody of time echoed in the empty, high vaulted chamber and resonated in a very unpleasant way. Ganondorf found this disconcerting, for now he was faced with an unexpected problem: how would he get into the ante-chamber to travel forward in time if he couldn't even bear the melody of the Ocarina? He realized, reluctantly, that he would somehow have to manipulate someone into doing it for him. That meant a member of the Royal Family. A cruel smile curled his thin lips. The first to come to mind was the Queen. Everyone in the land knew she possessed magical attributes and that the Ocarina was hers.
He crept closer to the open doors of the ante-chamber and observed while the King and the Sage of Time consulted breifly. He watched the King plunge the Sacred Sword into the pedastal, and as he watched, an evil impulse compelled him to marched back to the altar and remove the three spiritual stones. Without a backward glance, he pocketed the jewels and nearly laughed as he heard the heavy stone doors begin to close, sealing in the King and the Sage of Time: both in one fell swoop! Two birds with three stones! He nearly laughed outloud at his own wit.
As he left the Temple, his happiness was cut short by the appearance of one of the guards he had thought he had already dispatched. Taken by surprise, Ganondorf quickly reacted, again subduing the guard, this time, with a vicious and powerful blow to the head. The soldier, however, managed to grab the evil King's cloak on his way down, and gave it enough of a tug that a single sacred jewel became dislodged. Not noticing the loss of the emerald, Ganondorf fled, disappearing with the power that Kaepora Gaebora's coin had given him.
He found himself back in his tent, the caged owl opening one eye to balefully gaze upon him from his darkened corner. Ganondorf tossed his cloak carelessly upon a nearby chair and broodily sat down on it. There was something not quite right... he thought to himself as he removed his bloodied gauntlets and tossed them in a heap at his feet. He absently unbuttoned his vest and shirt, shrugging out of them and adding them to the heap. The melody of Time...should it have made me freeze like that? No, he decided, that wasn't the thing that bothered him. He rested his head on the back of the chair and closed his eyes. He draped one leg over the arm of the chair, and brushed the floor with fingers from the opposite side. He let his mind wander where it wanted, and he half-slept like that, in repose for several minutes.
Then he sat bolt upright, realization dawning on him.
"Nabooru." he shouted.
The guards stationed at his tent tossed her in. Her hands were tied behind her back, and the guards kicked the back of her knees so that she crashed to the floor before him.
"Leave." he curtly told the guards. He stood, and turning his back to her, began ablutions, pouring water into a basin from a jug, and washing the blood from his hands and face.
She watched in cold silence. His body was wonderfully sculpted. He was 22 years old, 7 years her senior. Under other circumstances, they would already be married and ruling the Gerudos together. She had tried to steel herself to bear such an alliance, but his cruelty was excessive and her nature too fiery. Thus, she found herself bound before him, already having refused him on one formal occasion and several other informal ones. She had even given him a scar, which he indifferently showed to her now when he had turned his back on her--a great, ugly gash from his shoulder to the middle of the back.
He dried himself and put on a clean shirt. Then he stood beside her and put his hand on her head.
She became very still, not even daring to breathe. What now?
He curled his fingers at the nape of her neck, tightening them around her hair. He hauled her off of her knees and brought her face close to his. "Did you know..." he said quietly near her ear, "That I think there is something not quite right in Hyrule?"
The owl swivelled his head to gaze intently at the couple.
Nabooru said nothing. Not one indication that he was hurting her crossed her face. She lowered her glance to hide the anger that flashed dangerously.
He laughed softly when he saw her face become flushed and her body more rigid. If her hands weren't tied right now, he thought, she'd scratch out my eyes. He was a step ahead of her.
"I saw the King at the Temple of Time" he said, dragging her across the tent and throwing her onto his bed. He was amused by her outraged dignity that quickly shattered her resolve to be stoic. He sat down beside her. "Don't worry." he said. "I can take more willing women than you any time I want." The twisted smile became broader, but he gave her a distainful, encompassing gaze, as if he found her lacking.
He allowed his gaze to focus on the tent door, and he said: "He played an amusing tune on that Ocarina you were talking about."
He glanced slyly at her, watching her reaction. Her face was not quite schooled enough to hide her puzzled expression, and he felt a thrill of pure evil when he saw it, because it confirmed what he suspected. He gently stroked her bare arm and she flinched away from him, not knowing what to expect. "You didn't say the King could play it."
His words fell into the quiet stillness. Her heart stopped for a moment, and then began to race.
"That means that the Queen isn't even there." He said.