Before the Game Begins...

The Death of the Queen

Chapter 8 The Silver Gauntlets

When Ganondorf had her thrown from the tent following his startling revelation regarding the Queen's absence, Nabooru's mind was racing. A great many of his followers feared him because of the awesome power bestowed upon him by the silver gauntlets. They believed that he was the one destined to rule the entire world. He had vanquished 3 monsters: Volvagia, Queen Gohma, and Barinade. Other monsters like Bongo Bongo hadn't yet joined his ranks. They were watching and waiting to see what the outcome of this particular conflict would be.

The guards escorted her to her tent, which was next to his. They untied her arms and placed the shackle around her ankle. She knew that the secret to his strength lay in the gauntlets. If she could just get them away from him, all this would be over. She shuddered, remembering how closely he had leaned toward her as he told her his idea regarding the Queen of Hyrule. His words, his strength...she didn't want to think about how he had intimidated her. It made her feel so helpless and angry. She rubbed her wrists to try and get the circulation back into her hands

She sat on the edge of her cot to try and calm her mind so that she could think of some way of thwarting his plans. Every plan she envisioned, however, ended with watching and waiting for an opportunity. Little did she realize that she had silently aligned herself with the owl sage that Ganondorf kept in a cage in his tent. She had noticed the bird before, and although she felt sorry for the creature, it gave her the creeps whenever it looked at her. It seemed to know. It seemed to think. It seemed to watch.

Ganondorf had promised to remove the shackles if she agreed to become his bride. So far, she had refused, and didn't see any reason to change her mind. Her stubborness was great, but maybe if she agreed, she would at least be free to roam the camp. Maybe if she agreed, she'd be better able to grasp the opprotunity she desperately needed. She realized that there was more at stake than her own comfort. The entire kingdom of Hyrule was at stake. Not that she cared a great deal about Hyrulians.

She removed the tie that kept her hair up and began combing her tresses, considering the step she was about to take. She wasn't sure she could stomach it.

Just then the man of her thoughts entered the tent. He stood at the entranceway for a long time just looking at her with that cold assessing gaze. She hated to think what he was doing there. Usually he had her summoned to his tent for the clash of wills.

Finally, he took a step in, and said: "Why aren't you telling me to get out?"

She arranged her hair back into its usual pony tail and stood up to face him, gathering all her courage to say what she had to say, and say it convincingly. She looked up to where he stood. He wore a simple white shirt tucked into black pants. The pants, in turn, were tucked into black riding boots. His red hair was pulled back and his gaze was intense. She had a strange feeling in the pit of her stomach that she hadn't had before. She became aware, suddenly, of the edge of her lips and the way she was dressed and the warmth in the tent. "I..." she began to say, but the rest of her words were gone. For a horrible moment, she thought that she would cry.

He came closer and knelt down infront of her.

This was unexpected. Her initial reaction was to step back, but she steeled herself for some strange conflict and forced herself to stay still. Instead, she felt his hands around her ankle, and suddenly, the shackle was off. He slowly stood up, but he did not look at her. "I've sent scouts into the nearby villages to see if the Queen has taken refuge in any of them." Then he glanced slyly at her, and she noticed he was amused. "Why haven't you stepped away from me?" he asked.

Startled, she tilted her head to look him in the eye, and to her horror, her eyes began to fill with tears. "Why did you let me go?" she asked, ashamed that her voice trembled. She couldn't believe that she had been about to capitulate to him. That he had released her without insisting that she uphold her end of the bargain was overwhelming.

He looked intently at her face: "What did you want me to do?" he asked softly, and wiped one of her tears away. When she did not reply, he shrugged and sighed. "Its no use anymore anyway. They've locked the tri-force away. I need to get the Queen to open the temple doors with that nasty ocarina of hers. The King's got the ocarina, and who knows where that brat of theirs is? If the Queen isn't there, it's pretty likely that they've taken the Prince out of harm's way before I even got here. I still have the spiritual stones, although one is missing, so it's quite useless, isn't it?"

He brushed passed her and sat on the edge of her bed. "I'll probably withdraw." He told her.

Those were the last words she had ever expected to hear from him. She was too stunned to formulate a reply.

"Do you remember, about a week ago, that white-haired warrior that Queen Gohma wanted?" he suddenly asked.

She nodded mutely and wiped her eyes.

"That must have been the Royal bodyguard." he said, laughing weakly. "They must have been close by. I guess that the Prince..at least, it must have been the Prince...anyway, he met his doom from one of my bony friends. Some of the soldiers found a little body the next day by the bridge. It was pretty messed up. Couldn't even tell what color his hair was. Thats probably why he came charging into the camp the way he did. I mean, think about it. Anyone on reconnaissance or some furtive mission definitely does not want to get caught by us. They definitely would not come charging into camp slaughtering innocent soldiers, right?"

She swallowed nervously. When he spoke of such gruesome things, his tone seemed so cold. He spoke so lightly of a child's death, she could feel anger rising up in her. "Yeah." she said drily. "Innocent soldiers." She grabbed one of her elbows.

He watched her for awhile, amused by what she had said. "Come here." he ordered her softly.

She came to stand beside him.

"Sit down." he said.

She sat beside him.

"Closer." he said.

After a moment, her back rigid, she sat so close that their thighs touched.

He watched what she did with a bemused expression. He put his elbows on his knees and leaned forward, not even looking at her. He placed his forefingers on his own lips and tapped them. Finally, he said: "Why did you do that?" Then he turned his head to regard her. "Have you changed your mind?"

Now a whole new game was afoot. Nabooru could be a scorpion when she chose to. He knew enough to be cautious. When she didn't reply, he softly said: "Don't cross me Nabooru. You'll regret it."

But when she turned her eyes to his, he was taken aback by what he saw there. She tried to form words, and managed only another "I..." which trailed away. He leaned back and automatically put an arm around her. At this, she turned her face so it rested against his chest. When he suddenly found himself comforting her, the incongruity struck him forcibly, so he stayed very very still. He told himself that she was only 15, still only a child inside. But she was also Nabooru. She was going to up and stab him in the back, or wait until he let his guard down and thwart him as best she could.

After a couple of moments, he gently pushed her away and stood up. He couldn't trust her. Even if she had changed her mind, he'd already set her free. The war was over. Things had happened because of him. He stood near the door and paused, his back to her. "I'm a monster, Nabooru." he said. "Don't forget it. And don't try to make me even like you, because I won't. There's something evil inside of me. It's best that you have nothing to do with me."

He stepped outside, letting the tent flap fall behind him, like a veil that covered the world he could never attain. He curled his fingers into a fist and kept his head lowered. A heart beat later, the alarm sounded. The drawbridge of Hyrule town was down and the army of Hyrule was pouring from its gates.

Ganondorf lifted his head and laughed like a maniac. "Curse you, Din!" he shouted. "Curse you, Farore!" he continued. "Curse you, Nayru!" he screeched.

He ran to his tent and donned his armour. He grabbed his sword. He grabbed the... He looked around, tossing clothing and pillows and knick knacks into the air. Where were the gauntlets? He started to swear profusely. Then he notice that Kaepora Gaebora was gone. The cage door was wide open. He plunked down in the middle of the floor, feeling as if someone had knocked the wind out of him. The silver gauntlets were gone.