As they neared Castle Town the guards who Aeris had learned were named Usoki, Inaufe,
Imeone, and Neraki grew restless and Aeris didn't blame them. The dress Aeris wore kept riding up her thighs, and the last thing she needed was to flash the King of Hyrule. At least whatever had been wrong with Ganondorf the day before seemed to have resolved itself, Aeris thanked the gods for that small mercy.
Aeris rode close to Ganondorf as Imeone and Inaufe rode in front of them and Usoki and Neraki rode behind them boxing the couple in. Aeris' heart was hammering as they approached the main gate one of the Hylian guards stepped forward as they crossed the lowered drawbridge. "State your business,"
Imeone pulled the invitation and presented it to the guard, "Ganondorf and Aeris Dragmire King and Queen of the Gerudo Desert are here at the request of the King of Hyrule,"
The guard took the invitation without taking his eyes off of Ganondorf and Aeris. Aeris was unsure if he was staring at her or the mountain of a man beside her. "Of course. Right this way," The guard turned and began guiding the group through the city as they entered the main plaza the guard suddenly began shouting, "Make way for the Gerudo Royal Family!"
The plaza fell silent, Aeris scanned the crowd trying her hardest to look refined as she rode through the crowd. Murmurs rang through the silence and people began straining to catch a glimpse of the strange royals. Aeris spotted a familiar face among the crowd, his blue eyes widened as Aeris rode by, she sent the soldier a knowing smile.
Aeris tried her best to ignore the whispering Hylians as they rode, she sent a quick look to Ganondorf, he seemed unfazed by the attention and solely focused on something in the distance. Aeris followed his gaze and saw a white cathedral esqe building, it's spires rose above the surrounding buildings. Aeris turned back to Ganondorf to ask if he knew what the building was but he was no longer looking at the building, instead his gaze was directed to the castle.
It only took them a few minutes to reach the castle once they passed through the secondary gatehouse that separated the town from the castle. Ganondorf sent their escorts with their horses to the stable as they dismounted, the poor stable hand looked terrified of the women who stood a good head taller than him.
Aeris made sure to stay close to Ganondorf as they followed the guard through the halls of the castle. The white stone walls were decorated with various coats of arms and paintings, Aeris spotted one she assumed was the princess but didn't have time to inspect the painting any further.
The guard paused before a large set of oak double doors, "Excuse me one moment," He cracked the door just enough to slip through and disappeared.
"I think I may pass out," Aeris was trying her best to suppress the cold sweat that was spreading across her skin.
Ganondorf gripped her face lightly, "You'll do fine," He kissed her but pulled away quickly as the guard reappeared.
The guard gestured for them to prepare themselves and the oak doors swung open revealing a vast throne room. A crimson carpet the length of the room, stopping just before the marble throne. "Introducing the King and Queen of the Gerudo Desert Ganondorf and Aeris Dragmire!"
Aeris and Ganondorf began to move toward the throne where the King of Hyrule sat, Aeris' hand was clasped lightly in Ganondorf's. The King's gaze was heavy on Aeris as they approached, she kept her head raised with a small smile.
Ganondorf gave a small bow and Aeris curtseyed as they arrived at the throne. King Daphnes Nohansen Hyrule was a handsome man in his late thirties to early forties. His blonde hair was showing signs of graying but his blue eyes remained sharp. Aeris wanted to curl into a ball and disappear under his gaze.
"It is a pleasure to finally meet our neighbors from the desert," Aeris let out a small sigh of relief as the King spoke, his voice was deep and smooth.
"The pleasure is ours Your Majesty," Ganondorf's voice rivaled the Kings in depth but was more on the gravely side.
"I was unaware that your wife would be a Hylian," Aeris heart froze, "This is intriguing. Tell me, Aeris was it? How did you come to be the Queen of the Gerudo?"
"It is a long story Your Majesty," Aeris smiled at the man sweetly. "The Gerudo took me in after my family home was destroyed. I've been among the Gerudo since I was ten years old and as for my marriage, you could say it was fate that guided me to my husband,"
The King nodded but was interrupted before he could ask any further questions/
"Introducing Her Majesty Princess Zelda of Hyrule!" The three of them turned as a young girl entered the room. Though she moved quickly, she moved with a grace that Aeris could only hope to imitate. Her dress was white with pink and blue accents, her blonde hair was covered by a headdress and her eyes were the brightest shade of blue Aeris had ever seen.
"Father!" Zelda's voice was high and melodic.
"Yes daughter?" The King sent Ganondorf and Aeris an apologetic look.
The princess stopped by her father's side, "I must speak with you about the dream I've been having,"
The way Zelda spoke struck Aeris, there was no way that a normal twelve year old spoke like that. The king smiled at his daughter, "I'm busy my dear, we can speak as soon as I am finished here,"
Zelda turned to Ganondorf and Aeris as if just realizing that her father wasn't alone, her eyes widened when she saw Ganondorf, "Father," She gripped her father's arm tightly, "It's urgent,"
King Daphnes turned his attention back to his guest for a moment, "I apologize for my daughter's behavior," Zelda tugged on his arm, "But you must be tired, it's a long journey from the desert. Cailim will show you to your rooms,"
A young brunette hylian stepped forward and gestured for Aeris and Ganondorf to follow him. Hyrule Castle was a maze of corridors and rooms, Aeris was unsure if she would ever be able to navigate the palace by herself.
The room that Cailim directed them to was massive, the four poster bed was covered in a dozen royal blue pillows and a thick comforter the same shade of blue. Aeris almost went cross eyed at all of the blue, it clashed against the white walls and furniture, but managed to remain regal.
Their belongings were already in the room and neatly stacked in the corner. "Can I assist you with anything my lady?" Cailim stood in the doorway with his hands clasped.
"No thank you," Aeris gave her best smile.
Cailim turned to Ganondorf who was looking out of the large window that overlooked the gardens. "Can I do anything for you, my lord?"
"I would like to see the library," Ganondorf turned to the young hylian, "If that would be possible,"
Cailim nodded, "Of course my lord, if you would follow me,"
Ganondorf sent Aeris a questioning look, "Go i'll be fine," Ganondorf nodded and followed Cailim out of the room leaving Aeris alone.
Aeris carefully unpacked the second dress from her things, checking the fabric for any wrinkles. She draped the red and white dress across the bed and quickly undressed and slipped the dress over her head. Once the dress was in place she turned to continued to rummaging through their belongings, looking for the matching shoes.
She jerked back her hand hissing in pain as her fingers brushed over something that sent a jolt of pain up her arm. She inspected her fingers, there was no blood, so she didn't cut them on anything sharp. She cast a glance to the door, debating on whether she should call for help or not. Not wanting to make a scene over nothing, Aeris used her foot to knock the bag off of the chest it sat on, spilling its contents onto the floor.
Still holding her tingling arm Aeris crouched to search the contents of the bag. She used one of her toes to kick around the spilled contents of the bag. A glint of green caught her eye, she bent closer and moved a piece of cloth and found the necklace that Koume and Kotake gave her.
Aeris hadn't worn it in months, it was supposed to be hidden in one of the cabinets in her bedroom at the fortress. Looking at it gave her a strange feeling, she carefully grabbed the silver chain with one of Ganondorf's shirts and brought the pendant closer to her face.
The once vibrant green gem now had a strange blackness spreading from the center. Coldness spread through Aeris, she felt sick. She quickly dropped the necklace and slipped on a pair of slippers before running out of the door.
Something was very wrong.
Aeris moved quickly trying not to draw attention to herself, not knowing which way she was going or which way she needed to go. She ended up in the gardens slightly out of breath she stopped and leaned against a fountain.
Aeris knew that Koume and Kotake weren't particularly fond of her, but would they really try something as bold as putting a spell on her? Wouldn't Ganondorf have noticed? Aeris started to panic remembering the way she passed out during the wedding. Had that been Koume and Kotake? No, Ganondorf would have definitely noticed that… or would he have?
Koume and Kotake had taught Ganondorf everything he knew about magic, if anyone could get a spell past him it would be them.
A small green blur rounded the corner of the fountain and collided with Aeris nearly knocking her over. The small blonde boy stared up at Aeris his eyes wide with fear. A small blue ball of light suddenly appeared in Aeris' face causing her to go cross eyed, "Go Link! I'll distract her, get to the Princess!"
Aeris batted the light away, "Hey, stop that!" The young boy was still staring at Aeris, "What are you even doing here, kid?"
The young boy shook his head causing the long hat he wore to wave behind him, "Please don't throw me out, I really need to talk to the princess,"
"Zelda?" The blue fairy bounced against Aeris' head, "Will you stop that!"
"Navi, I don't think she's going to stop us," Link took the blue fairy into his hands.
"Kid, I've got problems of my own," Aeris doubted the boy would understand, "If you want to meet the princess, i'm not going to stop you,"
Aeris stepped out of the young boys way and watched as he ran into the castle with the blue fairy bouncing behind him. "Did you see someone run by here?" A spear wielding guard poked his head around the fountain.
"No, sorry," Aeris smiled sweetly, "Could you tell me how to get to the library?"
Aeris needed to find Ganondorf, she needed answers.
A/N: Bad juju magic is bad... I hope some of Aeris' personality shined through, I kinda think she was getting a bit mary-sueish but as the action starts she'll start shining more... I hope...