Another piece of Ganondorf's past is revealed

1943 words

(Tuesday)

A loud knock on the library door roused Rabia from where she had fallen asleep on the chaise lounge.

"Rabia? Open up!" Kaikoura called. "You've moped enough, come on out!" Rabia sighed and marked the page of her book, set it down on the coffee table in front of her, then went to unlock the door.

"What?" she asked exasperatedly. Kaikoura raised an eyebrow.

"Don't be sassy with me. Come on, go get ready. We're going out today. Zelda, Sheik, and Link are waiting outside," she said impatiently. Rabia sighed.

"I don't really want to, Kaik," she said.

"I don't really care. You're coming with us," she said. They stared each other down for a minute until Rabia groaned.

"Fine! Tell the others to come inside. It's cold out and I need to shower first," she stomped upstairs. She came back about an hour later, dressed and made up, but she had left her hair so it was still pretty wet.

"Rabia! Are you almost ready?" Zelda asked, smiling at her friend. Rabia ignored her and pulled on some thick socks and boots. Zelda sighed. "Rabia."

"What, Zelda?" She tugged on the bootlace aggressively while she tied them up.

"I'm sorry about what happened, but you don't have to be angry with me," she said soothingly.

"I'm not angry at you, I'm just angry, and you're not helping by dragging me out in the fucking snow," she grumbled. "It's cold and wet and I don't see the appeal!" She jammed a hat over her hair and pinned it in place with bobby pins, then put on a scarf and some gloves. "Snow is the worst." Link snorted and Rabia gave him a dirty look as she buttoned up her coat. "What?!"

"It's just… you complain about the snow every year, but I think this is the first time I've heard you whine about it this season," he shrugged. "It seems kind of late to start, don't you think?" Rabia glared at him.

"Alright!" Zelda clapped her hands together and stood. "We should head out. Rabia, you can ride with me!" she said.

"Oh, okay," Rabia said glumly, following them outside. She realized with a pang of sadness that she had almost forgotten Duke had run off. She mounted the horse behind Zelda and they trotted down the cobblestone street, Link in the lead. "Wait a minute, where are we even going?" Rabia asked.

"We're going to Hyrule Field," Sheik answered from behind them. "I guess this morning Kaikoura asked Zelda if she wanted to build a snowman," he shrugged.

"Do you wanna build a SNOOOWMAAAAN?!" Kaikoura sang. "I was actually singing, but it still sounds like fun. Besides, dad is starting to drive me crazy and I needed an excuse to leave." Rabia groaned.

"So not only did you force me to shower AND get dressed AND leave my house, but you're taking me to play in the snow? I hate you guys," she sighed.

"No you don't," Zelda answered. "You love us." Rabia grumbled to herself. It didn't take long for the small group to travel through Market Town and soon they were heading to Hyrule Field. Someone had taken it upon themselves to shovel out the well-trodden pathway around the field. Link turned Epona off the path and the others fell into step behind him. They carved a new path through the snow to the middle of an untouched patch of land and dismounted.

Zelda jumped off her horse into a fluffy pile of snow with a laugh, spreading out to make a snow angel. Kaikoura had started rolling a large snowball for her snowman, and Link and Sheik were throwing snowballs at each other good naturedly. Rabia sat on Zelda's horse, her nose wrinkling in distaste as she eyed the snow.

"Come on, Rabia! Make snow angels with me!" Zelda called.

"Ugh, no, it looks cold and wet," she answered. "I'm fine here." The snow was deep, over everyone's knees.

"Rabia," Zelda insisted. She extracted herself from her perfect snow angel and pulled Rabia off the horse into the snow.

"Zelda!" Rabia screeched as the two were gracelessly dumped into another pile of snow. She stood and began dusting snow off herself. "No, nope, this is cold and gross, I don't like it," she muttered, shaking her head. Zelda tugged her over to Kaikoura.

"Come on, help us make a snowman," she said.

"I'm making the butt!" Kaikoura called, rolling a ball of snow that came to mid-thigh in height.

"Okay! I'll make the body. Rabia can make the head," Zelda said, and started to get to work. Rabia sighed, but joined her friends in the snow. Link and Sheik made their way over with some pebbles and sticks to decorate as the girls started to assemble the snowman. They heaved the body piece on top of the snowman's butt, followed by the head. Link and Sheik shoved in some sticks and pebbles as arms and buttons.

"How are we going to give him a face?" Zelda asked as she looked up at the snowman, puzzled. It towered over the five of them.

"Get on my shoulders," Link said, crouching.

"Are you sure? I don't want to hurt you," Zelda replied. He smiled at her. After she was settled on his shoulders, Zelda pressed in some pebbles for the eyes and the mouth, then hopped off Link's shoulders and leaned against his side. "He's missing something. What's he missing?" she asked.

"It needs a nose," Rabia said. She reached into one of the saddlebags to and dug out a carrot which she offered to Link. He pressed it into the snowman's face and stepped back to admire his handiwork. "There. That's better." Rabia pulled her scarf up over her nose and tucked her hands into her pockets. "Can we go home now?" she asked with a shiver. Their clothes were damp and their cheeks were rosy pink from the cold winter air.

"Yeah, we should probably go get warmed up," Link said.

"Let's go to Lon Lon Ranch - it's warm and it's a shorter ride than going back to Market Town," Sheik suggested, as he mounted his horse. The others followed suit, and they all headed towards the ranch.

The ride to Lon Lon Ranch was a short one. There were no horses in the yard when they reached the ranch, so there were plenty of empty hitching posts to secure the horses while they headed inside the small shop.

"Oh, hello Link!" They were greeted by the cheerful voice of Malon. She rounded the counter and pulled her friend into a hug. "It's been so long! What brings you to the ranch today?" she asked.

"Hi Malon," Link returned the hug with a grin. "We were building a snowman in Hyrule Field and the ranch was the closest place to warm up."

"Well, come on in! Make yourselves at home," she replied with a warm smile. Malon led them through a door beside the counter into the house. She took them to a cozy living room where a fire was roaring in the fireplace. "I don't think anyone else is going to venture here through the snow today, so I'm going to go close up shop. You can warm up in here - I'll be right back!" she bustled out. Rabia was already pulling off her hat, scarf, and gloves and moving as close to the fire as she could without setting herself ablaze.

"Ahh, that's much better. I can almost feel my fingers," she said. Kaikoura scooched closer and warmed her hands over the fire as well.

"You're right, this is better," she agreed and wiggled her fingers as they warmed. Malon returned several minutes later with a tray of cocoa to find her guests stripped of their winter gear, much drier and warmer than when they had come in. A young, orange-haired girl walked in a moment later and Rabia's heart stopped.

"Oh, Kabira, sweetie, clear off the table for me please?" Malon asked. She swept off the few ornaments adorning the small coffee table and set them aside while Malon placed the tray of cocoa down for her guests. "There." She settled onto one of the couches with Link and Sheik. Rabia and Kabira avoided each other's gazes, uncomfortably aware of the other's presence.

"Hey, long time no see," Link said, smiling at Kabira. She stared at him and forced a weak smile.

"Yes… er, hello…" she replied.

"I don't believe we've met before. I'm Zelda," Zelda smiled at Kabira and held out a hand. Kabira looked at her hand and wrinkled her nose.

"Um… yeah, nice to meet you," she said.

"Oh, this is my daughter, Kabira," Malon said. Rabia's head snapped up, wide-eyed.

"I didn't know you had a daughter," Kaikoura said. "I didn't think you were married." Malon's smile dimmed.

"It's complicated," she stated. "So, what's been going on for you guys?" she asked.

"It's complicated," Rabia replied as she hugged her knees and stared into the fire.

"Ignore her, she's just moody," Link said. Rabia scowled. "We've just been hanging out, doing the usual. You?"

"The usual. Taking care of the shop and the horses," she smiled. "Actually, we recently got another horse, a handsome Arabian. We found him wandering Hyrule field in the snow. It's been too cold to go back to Hyrule and find who belongs to him, though," she said.

"An Arabian? Does he have a white splotch on his forehead?" Rabia asked.

"Mhm! Actually, I need to let them back outside before it gets dark. Do you want to come?" Malon asked.

"I love seeing the horses!" Zelda chirped. They all pulled their coats and gloves back on, then followed Malon out onto the field. She went inside the stables with Link to let the horses out.

"Hey Rabia! Look who it is," Link called as he lead the Arabian out of the stables.

"Duke!" Rabia ran over and threw her arms around the horse's neck. Duke snorted, bobbed his head, and wrapped his front leg around her hips. Rabia stood on her toes and pressed a kiss to white spot on his forehead. "Hey buddy. I'm so happy to see you."

"This is YOUR horse?" Malon asked. "I'm so glad! He's been so glum while he's been here, but I couldn't let him back out in that cold," she said. Rabia stroked Duke's nose.

"Yeah, he's a mama's boy," Rabia said. "Thank you for taking care of him. I was so worried when he didn't come back home…"

"Oh, it's no problem. We pick up lost horses all the time," Malon said. "Actually, you guys should probably start heading home so you're not stuck in Hyrule field in the dark," she chirped. "I'll go get Duke's things." She headed back into the stable. Rabia glanced around. Zelda was running around with some of the younger horses as they jaunted through the snow. Sheik and Kaikoura were feeding carrots to some of the bigger horses. Rabia quickly hugged Link while no one was looking.

"Thanks," she said, letting go of him. "If you tell anyone that happened I will kill you." Link stared at her, wide-eyed.

"...Okay," he squeaked. Malon returned and saddled Duke up with quick, efficient hands.

"There we go!" she chirped, dusting her hands off.

"How much do you usually charge for boarding?" Rabia asked.

"He was a pleasure, don't worry about it!" Malon smiled. "I'll see you guys later!" She waved and headed back inside. Rabia mounted Duke while the others gathered up their own horses, and the group headed home.

Rabia (main character/Ganondorf's bae), Kaikoura (Rabia's BFF/super awesome person), Kabira (Ganondorf and Malon's daughter)