Chapter 3: Ganondorf Dragmire

"Miss...?"

Zelda's elvish ears twitched at the sound of the accent of the Gerudo. The voice was deep and masculine, which surprised her momentarily.

She turned and politely offered her hand to the tall young man. As she studied him discreetly, she remembered that two years before she was born, the Gerudo chieftain had given birth to the first male in over three hundred years—an unusually long time to go without a male in the species.

She was thrown off-kilter by the knowledge that this would make him thirteen—not the man he appeared to be, but a young boy.

"To what do I owe the pleasure, Sir...?"

"Ganondorf, saar'vai," he introduced himself, leaning down to kiss her hand. "Ganondorf Dragmire."

Zelda blinked in surprise. She had learned the Gerudo language as part of her royal studies, and this meant that she knew "saar'vai" meant "lovely lady." As Link, she was unused to being referred to in that manner; most Hylian nobles were quite dismissive of the younger twin.

Wishing to return his politeness so that he may not see her rude, she curtsied. "Princess Link Hyrule, saav'voe."

Ganondorf blinked for a moment, as though shocked that she had used his language in return, and then he smiled. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Princess." He bowed slightly and offered his hand to her. "May I have this dance?"

Zelda smiled back in a coy manner, which in hindsight had astonished her—she had never acted this way before. "Of course you may." She took his hand and followed him to the center of the ballroom.

The song at the moment was Les Patineurs, a lovely waltz that was one of Link and Zelda's personal favorites—Link loved the beautiful and elegant use of the strings while Zelda favored the way it built up at certain points towards an epic crescendo at the end. For the time being, this was one of the calmer parts of the waltz.

As she and Ganondorf started to move to the moderate tempo of the waltz, he decided to initiate a conversation.

"I saw that spectacle earlier with Sir Bernard Hyrule. Isn't he of the Branch family?"

"Yes. How do you know him?" Zelda asked curiously.

"I had the displeasure of meeting him while he was traveling through Gerudo desert on his way to the old Arbiter's Grounds," Ganondorf answered in distaste. "Why he would go to such a wasteland is beyond me."

Zelda tilted her head in confusion. "That is odd. Arbiter's Grounds is nothing but sand and pebbles now."

"I chose not to dwell on it. The man struck me as an idiot then, and tonight only supports that."

There was a lull in the discussion as the music abruptly crescendoed a bit and there were sudden rapid scales downward, in which they increased their pace and lost room to talk. It lasted for a few seconds before it slowed down again, and Zelda took the chance to resume their conversation.

"So today was your birthday?"

"Yes," Ganondorf answered, letting her twirl around for a second before resuming their languid pace. "Though I would rather it be a quieter affair, my mother would not hear of it. I don't like loud, lavish parties."

"That makes two of us," Zelda commented with a smile. "Do you play any instruments?" she asked.

"I've found the organ to be quite nice to play," Ganondorf commented, "but I also enjoy piano and oboe."

"I favor the ocarina," Zelda responded, "but I can play the piano and flute as well."

"Didn't the ancient Hero of Time use an ocarina?" Ganondorf wondered aloud.

"Yes, that's why it's tradition that all in the royal family learn to play it," Zelda replied. "To pay homage to the Hero of Time."

Ganondorf let out a baritone chuckle. "I don't blame anyone for learning to play it. It's quite a lovely instrument."

"That it is, Sir Ganondorf," Zelda agreed. "That it is."

They found themselves lost in the music as it suddenly built up the ending crescendo. Link watched as Zelda spun in her green dress, the lighting giving her a soft, pure glow. The younger smiled as she watched her older twin enjoy herself with the Gerudo noble—whom she had learned was actually the next in line to be chief.

When the party had started to die down and guests were escorted to their bedrooms for the night, Zelda, Link, and Ganondorf made their way outside to the gardens.

Once they were outside, Zelda abruptly stopped and turned around to face Ganondorf. Link tilted her head at her older sister and smiled; it was rare for her twin to make a friend.

"Ganondorf, meet my sister, Link." Zelda gestured to the younger.

Ganondorf looked between them in surprise, his mouth half-open as his eyes flickered between the two. "I thought you were Link," he said flatly at Zelda.

"We switched places for the party," Link said apologetically. Inwardly, she was surprised that Zelda trusted him so quickly, but not surprised at the abrupt and direct delivery of the statement—the older had always been the less tactful of the sisters.

"The nobles like to bully Link just because she's the younger twin," Zelda said as way of explanation. "I took her place tonight so that she could avoid it." The Gerudo male nodded in understanding at this, though Link could see that he still had questions—questions that he wouldn't ask for the sake of politeness.

As they wandered through the gardens, Ganondorf looked around, taking in everything with a neutral expression, though he couldn't hide the wonder in his eyes. Zelda didn't appear to notice as she plucked some flowers from the garden—no doubt to use as an ingredient for some dish later. Link, on the other hand, noticed it very well, and she hid a smile at his fascination with the greenery.

"This is my first time outside of the desert," he said softly after a while. "It's not home, of course, but in its own way it is beautiful."

Zelda's pointed ears twitched as she looked at up Ganondorf. She stood up, a handful of glowing flowers in her hand and a soft smile on her face.

"You can keep these in your room tonight," she said softly as she held them out. "They're called Silent Princesses—it's our favorite flower."

Ganondorf seemed to hesitate, his shocked golden eyes focused on Zelda. The older twin began to blush and hastily backtrack as she realized the implications behind what she had just said and done.

"W-Well only if you want them, I mean—"

"Thank you," Ganondorf interrupted. "I was just momentarily surprised by the offer; I wasn't expecting it." He took the handful of Silent Princesses in a soft manner that belied the strength of his large hands.

Zelda stared with wide eyes for a moment, face still red, and stuttered, "Ah, you're welcome!" Link was miserably failing to hide an amused grin, and when Ganondorf next had his back turned, Zelda gave the younger a glare.

"The newest couple~" Link sing-songed teasingly.

"I don't like him that way and you know it," Zelda grunted. "I acted before I thought, is all."

Link shrugged, but didn't stop grinning. In truth, she knew that her sister didn't truly like Ganondorf in that manner, but it was nice to see her actually interact with someone from beyond the castle. Most of the time, Zelda preferred to watch the Royal Guard train, watching in fascination as they spun a complicated dance around each other. Link wasn't as bad at social interactions—in fact, when as Zelda, the younger was more confident, poised with the grace that the older twin seemed to lack in conversations.

The trio spent the rest of the night in companionable silence, and only when the sun began to dawn over the horizon did they finally decide to separate to their respective rooms to sleep.

Gasp! Mirror updated two days in a row?! How is this possible!

We meet Ganondorf! And he's very nice right now! Don't worry, next chapter will be much more interesting :)

AriTheDoggo: Cheeky little twinsies indeed XD

Don't forget to critique me please!

Ciao,

Mirror