The night was warm, it was always warm this time of year. The village lay on the eastern-most fringe of the desert, small enough that it didn't even warrant a true name most often. However, the locals called it 'Waterhome' as it held the only working well for miles.
As the moon slowly crept across the sky, a small shadowed figure darted through the village, moving swiftly up the wall of one building, and pausing to catch it's balance on the roof. After a moments the figure darted forward once more, dashing across the thatched roof, it's light weight allowing it to pass over the material without any trouble. The added effect of a simple weightlessness spell certainly helped as well. As the figure reached the far edge of the roof, it paused for the briefest of heartbeats, and then leaped as high and as far as it could.
The air whipped past his face as he soared through the night. Letting out a cry of exultation, young Ganondorf Dragmire landed dozens of meters out from the edge of the village in a roll, coming to a stop on his back.
"Still too slow little Dragmire." Ganondorf chuckled, sticking out his tongue, his chest heaving from the run.
"Well of course I'm slower than you Auntie Sheik. You've been doing this sort of thing since before I was born."
Sheik approached from slightly further into the desert, most of her face hidden by the mask she always wore, gazing down at the boy. He had grown extraordinarily well in the last six years, his form already showing the promise of height that she had seen in him as a baby. His body had grown powerful due to the unfortunate harshness that the two of them had endured over the years. "You need to remember Ganondorf, these exercises are more than just for fun. They are important, they-"
"I know. I know. They may in fact save my life some day. You worry too much auntie. After all, who's going to try and kill a couple of harmless wanderers like us?" The boy smiled, rolling back and then flipping himself upwards and forward. As he landed, he shook the sand from his deep red hair.
His guardian's eyes seemed to shatter in sadness for a moment. Her mind flew back to that tragic night so many years ago. She saw Nazhia, proud and fierce, staring death down in place of her son, she saw the Gerudo fighting viciously to defend the life of the child. Finally she snapped back to reality, gazing down to the boy, "This world is full of people who wish you harm my boy. When you are older, I will tell you more about why we travel alone. But until then you need to trust me on this."
Ganondorf smiled once again. "I do trust you Sheik. You raised me on your own out here, you're the closest thing I've ever had to a mother." Noticing that she seemed to grow sad once again, he laughed, punching her lightly in the arm. "Now, what do you say we try again!"
Sheik's eyes raised in an obvious smile and both of them dropped into a ready crouch. "Ready?" She asked with a chuckle.
"GO!" The boy dashed back towards Waterhome.
Sheik laughed as she darted forward after the boy, however as she swiftly and stealthily overtook him, her mind turned to a darker line of thoughts. Ganondorf's skill and power were incredible, especially for a child. The more the boy grew however, the more his guardian worried if she was doing the right thing.
There was no doubt in her mind that he was the Ganondorf reincarnated, that much had been obvious to her from the start. And that in itself was a problem, for the original Ganondorf, and every incarnation of him since were evil embodied. Yet, every incarnation of the Hero of Time had been a noble man, a true hero in every sense of the word; humble, sacrificing, brave... And this cycle's Link... he was...
Her mind jumped back to when she had first realized his madness, almost fifteen years ago now...
The rain lashed down, thunder and lightning roaring across the sky. The woman she had been stared horrified at the sight before her, the burned and charred buildings lay lifeless all around her, bodies burnt to such a degree that they couldn't even be recognized as human. Turning to her escort, she asked, "You are telling me that Link did this...? Of his own free will?" The man nodded silently. "WHY?! What possible justification could he have for this... this... butchery?!"
"These people were enemies of the state." A voice sounded from behind her. Turning she saw Link walking forward, clad in his golden colored armor, accents of green seemingly glowing in the darkness of the storm. "They refused to even negotiate, instead sending my messenger's heads back in a bag."
"So you murdered them all?" She couldn't believe what she was hearing, "Why didn't you send me in?! You know for a fact that I could have talked them down."
Link stepped forward, brushing a hand gently across her cheek, "I couldn't risk losing you. You are too important to the world to be lost fighting a bunch of worthless traitors." Her eyes widened in horror once again, where once his touch had awakened feelings of joy and security within her, now her skin began to crawl and she had to resist the urge to vomit.
She quickly backed away from him, turning to climb atop her horse. "I can't believe I'm hearing these words from you." She whispered, "I need to be alone. I'll return to the host on my own." Without another word, she turned her horse and spurred it into a gallop.
Link watched her go, his mind working over the look he had seen on her face. "Follow her." He said to a scout behind him, "Make sure she makes it back to the host." Something about her eyes caused murmurs of doubt to creep into his heart. "Make sure she's still loyal."
The scout nodded, riding off at a canter. Link turned back to his gathered soldiers, "You all fought well today. So enjoy a drink and a victory feast upon out return to the camp!" Cheers erupted all around him as the men all began filing towards their basecamp.
On she rode, into the night, hoping that the storm would swallow her whole and drown away her fears. She had seen the signs for years, but she had refused to believe that Link could possibly be anything but the noble hero she had known. Now... she wasn't sure, the evidence spoke for itself.
A slight twinge caused her to glance over her shoulder, catching glimpse of a figure riding after her through the rain. She pulled her mount to a stop, waiting for whoever it was to reveal themselves. At last the form solidified into the figure of a scout, bearing Link's personal crest on his tunic.
"I have been instructed to ensure you reach your destination safely my lady." He said in a clipped tone. "Please, follow me, I will lead you back to the host." He made to turn his horse, however stopped when he saw the woman make no move. "My lady?"
"I... I'm not going back." She said, making up her mind. "Not if I am going to be forced to be party to such slaughter again." As she spoke, lightning tore the sky asunder, as if to emphasize her words.
The scout seemed stunned by her declaration. "So, you are betraying his Majesty?" He asked,in a slow, threatening tone.
"No. I said I am leaving."
"That is the same as a betrayal."
"If that is how he will see this, than so be it."
The man's shoulders seemed to slump, disappointment showing on his face. "Then I have no choice but to bring you back to him by force."
"You always have a choice." She said with a silent plea "You do not need to be a part of this madness."
"Enough. You have surrendered your right to say anything to me." With that, he kicked his horse into a gallop, driving it straight towards her. She tried to turn her mount out of the way, but the scout's had been bred for high speed, and crossed the distance in seconds, slamming into the larger beast with shocking force.
The scout lunged forward as the mounts collided, throwing himself at her and pulling her down with him. As they landed, she quickly rolled, throwing him backwards before coming up to a crouch facing him. "Please... stop this." She pleaded.
The scout snarled in fury, lunging once again. This time he knocked her over, forcing her back into the mud, his hands closing around her throat. "You think you can betray Him and then just do whatever you want!?" He roared down at her, "Nobody betrays King Link! Not even you."
She gasped for air, her vision beginning to go dark, both from the mud and the lack of oxygen. As she struggled, her hand clasped around a large object lying to her right. Grabbing it without thought, she quickly brought the large rock up to smash into the side of his head, knocking him away from her. She quickly forced herself up, heaving in a breath and looking down at the stunned soldier.
Pulling herself up onto her knees, she grabbed the rock that had saved her, lifting it over her head.
The man's eyes widened in horror, "P-princess...wait..."
"I'm sorry." She whispered, tears already streaming down her cheeks. "Please, forgive me."
The rock hit with a sickening crack, and then it hit again. And again. And again.
She knelt there, tears streaking her face, mud caking her golden hair. She turned her gaze to the sky, and screamed.
Sheik's mind snapped back to the present. "I have to be right." She said to herself. "If Link has been driven insane in this cycle, then the balance must right itself somehow."
"Auntie Sheik?" A young voice from behind her startled her out of her thoughts, "You've had a really strange look in your eyes for the last few minutes... And you didn't answer when I asked you what's wrong."
Sheik looked over her shoulder at the small cave that the two of them had found for shelter today. Ganondorf stood in front of the small cooking fire, a concerned look on his face. "I'm sorry little Dragmire, just getting lost in some bad memories." She tried her best to sound reasuring, but his expression only grew more worried.
"You've been like this ever since Waterhome." He said, "What's the matter?" His large golden eyes seemed to almost bore into her, searching for some hint.
Sheik adjusted her mask, pulling it up further around her nose, before turning back to gaze out over the desert. "It's nothing Ganondorf. Just trying to figure some things out. Things that involve my favorite nephew, and what the future has in store for you."
Ganondorf made his way over to her side and sat down, leaning against her. "Well then we'll figure it out together. Like we always do. After all, we're a team right?" He smiled up at her.
"Yeah..." She said, ruffling his hair gently, "We're a team..." Her thoughts once again darkened with thoughts of all the ways that this could go wrong when his memories began to awaken. But said nothing as the two simply sat, enjoying the sunrise over the scorching sands.