A few days later, I was again walking from Ganondorf's room. My guard was not far behind. We met on the open balcony, and he presented me with a paper-wrapped package of herbs. "Steep this like a tea, and drink it with your breakfast and lunch. By the next day, you should notice an effect." I thanked him in a hoarse whisper, tucking the herbs into the top of my nightgown. I waited until the sun rose in my room, looking up in surprise when Ganondorf himself came into my room. He seemed surprised to see me awake. "Good morning, Zelda."

I smiled pleasantly, the herbs tucked into my pillow. "Good morning." He seemed lost, looking around hesitantly. "Ah… you have not been staying in our bed at night. Why?"

I shrugged. "It's not really my bed."

He frowned and sat down next to me, stroking my cheek. "Do not act so cold. You're my queen."

I looked away. He growled with frustration. "Look—what would you like for breakfast? Would you like to have it in bed? I'll bring it to you myself." I studied him suspiciously, but having breakfast in private would give me the perfect chance to steep the herbs. "Simple food, please. Tea with lemon and toast, and an egg, over easy?" I watched him.

Ganondorf nodded. "I will bring it to you immediately." He jerked towards me as he rose, brushing his lips on my forehead.

I waited with trembling hands for an hour until the food was brought to me. The egg was stunted, peppered with some red spice, and the toast was a slice cut in half to look bigger than it was. A chipped ceramic pot of hot water and a cup on a saucer, with a slightly moldy lemon wedge and barely a spoonful of dried herbs rattled gently when the tray was set down. Ganondorf looked embarrassed, but I smiled sweetly. "Thank you, husband." I almost shuddered to say it out loud. He looked much relieved, however, and left the room. I fetched the herbs forth immediately, stuffing them into a rusty loose tea ball hooked to the inside of the pot lid. They bristled out of the perforations. I nibbled at the toast, not really tasting it or the egg as I waited a few minutes for the leaves to soak. When I felt they were potent enough, I poured a cup. The liquid tasted bitter and foul, and I retched after the first few sips. But it was necessary. I drank the entire thing, and poured another cup. Three cups total. My stomach growled uneasily, and I carefully fished the herbs out of the strainer, tucking them back into their thick paper wrapping.

I stayed curled up in bed for the day until Ganondorf summoned me to lunch, where I again requested tea. "Just a craving," I replied, smiling wanly at Ganondorf when he looked at me in surprise. He nodded reluctantly. "The doctor said there would be some… strange cravings."

I ate little; my stomach was lurching angrily inside of me. I managed to huddle the tea ball into my lap and stuff it full of the medicinal plants while Ganondorf was glowering at his pathetic lunch- a hunk of crusty, stale bread, some cheese, and cold slivers of ham. I drank the tea greedily, wondering if I dare try to prepare more at dinner, to be sure of their effect. It was harder still to squirrel away the leaves at the end of the meal, wrapping them again in the now-stained paper and hiding them in my pocket. Ganondorf tried to engage me in a walk of the castle grounds, but I refused and pleaded sick, putting one hand to my stomach. "I have not been reacting well to my… condition," I said softly. "It is probably best if I rest for now." Ganondorf's face flickered with a brief anger, but he nodded all the same. "Very well." I forced myself to move in close and kiss his cheek very lightly, a hand on his shoulder. Ganondorf grimaced in a poor smile. I turned and nearly ran back to my room to hide.

I had dinner in my room, and again managed to steep the leaves. This last dose was the weakest, that I was aware of. But I drank it anyway, wrapping the leaves carefully and hiding them in the floorboards to dispose of later. I left my room, trailed by a guard again, and I peered out a window. The moon was barely a crescent in the sky. Tomorrow night, they would come.

My sleep was uneasy. I was having a recurring nightmare of a massive battle, the one supposedly to take place tomorrow night. Soldiers were screaming and dying, my clothes were spattered in blood, and overhead I could hear Ganondorf's roaring laughter. My stomach was swollen with pregnancy, and I screamed in pain as the child inside clawed at my insides, eager to be free. I watched in horror as it ripped its way from my stomach, a deformed thing that was half man and half demon. I bled out with screams of horror as the thing stared at me, its lips curled in a sneer. "Mother," it whispered in a gravelly voice, before lunging for my throat.

I kept screaming as I woke up. Some monster had grabbed hold of my gut, and was wringing the blood from it. My bedclothes were sticky and wet under my legs, and I sat straight up in bed. Guards bashed through the doors, one of them our spy. Ganondorf stormed through, his face in a panic, hair flying crazily around his head. "What's happening?!" he shouted.

"Doctor!" I screamed in reply, clutching my stomach and shuddering. Ganondorf ran, and I groaned in agony, reluctantly lifting my bed covers and staring in horror at the mess of blackish-red blood that met me. My guard stood impassively by my side; if he reacted in too human of a way to my distress, his cover would be blown. Another cramp, and more tissue issued forth from my body. By the time Ganondorf came back with a doctor, the ordeal was mostly over, and I was lying on the bed in a sweaty daze of exhaustion. The doctor took my pulse, and lifted the bed covers, gasping when he saw the horror. "How bad is it?!" Ganondorf shouted.

The doctor shook his head. "It's too late." I stared at Ganondorf. He looked back. His face contorted with fury, a smoldering fire deep in his dark eyes.

"What did you do?" he whispered. I shuddered and tried to look pathetic and helpless.

"Nothing," I whimpered.

"DO NOT! Do NOT! LIE TO ME!" His teeth were sharp fangs in his mouth, and I curled up on my side, feeling sick. The doctor patted my hair, trying to reassure me. "Guards, please; he's clearly hysterical," he ordered, gesturing to Ganondorf's foaming mouth and wild eyes. The guards hesitated; they only took orders from Ganondorf. Instead, the monstrous man wheeled from the room, storming away through the castle, and the guards followed after. The door closed behind them, and the doctor pulled up a chair, sitting down and cleaning his glasses with a cloth. "How did you do it?" he asked quietly. I studied the doctor, wondering if I could trust him. He put a hand on mine, and the human warmth I got from him reassured me. I shuddered and took a deep breath to control myself. "Herbs, steeped like a tea."

"Where are they?"

"Hidden in a floorboard."

I directed him to it, unable to move from the pain. He unwrapped the package, poking through the brown, soggy mess, muttering. "Whoever got you this recipe knows what they are doing. You will feel ill for the next few days though, I shouldn't wonder. And I would try to avoid… strenuous activity." We sat in silence for several minutes.

"Doctor."

"Yes?"

"How were you able to tell that I was already pregnant in barely a week?"

The doctor was silent, looking down at his hands. "Your majesty, you were nearly three weeks along. The child could not have been Ganondorf's, as you've been here less than that, which is why I lied." I felt my stomach drop, and my skin went cold and clammy. The doctor looked up again. "I assume you know whose it was." I couldn't move or think, my mind reeling in horror. "Your majesty, he would have made it his child, no matter who the rightful father. He had probably already begun polluting its mind through the food you ate."

I rubbed my face with my hands. "Should I tell him?"

"No!" the doctor replied in alarm. "Do you want him to kill you?"

"I meant the rightful father," I replied.

"Oh." The doctor thought it over. "Only if you feel he needs to know."

Shivers raked my body, and I felt a migraine starting in my head. The doctor stayed for several more minutes, until finally, he slowly stood up, squeezing my shoulder, and left the room in silence.