The arrow sunk neatly through Ganondorf's sword hand. He shouted in alarm and dropped his sword, staring at it as if confused, then turning his head and locking eyes with Zelda. Her baby kicked furiously, and she winced and crumpled.
"YOU!" he roared. "YOU DAMNED COUNTRY BROAD!" He looked back to Link. "How many people are you going to have killed over your greed?"
Link hoisted his sword and tried to strike at him, but Ganondorf grabbed the blade and ripped it from Link's hands, chucking it to one side.
"I'll kill you both," he snarled. "With my own hands." He grabbed Link around the throat and started to squeeze.
Zelda reloaded and fired again. The arrow went wild, barely glancing off Ganondorf's forehead.
"DAMN IT!" he shouted, chucking Link to the ground like a doll. Link collapsed in a heap, gasping and choking for breath. Zelda watched as Ganondorf charged her, her eyes wide.
"COME HERE," he snapped, frothing at the mouth. As quickly as she could, she reloaded and fired again. This time, it sunk into his eye. Ganondorf kept coming, even as the blood and a horrible clear fluid ran down his cheek. Zelda backed up out of his grasp, her baby thrashing so hard she could barely breathe.
Link, still winded, forced himself up. He grabbed his sword and started after Ganondorf, clutching his chest.
"I'll rip your child from your body," Ganondorf was growling under his breath, "and snap its little neck before your horrified eyes as you die."
"No!" Zelda shouted.
"I'll burn you alive at both ends, your hair and feet aflame. Your heads will be on pikes, as a warning to those who cross me."
Link started to jog, bringing his sword up. He was close enough now, he was certain he could—
Ganondorf whipped around and smashed his fist into Link's face, breaking his nose. Blood sprayed onto the snow and Link stumbled backwards, dazed.
Ganondorf roared with laughter, elated and smiling. This was the most fun he'd had in a long time. "Come on! Come after me! Try again!" he goaded, gesturing towards Link.
Zelda reloaded and fired again, but the arrow glanced off his armor. She swore and grabbed another arrow.
Link headed towards Ganondorf again, blood running down his neck from his nose. He started to swing, slowly, and Ganondorf reached to stop the sword. At the last second, Link changed his grip, and the sword point drove through the palm of Ganondorf's hand and out the other side.
Ganondorf's grin fell now, and he roared in pain. He tried to pull his hand off the blade, but Link kept pushing it forward. Zelda grabbed her little dagger and came up behind Ganondorf. At the gap at his side, between the panels of armor, she thrust the little knife. He turned and struck her, hard enough to knock her down. Zelda turned to land on her hip, sending shockwaves of pain through her bones. But her belly was safe.
Ganondorf turned towards her again, lifting his boot to stomp on her. Link moved forward and grabbed Ganondorf's armor, hauling him off balance in the opposite way and down. Again, Zelda got to her feet and grabbed another arrow. But where? Where to hit him?
There was no need; Ganondorf glowered up at Link as he struggled to get up, to pull his enemy down. Link lifted his sword and plunged it quickly through his throat, effectively beheading him.
Ganondorf's last words were unintelligible; garbled and nonsensical through his torn throat, blood dribbling out of his mouth and nose. All the while he stared up at Link with murder in his eyes. Finally, after what seemed like a long time, his eyes rolled up into his head and he fell slack.
Link pulled free Zelda's dagger and the arrows, and cut off a rag of cloth from Ganondorf's cape, wiping his face and then righting his nose with a sickening crunch. He turned to look at Zelda, who was bleeding from a cut on one of her cheekbones, and she had a slight limp from her aching hip. He handed her dagger and the arrow back, and she put it away on her thigh, turning away from him slightly.
"Are you alright?" he asked her.
Zelda nodded, pale and shaken. Link went to her and helped hold her up.
"Well. I thought that would have gone neater," he muttered.
Zelda shook her head. "Horrible. We're horrible people."
"He would have killed us anyway," Link retorted.
"I know."
"It was self defense, alright?"
"I know."
Link let her go when he was sure she could stand, then he moved away, turning and throwing up black onto the ground.
"Are you alright?" She didn't relish the thought of having to haul him out of the woods.
He nodded weakly. "Just uh… swallowed too much blood." He spat bright red onto the snow. "Din's teeth."
They stood in silence for a few minutes, catching their breath.
"You should head back," Link instructed her. "Get healed up, then go home."
Zelda nodded weakly, and Link looked at Ganondorf's body. "Sad, twisted man," he muttered, going over and pulling the sword from his throat. He cleaned it off on Ganondorf's cape, and looked again at Zelda. "Go. Get out. I don't want you getting caught."
"What will…" she trailed off, staring past Link. He turned around, and they stared at an enormous wild boar, its tusks curled and its eyes focused on them. Zelda reached to pluck at Link's sleeve. "Come on," she said. "Move slow and calmly away from it."
In the distance they could hear the barking of the dogs. The boar swished its tail, snorting and lowering its head to the ground, but still watching them.
"Din's teeth," Link hissed. "Thing's bigger than a horse." He turned to Zelda. "Go. I can hold my own against it, and the guards are coming anyway." He glanced again to the boar, which had moved idly towards them, still sniffing at the ground.
"I'm going to stick around," Zelda replied fiercely. She looked around at the trees.
"Zelda, for the love of the Goddesses, think of your child and GO." He grabbed her arm and gave her a quick shake.
Reluctantly, she backed away, one eye on the boar. Link watched her going, and he gave her a nod of his head.
"Thank you," he muttered, quietly.
She turned, and headed out of the woods, hoping she wouldn't hear the boar charging after her.
/
Link edged carefully around the boar and caught up with the guards, then directed them to Ganondorf's body. When they got back, the boar was sniffing him over, and had apparently tried to bite at his soft body through the metal, and failed. The guards were horrified and fired their arrows at the boar. This only annoyed the animal, and it waved its tusks threateningly at them before turning and tromping off. The dogs barked and howled at it as well, chasing it off, mindful of its massive horns.
"See, it gored him…" Link pointed at the wound in Ganondorf's throat. "I ran for you as soon as I could; I didn't want the beast to turn on me. But…"
The guards inspected their dead king, his closed eyes and his grimacing face slack.
"Goddesses," one muttered in a stunned tone.
They gave a brief moment to the fallen man, muttering prayers under their breath. Link folded his hands, but he said nothing, staring grimly. Carefully, the guards hauled up his body, and Link herded the dogs to keep them from biting at his dangling hands, his drooping cape. It took a long time of walking, but the guards refused any suggestion to stop to rest their shoulders. Soon enough, they had Ganondorf packed away in the little cart, to take him to the castle to begin mourning.
/
Zelda was halfway to the fortress when the weight of what she had done struck her, and she had to stop her horse and sit still for a minute to calm herself. She told herself, again and again, that it was in the name of her husband and father. Their deaths were undeserved. But she couldn't help feel that she was only really punishing Sila, trapped in a similar situation. But Sila didn't even really love her husband. She was just putting on an act.
Zelda stopped and started her horse, stopped and started, and finally, she decided she could not bear to look another Gerudo in the face, with them congratulating and thanking her. She wanted to wipe her slate clean of those people. Instead, she turned her horse slightly. She could heal up at home, with people she knew, and start to forget the nightmare she had willingly participated in.
It was late afternoon when she got back to town. At first, no one paid much mind as she dismounted at the paddock and put her horse in. It took Milla, who was out watering the cows to realize, and she shrieked and dropped her water pail.
"ZELDA!" she shouted, before charging over to her. Zelda put up her hands defensively to ward off a hug, and Milla stopped short, taking her hands. "Farore's teeth, we thought you were dead for sure! My, look at how big you are!" She stood back, looking at Zelda's belly.
"I haven't been gone that long," she muttered.
"No, but Goddesses, it feels like an age!" She hugged her carefully. "What are your plans? Are you hungry? Where were you?"
"I'm tired, Milla. I just want to rest, at home."
"Oh Goddesses, what is that cut?"
"I was heading home and my horse spooked. I fell." The lie came quickly to her lips, but she regretted it quickly after.
"What? Oh Farore, we have to get you to Linna right away. LINNA!" Milla grabbed Zelda by the arm and drug her to Linna's house.
Linna opened her house door with a frown at all the shouting, but when she saw Zelda she gasped in alarm. "OH! Oh Din, Zelda!"
Zelda nodded. "I'm fine. I'm home now. I just… needed to get away for a while."
"She fell off her damn horse!" Milla shouted.
"Get inside, now. It's a wonder you didn't lose the baby." Linna grabbed Zelda by the arm and hauled her in.
"Really, I'm fine, it wasn't that big a fall. Just a scratch."
Linna took Zelda to one of the spare rooms, shutting Milla out and hissing at the old woman warningly when she tried to follow them in. Zelda sat on the bed and Linna cleaned the cut on her face.
"What else did you hit?"
"My hip. It hurts, but it's not so bad."
Linna lifted Zelda's skirts with permission and inspected her side; there was a horrible yellow bruise, marred with dark speckles of brown and red, but aside from a little grunt of pain Zelda seemed fine.
"You're incredibly lucky," Linna muttered, once she knew she was fine.
"I know." Zelda sighed, smoothing her dress back into place.
"So… were you at the desert king's?"
Zelda froze, looking at Linna.
"I mean, you have some color to you. I figured you were further south, and... I guess that's the closest place. And you two seem almost friendly."
"It doesn't matter where I was. I'm home now. I just wanted to be by myself, without so many memories."
Linna thought about it, looking at Zelda's face. If Zelda didn't want to tell her the truth, that was fine with her. She would in time. "I understand."
/
Sila looked up sharply when she heard the hall doors open. She'd been sitting in one of the parlor rooms with the girls, chatting and trying to keep distracted, because she knew what was coming and she was waiting. She looked back, her mouth suddenly dry and her skin cold. The other soldiers around her went still, waiting. It didn't take long for a maid to come running, flushed and shocked. "Y… Your Majesty. The king…"
Sila stood up. "Take me to him." She followed the girl out to the great hall, where Link was standing, bloody and acting stunned.
"Goddesses," Sila whispered. "What is it? What happened?"
"My lady, I regret to inform you that… your husband has passed away. He was attacked by a wild boar in the West Woods while we were hunting. I could not act quickly enough to save him. I beg your forgiveness for my cowardice." He sunk down on one knee, bowing. Sila stared at the top of his head. So, it was finally over.
To both of their surprise, Sila started to sob. Her attendants grabbed her as her knees buckled and sagged, and they helped her gently to the floor where she curled up, crying into her hands. With some effort, she was able to control her tears and calm down. Now they were free; he would not be permitted to ruin their countries. She wiped away her tears, and when she felt she could stand, she did so, feeling sick.
"Take me to him."
They went out to the main path before the castle, and she shuddered when she saw him laying there. His wounds were covered by his cloak, and she dare not move it aside to see them. She touched his face, sighing heavily as she did so, and she closed her eyes, muttering a little curse that could be mistaken for a prayer.
And now a funeral to plan, they still had to order in food supplies, so much left to do. Her shoulders felt heavy with the weight of it.
"If you wish, I would be willing to stay and assist you in any way I can," Link said softly, on the other side of the cart.
Sila looked up into his eyes and nodded. "Thank you. It would be much appreciated."
It was over.
/
Din trailed her fingers over the water of their seeing pool and sighed. She was done.
PERHAPS IT WOULD HAVE GONE THIS WAY NO MATTER WHAT, Nayru said quietly. POWER HAS CORRUPTED HIM SO THOROUGHLY, HE KNEW NO OTHER WAY TO ACT.
I SUPPOSE. I WILL ACCEPT THAT AS FACT, FOR NOW. Din looked towards Farore, who said nothing in response.
WHAT SORT OF BURDEN IS IT, ANYWAY, TO BE A BEARER OF OUR SIGILS? SURELY, IT WEIGHS ON THEM ALL, IN ITS OWN WAY.
I AM SURE IT DOES, Farore replied. YOUR SON WAS MEANT FOR IT. HE WAS SUITED TO IT. IT IS PART OF THE BALANCE.
She brought up a smoky image of Link and rubbed away the bearing mark on his left hand with her thumb. Using her index finger, she pressed the back of his hand and the mark of the triforce was rebranded, with courage lighting up as opposed to power. The others did the same, though Din lingered over Ganondorf's image for some time. She closed her eyes and forgave herself. How could she have known the effects of his burden.
/
In the world below, time passed at an accelerated rate compared to the Sacred Realm.
In that world, Sila and Zelda gave birth around the same time, a few days apart. Zelda had a boy, and Sila, a girl. Within the next few months, Hyrule strengthened. The mines in Gerudo were reopened, and the fortress became the center of operations for processing the copper ore, which was then sold by Hyrule to Termina and other countries.
At first, Link lived in the castle as a consult to Sila, until people became suspicious of their relationship. From there, he left to the desert again, for a time.
The copper mines brought jobs and commerce to the desert, then irrigation for farming a food supply, and so on and so forth. No longer did they need to rely on shipping in their food sources, so that their money could instead go towards renovating the building, putting in roads, and so forth.
Gerudo was no longer a military complex, and Link, along with most of his soldiers, oversaw the copper operations as foremen. But he hated it. He was bored.
On a lark, he traveled to Zelda's village, which had grown considerably because of the wealth and jobs from the mines. He bought some land on the outskirts of town, near a river, and built himself a neat little house, even went and got a horse, living off dividends from the mines.
He visited Zelda rarely, at first, unsure how she felt towards him, if she was angry at him for what they had done. But eventually she grew to a polite nature towards him, kind enough to allow him in to share dinner once in a while.
They never talked about that day in the West Woods.
And that was how their lives played out, with no troubling incidents beyond. Though for a long time afterwards, there were rumors of a massive black boar roaming those woods, whose scream sounded exactly like a man's, and attacked lost wanderers.
But that might be a story for a different time.
/
As usual, thanks to everyone for reading my story I'm not sure if this was necessarily successful, but with some cleaning up I could probably turn it into something special. I promise that next time, Link and Zelda will get to be all lovey-dovey on each other and y'all can revel in shippyness. OR WILL THEY
Sorry the updates dropped off; I got distracted with work and Minecraft. So thanks again for your patience and your kind words and helpful criticisms, I really appreciate that you guys keep reading and favorite-ing.