Chapter Fourteen

Zelda

It had been risky, far too risky for her own liking, to visit Link in his cell. Ganondorf had eyes everywhere, she knew that first hand. She could not so much as blink without him knowing about it. He had replaced her guards with his own people, and had replaced her ladies in waiting as well. Still, he would never know the castle as well as she did. She had lived there all her life, studied its layout under various tutors. She knew every nook and cranny, every passageway, and had managed to find one the Demon King had not yet found.

She shuddered at the thought of what would have happened if his guards had been stationed on either end. It would have meant death, or at the very least extreme suffering, for her, she held no doubts of that. She had had to see Link, though, to make sure he was alive, though she knew he would be far from well. It had been a stupid decision, she knew that, but she still would have gone back and done it all over again.

She sighed when she heard her door click open, watched as one of the Gerudo stepped in. The girl was young, younger than Zelda, but still as deadly as the others. She wondered if, should the Resistance finally end Ganondorf, she should start having soldiers train at a younger age, and to start allowing women to train as well. She would do anything to ensure a tragedy like the one they currently faced never happened again.

"Sa'votta," the girl greeted with a curt head nod before helping Zelda change from her nightclothes into a simple gown. Growing up, she had always disliked others helping her with such simple tasks. Now, she dreaded it, knowing that they did not help her out of respect for their monarch, but rather to ensure she hid no weaponry on her person. "His Grace wishes to see you today."

"How can you follow him?" Zelda questioned as the girl brushed her hair. "How can you just do as he commands knowing the chaos and destruction that he has brought with him?"

The Gerudo sighed and was silent a moment. "Your family banished us to the desert," Zelda winced when the girl brushed harder than she thought necessary. "Sentenced us to die there, watched as your soldiers imprisoned us, tortured us, raped us. When we still refused to die, they banished us to the land of darkness, forcing the rest of us, our ancestors, further into the desert itself." Zelda shut her eyes and focused on keeping her breath calm and even. The Gerudo had betrayed the Royal Family. Ganondorf had led an insurrection against the King. The Royal Family could not have just sat idly by and let it go unpunished, act as if nothing had happened. "They executed our king, who generations later, arose from the dead and led us here."

"At the cost of other lives?" Zelda questioned. "At the cost of the world of light being blotted out forever?"

"A punishment your ancestors thought appropriate for us thieves and criminals," the girl tugged on Zelda's hair as she pulled it back, and the Princess gritted her teeth to keep from forming a sound. "His Grace does not seek war," the girl shook her head and moved so she was facing Zelda. "He seeks a better world for his people."

Zelda looked the girl in the eye, hoping to see a shimmer of doubt, though none appeared. "He will destroy us all," she said softly. "He will burn this world to the ground and laugh as everything goes up in flames."

The girl rolled her eyes and helped Zelda to her feet. "Come," she said. "We must not keep His Grace waiting."

They approached the throne room in silence. The Princess did not dare say anything that would be overheard by one of the Demon King's spies. She watched as the girl knelt before the Usurper, and reluctantly followed her lead. She would be of no use to her people dead. "Your Grace," she spoke, not meeting his gaze and keeping the venom she felt in her heart from her tongue.

"You stand before Ganondorf Dragmire," she heard Emita speak, her tone clear, full of authority she had no right to use. "First of His Name. King of the Gerudo. Ruler of the Realm of Light and of Twilight, and rightful King of Hyrule."

"Rise," he stood, holding her head high as she looked to the throne. Niset was not present, something that unsettled her more than she would admit to, though Emita and Amunet remained in their usual positions. "The foolish Zora king still refuses to come and bend the knee."

"A wise choice," Zelda spoke. Though young for a Zora, Ralis was still older than herself, and she was pleased to hear that he was willing to stand up to Ganondorf, even if it cost him his life, even though it would cost him his life.

"You will choose your words more carefully, Princess," Ganondorf glared down at her. "And would do well to remember you are speaking to your King." He leaned back in the throne, his glare turning to a smirk. "Niset and her forces are taking a break from finding your little friends." Zelda frowned in confusion. Nothing good could come of that. "The Zora boy's people will suffer greatly for his failure to recognize the rightful monarch who won his throne instead of merely receiving it." She continued to watch him carefully, taking care to keep her facial expression neutral. "Their pathetic pet Lord Jabu-Jabu will be dead within the fortnight."

"With all due respect, Your Grace," Zelda spoke, unable to keep the harshness from her tone. "Lord Jabu-Jabu is sacred to the Zora, their deity. Ending his life will do nothing but enrage the Zora, turn them further against you."

"Silence," he commanded, his voice booming and echoing through the mostly empty room. A chill ran down the Princess's spine. "It is not for you to advise me," he continued, his voice taking on a deadly calm quality. She had learned early on not to fear his voice when it rose, when he became aggressive, but that the calm, collected Demon King was the true threat. "Let it be known throughout Hyrule," he spoke to Amunet and Niset. "That there are no kings, no rulers, no gods other than myself."

"You are a fool, Ganondorf," Zelda spoke. There was no way the man believed himself to be a god, at least she hoped not. "And it will destroy you."

"Take her from my sight," the Usurper snapped at the girl who had escorted her to the room. Proudly, Zelda turned on her heel and left the room before she could be led out, the Gerudo girl following closely behind her.