The desert was a cruel place. The princess had not even realized where she was being held captive until she escaped. Now the sun beat down on her pale skin, digging up a reddish hue and a sting to match it.

Zelda dragged Link's sword behind her in exhaustion. She had tried to carry it properly, but had lost the strength long ago. Now it took all of her will to not just leave it behind. Her body screamed for food and rest. There was nothing but sand around for as far as she could see. She continued walking and prayed to find a civilization to recuperate in.

The evening sun, painful as it was, served at her guide, keeping her on a straight path until the moon and stars rose up to greet her and bless her with relief. For a time this was a bit of good fortune, but then the merciless chill of the night began to bite at her burned skin and fingertips.

Despite the pain, nothing was hurting her more than the memory of the battle she just left. It played over and over in her groggy head, and a simple question burned itself into her mind.

"What am I going to do now?" she murmured to herself as her eyes rolled back into her head and she fell to the ground,

*

Sitting all day in a cage that she had the keys to was more psychological torture than Link could handle. The rest of the room was dark and the door was shut. She wondered if it was locked.

Anger and adrenalin built up inside her small body, until she grabbed the keys and opened the cage.

Nothing seemed to change.

Quietly, on her bare feet, she stepped down onto the dirty floor and crept to the large wooden door.

A weapon, she needed a weapon. She looked around frantically, but the room was completely empty except for her cage and a few chains fastened to the walls.

Ripping through the silence, the huge wooden door, slammed open, and Ganondorf's silhouette stood before her.

He shook with anger, and Link bolted back for her pen like a roach running from the light. He made a heavy-handed swipe at her, but she ducked and dove back into the cage. She fumbled with the keys, doing all she could to hold the door closed while she locked it again. Ganondorf stepped back and kicked at the bars, but it was too late, and the lock was once again in place.

"YOU STUPID GIRL!" He roared as he once again started beating the barred enclosure. Link huddled into the center of her sanctuary as it was jolted from side to side by his terrifying blows. He continued the onslaught until his blood cooled, and he stepped back again.

"I'm starting to think you want me," he growled.

She didn't reply, but stared up at him like a cornered feral cat.

Ganondorf took a sharp breath. He looked at her naked body and then lost himself again, lunging at the cage and trying to get his thick hand between the bars.

Link stood up and walked closer to him.

"You're a goddamn tease in that little pink body of yours," he murmured, mentally cursing his weakness.

She picked up the box he gave her earlier, and smashed his fingers with the corner of it. The wood dug deep into the knuckles of his fingers, and he gritted his teeth in rage.

"Well, Link," he said slowly, pulling his bleeding hand from the bars, "I can clearly see that my kindness is wasted on you… at least for now."

He stood up and walked rigidly out of the room. Link saw that the wound in his side still pained him greatly.

"So enjoy your starvation," he spat, as he slammed the door shut and locked it from the outside.

Link's eyes gazed down on the stone floor to a scattered tray of food. Ganondorf must have been bringing it down to her when he entered the room. In her mad rush to get back to her cage, she didn't even notice it.

Hunger pulsed through her body. She needed that nutrition, or she would be much worse off later. She didn't dare leave her cage again though. She was sure that Ganon was watching her now. Her mind reeled on how she could reach the loaf of bread and apples on the other side of the room.

Her eyes went down to the box. Still, unopened and tempting. Out of options, she knelt down and began to open its wooden hinges. Inside were two modest frocks. Hand tailored from silk, and embroidered, they were quite suitable for an aristocratic girl around her age. There was nothing improper about them, as they would loosely drape her from neck to toe in an elegant fashion.

She ripped the pink one into a long knotted rope, and slipped the green one over her head. She was tired of her nudity and the silk felt good on her raw skin.

She carefully broke the wooden box into a scoop shape, and fastened the rope to it. Carefully she tossed it toward the food, and began to pull it toward her.

Ganondorf immediately stepped back into the room. Link tried to pull her creation back into the bars, but he held down the rope with his foot.

"That dress looks lovely on you," he said softly as he reached down to pick up the broken box and an apple, "I will reward your good behavior just well as I punish the bad. "

He jerked the silk rope out of her hands, and dusted off the apple on his shirt. He then gently held out the fruit to her from between the bars.

"Eat it from my hand," he whispered, "and you will have good food the rest of your stay here, regardless of future infractions."

She stared at man with newfound comprehension. He had displayed his flaw so clearly that now even Link understood the influence she had over him. Clearly the upper hand was to be gained by fighting in a different manner.

Holding back the tightness in her stomach, Link's blue eyes locked onto Ganondorf's hungry yellow stare. She walked up to the bars, timidly at first, and put her mouth up to the apple. Ganondorf looked surprised at this sudden cooperation. He was expecting her to starve before giving into his thinly veiled perversions.

He held the apple firmly as she took her first small nibble. Link didn't even realize how hungry she was until then. She took ravenous bite after bit until she was at the core. Her lips occasionally grazed his fingers as she finished off the last little bits, and she saw him tremble.

When she was done, Link licked the apple juice from her lips and Ganondorf retreated out the door without a single word.

*

Ganondorf practiced his magic in a fever that night, trying to get his mind off the feeling of willing lips on his skin.

He thought about the final piece of the triforce. He had to find it quickly before he lost his head and did something stupid. He had already sent more men out to his desert fortress to retrieve Princess Zelda, but no good news had reached him yet. Unless the gods graced her with a stroke of luck or cleverness, the girl was probably dead to the elements by now.

He shook his head. He needed to stop thinking about little girls.