The raven was a swift bird, one that needn't much training outside of basic care. It was raised from a fledgling to adulthood from the royal couriers. They were bred to comprehend basic commands and to be fully familiarized by their surroundings. Just like Zelda, they meant to learn of destinations ideal for deliveries. One of these such locations was the harsh torrents of heat that could only originate from the Gerudo Desert. Messages were rarely ever sent there, but the select ravens they had all knew the best route to take to arrive there safely. Out of all the places, it was the most dangerous one for the avian messengers. They were swift, agile birds, but they lacked in fortitude what their other abilities covered. It happened every now and again that a raven may die to the treacherous elements of the desert, but tonight was not such a night, nor this bird such a bird. By the blessing of the Goddesses design, the raven soared in the space between heaven and earth with alarming speeds. It was during the darkest hours of the night that the bird arrived safely to the Room of Messages in the brick temple. The assigned Gerudo woman—an elderly thing with gravity defying hair and a red gem resting on her forehead—snatched the letter promptly and set the raven aside. With grubby fingers, she clutched the letter addressed to her King close and sped off to the main hall. He speed was fast, but it was not due to her leg strength. The old hag flew about on a broom, which aided her in arriving to the throne room rather fast. She entered and noticed her King and a doppelganger of herself standing beside their leader. They were exactly the same, down to ever detail save for a blue gem laying over the other's forehead.
"Koume, what is it you want, sister?" The blue twin called out, her voice dry and rasp and none too thrilled.
"My Lord Ganondorf, Kotake," Koume introduced herself rather promptly and flew up beside the two. Formalities were seldom warranted, as they were all family, unless their son was in an awful mood. Tonight, it seems he was complacent. Her sister and son were likely discussing something about their people, idle politics. From the throne sat Ganondorf, long trailing red hair blazing all around his form like a powerful mane belonging to that of a proud lion. Koume flew up directly to Ganondorf now and produced the letter, lowering her head as she did so. "Word from Hyrule, from the Queen Zelda herself. I might usually pre-read your letter, my Lord, but I have reserved that right for you, given the possibilities."
At this, Ganondorf roared to life, so to speak. His eyes that were dull from boredom flared new flecks of gold, burning brightly at the news. So, Hyrule was sending word to him? It was incredibly unusual, but not entirely so given the circumstances. Their kingdom had been recently under attack for a while now. Ganondorf heard word that many of the Providences and other kingdoms were either refusing or unable to assist in these dire times. The Gerudo King has left his people out of the conflict, though they were never properly asked for assistance. He took no insult by it. The new Queen knew all too well the score. History will not forget nor will he. Plenty has happened in the joint past of the two nations, and while they were not currently warring against each other, they were platonic at best. Her previous assumptions about their outward sympathies being lacking. If this letter were what he believed it to be—a call to arms—then things were about to take an interesting turn. As fate would have it, the note revealed just that. His eyes ate up the content of the note, confirming his belief before. The script was written profoundly well, in wording and penmanship. No doubt written my the Queen herself. At this, Ganondorf smirked and crumpled the paper into his fist, tossing it aside for his mothers to read.
"It would appear the Queen of Hyrule has requested my presence. She wishes to make arrangements for a pact, an alliance." The King mused, his voice a low grumble of delight. The twin sisters fought for the crumpled letter before turning to their son and leader with large eyes.
"My Lord, this is wonderful!" Koume screeched.
"My Lord, this is awful!" Kotake mirrored in time with her twin.
The two began to bicker about the politics involved, but Ganondorf allowed them to indulge one another. He gave them little attention as his thoughts consumed him. Those grim creatures of darkness were not of his design, so it did make him curious who was fighting in the guise of the shadow creatures. His right hand throbbed fiercely, quickly capturing his gaze. To his pleasure, a golden triangle began to manifest over the top of his hand, burning him delightfully. Yes, he was the wielder of the Triforce of Power. He has known for quite some time—he has lived a very long life, after all—though he has been clueless as to where the other two pieces rested. Given the past, someone who is blessed with the Triforce should remain somewhat anonymous. Hundreds of years ago, many fought for the right to claim the Triforce as a whole. He would know, because he was one such man. Throughout the ages, he's lived, all in vain. Yet, there was hope yet. If trends followed as they should, then the Queen would be one of the bearers of the Triforce. Whether she realizes it or not yet is irrelevant. The Triforce of Wisdom always found a way to the royal family of Hyrule. Through generations, through countless reincarnations, it has always been there, awaiting it's owner to awaken and approach a fully realized state. While Ganondorf hungered for power and domination, time has weathered him to be a patient man. History has now deemed him as a decedent of the original Ganondorf who shares the same name, which clears him of some suspicion. This, coinciding with the Queen's arrangements to discuss a future allegiance of their kingdoms would be far too perfect an opportunity for the Gerudo King.
"The Triforce is there, lying in wait for me." Ganondorf practically hummed out, a sinister grin forming on his lips. This was certainly not missed by his mothers. He rose from his spot and cleared the room quickly to close in on a nearby table with papers and an ink quill resting on it. With a dip of the pen and a flourish of his hand, Ganondorf began to write a reply back. The twin sisters merely watched on, now silenced by their son's sudden actions. He was a man of little words, so all he wrote was a simple confirmation of his appearance in the following day. He produced a sharp whistle with his mouth and out of the shadows came a bright desert hawk. Having tied off the letter tightly, Ganondorf sent the bird on its way. He turned then to address his mothers.
"I am going to Hyrule. I will bring a portion of our army with me. If the Queen would like to discuss a treaty, I will be all ears. If she has not yet awakened her Triforce piece, then I will wait for it to under the ploy of this alliance."
"And if she has awakened?" The twin sisters asked in unison.
"Then I will take what is mine with force."
The next day was a swift one, albeit little had happened when it came to these assaults. It was already mid-day and there were no signs of an attack. There were no patterns to the assaults, so the Hylian guard was constantly on duty. At this point in the day, Zelda had begun pacing the fields of the courtyard. All the men were out training with Impa, honing their abilities as warriors and learning of the virtues that came with it. Impa was sometimes hard on them, but she was a very forgiving teacher. Zelda had decided to spectate on the lessons today, giving her men a certain morale boost. The Queen gave them all kind smiles and hand gestures, greeting all who addressed her with kindness. That was Zelda's way, it always had been. It was when the skies started to darken to a heavy gray that she turned back towards the castle. Not long after she reached the entrance did a messenger approach her. It was a young boy no older than twelves who offered her a letter. Her deep blue orbs widened considerably. She hadn't expected such an expedited response. With a certain haste to her hands, she unwrapped the letter gingerly and read on. She gulped roughly and excused herself from the boy, the letter still in hand. So, the Gerudo King had agreed to meet her. In truth, she hadn't expected him to say yes, certainly not this soon. Now that he had, the deed had been done, and their fate sealed. Zelda feared she was too hasty with falling on a potential Hylian-Gerudo alliance, but perhaps she would be proven otherwise. Her stomach twisted into knots when a loud shouting began to echo throughout the castle. Zelda turned around and quickly grabbed at the sword resting on her hip. An attack? Now? They were usually more prepared than this. In the very least they always had a clue when an attack was coming, because they had posts all around the perimeter. How could an attack happen right now, so close to the castle, without them realizing? Zelda raced down the steps of the stairs she abandoned and found herself face to face with a frazzled Impa.
"My Queen!" Impa called out, her voice lightly seasoned with panic. "There is not many, but they are in the courtyard as we speak. Please, stay within the walls of the castle until I return-"
Without allowing her to finish, Zelda brushed past Impa with amazing speeds. They youthful Queen rushed into the battle with graceful movements. Her eyes brightened as she noticed the surroundings, taking in the scene. There were dozens of shadow creatures, but they had plenty of Hylian soldiers within the terrace due to the training. Still, she would be out here with her army. Impa wasn't too far behind at this point, so Zelda brandished her sword from its resting place and readied herself for an incoming attack by a wayward creature. She skillfully dodged the attack and countered against it, her swords slicing through the creature's back. It dissolved into the air, disappearing as though it had never existed at all. Her brow scrunched up in frustration. These beasts made no sense. A shouting behind her caught her attention, and she was fortunate it had. The creatures had suddenly turned interests towards the Queen only now. She practically froze in place at the overwhelming sensation of the creatures starting to charge her all at the same time. With deft movements, Impa flung herself forward and hacked away the first wave of the beasts with a single swing of her broad sword. A glance of reassurance was all that was needed for Zelda to regain her dignity and continue fighting. A few minutes passed by, and it appeared that the battle had been won in favor of Hyrule. The men were already rejoicing as the final few creatures were cornered. Fate would not grant them an easy victory yet. The remaining few creatures huddled together, and something so curious happened then. They began to morph together, absorbing each other in a blackened mess. That blob solidified and formed into a single being, one larger than they'd seen before. It was at least three times the height of her men, and Zelda cursed under her breath at the fear now stricken with the soldiers. This was a new development, an unexpected one. With one fell swoop of an arm, the large juggernaut of a creature knocked several soldiers away. It had done the same with the other arm, and it was now focused on the pair of women who stood in the center of the terrace. Impa, ever the sacrificial one, charged forward with a combative stance.
"Impa, don't!" Zelda shouted to her closest ally, watching as the Sheikah ran around the beast. She captured all of its attention, which caused a curious thought to form. Impa was doing her best to fend off the creature, but all it was doing was offering the Queen the perfect opportunity to attack. Zelda raised her sword high and breathed slowly, intentionally. She mumbled a soft prayer before leaping forward. As she grew closer, Zelda kicked herself off the ground and brought the edge of her sword running against the front of the creature's chest. A low, thunderous grumble filled the courtyard, causing everything near to tremble. The young Queen jumped back a pace, narrowly avoid a crucial hit from the beast. Impa whimpered every so often for the Queen to back away, but Zelda showed no sign of back down. She refused to. Giving up, Impa remained loyal to her Queen and continued to steal away the juggernaut's attention. Yet, time and again, Zelda struck the beast without any sign of it falling. Was this their plan after all? To invade the walls and manifest into this beast? After a few times of this method providing no results, the creature acted unexpectedly and kicked Impa to the side. Without proper time to react, the Sheikah was sent flying across the fields, skidding to a stop against the grassy earth. That's when the beast turned fully to Zelda, staring her down with its inky black eyes. Zelda positioned herself, bracing for an attack. It charged her with new vigor, almost catching her off guard, had she not been prepared. Agile footwork saved her as she sidestepped the beast's swing. She had to act quick now that she was just behind the beast.
Zelda launched herself forward and—with a final scream of effort and force—she plunged the tip of her thin blade into the back of its head, until the tip reemerged from the other side. It cried out in agony, and all Zelda could do was hold on and brace herself. Her two feet found the tops of the beast's shoulders, both hands now firmly wrapped around the handle of her sword. More screams filled the area, and eventually, the beast exploded in a blaze of light. The explosion sent the Queen skyward, propelling her off to the side as well. The force knocked the wind from her lungs, causing her to lose her well-trained grip on the sword. Zelda gasped loudly as she felt her body peak in the air and slowly start to plummet towards the ground. She barely had time enough to twist her body around to see the ground. Acting fast, she dove her hand into her pocket and pulled out a dainty wand. With the flick of the wrist, the air currents began to bend all around her body. Loose flower petals and torn earth began to twist around her, the gale of wind surrounding her fall protectively. With an ethereal glow to her, the Queen fluttered weakly down to the ground. As soon as her boots touched the ground, a burst of wind scattered away from her body, the wand now finished with manipulating the wind. As the power left, however, the Queen felt her body tremble weakly in place. The young woman began to falter, but just as she stumbled backwards, a firm body was there to catch her. Zelda saw Impa from far away, finally stirring after the battle, so who was behind her? Her head tilted and a wave of embarrassment crashed over her when she realized her folly. The man who gingerly held her upright was unmistakably Ganondorf.