"Father! You can't just take this man's word as truth! What about my dreams, of the dark storm clouds and the light that shines through them?" She was clinging onto her father's leg, eyes filling up with tears. The king growled, shaking her off before turning to Impa.
"Would you do something about her? She's getting in the way!" Impa bowed awkwardly, red eyes meeting the king's own. He shivered, turning away. Before he could depart, however, the nursemaid spoke.
"Of course, sir. But perhaps you should listen to your daughter...? There's nothing worse than underestimating the enemy. And the Gerudo are pretty untrustworthy." The king rolled his eyes, waving his hands around.
"What's this? The nursemaid suddenly knows of war! What a laughable concept!" Impa's eyes flared, and Zelda flinched. Her father had hit a vulnerable point within Impa, one of the very few that Zelda knew she had. Not even bothering to meet eyes with her employer, she stepped up, growling. The massive woman easily towered above him, and even the king himself flinched under her sight.
"Sire, I speak of this as a member of the Sheikah and not of a nursemaid! I suggest you listen to your daughter before chaos reigns! Come along, princess. I'll play you your favorite lullaby before you go to bed." Without waiting for a response from the king, Impa grabbed Zelda's tiny hand and practically dragged her through the hallway. It was obvious that the princess had no original intention of being taken to bed, as she was fighting back with all her might.
The king pondered over their words before finally dismissing them as a truly childish dream. Still, a tiny speck of doubt remained imbedded in his mind, and he mused over it. Perhaps he could ask the ruler Ganondorf for his ideas on the subject, without mentioning that he was the dark storm cloud that sluggishly circled Hyrule.
As usual he wandered the corridors, nodding to all the passerby as he walked at a leisurely regal pace. Though his eyes gave a menacing glare, the king was deeply troubled by his daughter's premonitions. Finally he reached the throne room, unsheathing his swords and setting his crown atop his head. His serving boys took the swords from his waiting hands, shuffling off as they carried the weapons with the greatest respect.
Only a few minutes passed before the great double doors were opened to allow in a visitor. A cloaked man flanked by serveral buxom, dark women kneeled before the king. The harem danced, the flashing scimitars at their belts showing that they were more than just child bearers. The man flung his hood back, revealing a familiar face. The king grinned, rising from his seat and rushing down to greet his guest. "Ganondorf! Why such a dramatic entrance? You know you are always welcome here without all these troubles!"
As the ginger-haired man rose, the women hissed, taking mazhars from their belts and banging them against their hips. Three took out mizmars and blew on them excitedly, dancing forward and surrounding their master. The tallest and most well endowed took his left side, while his most beautiful took his right. The final mizmar player was obviously the youngest of the harem, and took his rear.
The king was awed by the show, clapping his hands as the women performed. All of them wore skimpy outfits that were created for a man's pleasure, and while most were beaming at being chosen by their master for mating, a select few were disgusted by their forced show. This included the youngest who stood behind her master. She was even sticking out her tongue. The king was appalled by this blatant disrespect of her master, but was soon distracted by another woman carrying a basket.
The woman dropped it in front of the king, quickly sliding back into her place once the gift was given. Ganondorf bowed before him, making a motion that gave the king permission to take off the tarp that was obscuring the true gift. "You may open it, my friend. Consider it my part in our little agreement." Again Zelda's nightmare flashed in his head, but greed overwhelmed him. He lashed off the tarp, then gasped. Twenty poisonous snakes were slithering within the basket, hissing and spitting at the sudden disturbance.
One of them lunged at the king as the two women to Ganondorf's sides began to play a different tune. Second after second another one lunged, surrounding the king and spitting in anger. Ganondorf smirked, holding up his hand. Suddenly the women stopped playing, and the snakes disappeared in a puff of smoke. The youngest woman rolled her eyes, blinking apologetically at the king. "Only a trick, my friend. Relax, my runner is late and I wanted to amuse you. Did you not find it entertaining?"
Within the snakes, though, the king had seen evil. It was proof that Ganondorf was the storm cloud in his daughter's nightmares. "You're after the throne! You want to get rid of me!" The women suddenly stopped their playing, unsheathing their scimitars and glaives and inching forward. Ganondorf laughed, clapping his hands in amusement.
"Well now. They always said you were too trusting, and yet you doubt my intentions? Oh, what a pity. Nabooru!" The youngest of the harem snapped to attention, allowing the king to make out her full face. Despite her age, which he guessed to be between fifteen and eighteen, she had long red hair that reached knees and a nose that rivaled Ganondorf's. Her pink colored lips were too large and awkward for her face, and her gorgeous golden eyes filled up almost her entire upper head.
"Yes, my lord?" Her words were mere whispers, but the king could sense a great anger underneath them, boiling up slowly but surely. Ganondorf apparently did not notice this, snapping his fingers and summoning her.
"Hold the man in place. He's not armed, and I wish to do the deed myself. I will need you and Aveil to dispose of his corpse and tell the guards that the king shall be bedridden for the time being." The king cried out, trying to escape before the woman could catch him. It was to no avail, however. The one named Nabooru was small but powerful. As she pinned him against the floor, he spat at Ganondorf.
"Even if I die, my kingdom will not fall into your hands! We will stand uni-" The Gerudo man shoved his sword into the king's heart, leaving him gasping for air. The Gerudo smirked, his eyes dulling with false sadness. Through his blurring sight the king could see Nabooru blink away an angry tear.
"You were beginning to bore me. What is it that they say in situations like this, hm? Nabooru?" The woman blinked, muttering under her breath.
"Long live the king, sire. That's what they say in these types of regions." Ganondorf smiled, twisting his sword and causing the king to gasp in pain. It was dulling, but he could still feel his organs being ripped to shreds by the sword's edge. The strange golden markings on the blade were getting fuzzy, and the king let out a rattling moan.
"Very well, then. Long live the king." The last words he literally spat onto the king. He moaned again, coughing up blood. The Gerudo man unsheathed his sword from the fallen ruler, leaving him to rattle to his death, "Nabooru, Aveil, take care of him. Tell the guards that he must be treated by only us Gerudo, as we were responsible for his desert illness. They cannot check on him, though, for it is highly contagious, and if it blossoms out of control it will be impossible to stop."
Aveil stepped forward from where Ganondorf had been standing before. She was the most beautiful of the harem, and she scrunched her nose in disgust. "I know this is for the bettering of our people, master, but do we really have to get our fingers all bloody?" Nabooru rolled her eyes, grabbing the king's head and lurching it upward. Her hands, naval, and clothing were all covered in blood.
"It's just a corpse. Get over it, Aveil." The two continued to bicker as they began to rid of the corpse, with Aveil yelling something about being the elder of the two. Ganondorf chuckled at her childish actions. Once Nabooru grew older, she would make a fine officer. He made a mental note of it before departing. The other women followed, leaving the throne room as if it were untouched.
"Father wouldn't be foolish enough to really trust the Gerudo man, would he?" Impa glanced at the princess, who was sitting up straight in her bed. For once her headpiece was removed, revealing shoulder length blonde locks. Her blue eyes were flickering in fear.
"I have no idea, mistress. Please do not panic; I will make sure you are fine. Now rest your head, and I will play your favorite song." Zelda obeyed her nursemaid's orders, laying down flat and closing her eyes. As the sound of Impa's ocarina took her into darkness, she whispered into the night.
"Link... please come back soon... We're waiting on you..."
"Well, what's this 'task' that you've been speaking so much of?" The Goron laughed, sipping his brew. Navi grumbled darkly at his reaction, slipping into Link's cap. The boy merely took a sip of his beer before gagging and spitting it to the side. At this Darunia laughed again.
"Can't handle the heavy stuff, eh boy? You're gonna need strength, though, for the upcoming task for the Goron Ruby. Take another drink, boy!" He guzzled down the rest of his beer, giggling like a school girl as he woozily rose. Link watched as the Goron stumbled about, and wisely dumped his own drink to the side. Navi nodded approvingly, which Link believed was her first actual act as a guardian fairy.
She zoomed up before the drunken Goron, sitting on top of his head and carefully avoiding his poorly aimed swats. "Hey! Tell us what to do already! Don't you have starving people out there or something we could save?" At the mention of the race's hunger the king began to bellow, falling to his rump and sobbing, "I didn't mean it in a bad way! Just tell us what to do!"
Darunia sniffled, nodding. "We liked the gourmet rocks'n the Dodongo Cavern. Then these... ah... Dodongos showed up... We never saw it comin', really!" He let out another wail, and Navi flew onto his back, avoiding his massive palms.
"So you named a cave 'Dodongo Cavern' even though there were no...? You know what, forget it. Just tell us what to do!" Darunia nodded again, pointing out to the middle of nowhere.
"I wan' you to kill their king. He's a massive thing, killed off many of our kin. We want revenge 'n all that. Take these gauntlets; they allow you to pick the bomb flowers off the ground. You could blast a hole in anything with bombs! Now, if you 'scuse me..." He curled up into in his rock form, and sobs could be heard coming from within it. Navi fluttered away, eying him before shrugging.
"Well, let's go then."
After carefully throwing bombs down a mountain, the boulder that blocked the Cavern was destroyed. The Goron next to them clapped his hands, yelling happily. Navi decided to take up the oppertunity to ask him a question that plagued both of their minds. "Why couldn't a race that eats rock get through a giant rock?" The Goron suddenly stopped, stuttering.
"Uh... it's magic... uh... Have fun!" He slammed himself into rock form, leaving them alone by the Cavern.
A/N: I really like the beginning part of this chapter xD I know I said Dodongo Cavern, but I wanted to write about Zelda. For a game named after her, she sure does go missing a lot, huh?
Anyway, reviews are always loved!