Disclaimer: I don't own the Gerudos, Gerudo Fortress, Ganondorf, or anything from Zelda…I do however own any OC's that appear, mainly Nalissa/Nali, Kali, and Katara/Kat.
A/N: Enjoy!! =]
Chapter 3
When I return from my practices, my mom and dad are in the family room, discussing political business. At least they're not arguing again…
"Nali, you turn seven in five days!" my mom shouts excitedly. I blink in surprise. I almost forgot my own birthday.
"Oh yeah…" I say, taking off my weapons and laying them against the wall.
"Do you want another party?" she asks. I shake my head.
"No thank you…I just want a simple birthday this year. Just you, Daddy, and me." I say. How I long for one night of peace when my family can be together and just enjoy each other's company without arguing for once. My hope falters when I see my dad shake his head.
"I can't, Nali…I'm going to be out in Hyrule all next week." He tells me. I sigh.
"Daddy, do you always have to be gone so often?" I mumble. My mom shoots him an odd look and he looks back at me.
"Well Nali, I am the king…plus I need to find the other two Triforce pieces." He says, removing his glove and showing me the back of his hand. The Triforce of Power glows brilliantly on it. "Don't you want our people…no, you and your mom…to have a better life?" I sigh and nod.
"Yes, Daddy." I say.
"Ganon," my mom says, giving him another weird look.
"Why don't you two throw a party and enjoy yourselves? I'll bring you back a present, okay Nali?" he says. I nod and walk to my room without a word.
***
"Ganon, why don't you try to make time for your daughter? She's six! She needs her dad!" I hear my mom shout at my dad from my room.
"Kali, you know I'm busy…I'll be able to make much more time for her once I get the rest of the Triforce pieces."
"That could take years, Ganon! The princess went into hiding five years ago and that Link kid disappeared since he led you into the Sacred Realm! Your daughter's trying to reach out to you and you're not even there for her!" I hear my father sigh at this. There's some mumbling but I don't really want to hear any more, so I pull the pillow over my head as routine.
About a minute later, my door swings open. I can tell it's my dad from the clang of his armor every time he takes a step.
"Nali," he says.
"What?" I mumble with my face in my pillow.
"I want to apologize if I've been…unsupportive, lately…"
"What do you mean?" I ask.
"You know, with you…" I sigh. He always trails off when he can't find the right words to say. "Like at the archery range the other day, for example. I'm sorry if I didn't seem proud of you. And about your birthday…I'll bring you back a gift. I promise."
"Are you proud of me, Daddy?" I ask, turning to face him. He sighs and takes a seat at the foot of my bed.
"You're going to be seven," he says. I frown. Why does he always avoid answering my questions during moments like this? "I suppose I should tell you…"
"Tell me what?" I ask, sitting up. He smiles.
"Your mother just left to run some errands, so don't mention anything to her." I nod, urging him to continue. He leans forward and whispers, "You know what I am, right?" I stare at him confusedly. "I am a dark lord. I possess black magic powers granted to me by Twinrova. In order to get the other two Triforce pieces, I need to kill the other two bearers." I gasp at this. Dark lord? Black magic? Kill? I knew he possessed black magic, but when he used all those in the same sentence, it made him sound…
I look up suddenly upon the realization that my father truly is evil.
"Nali, you seem…surprised." He says, smirking.
"Well, I am." I say. "I mean, I didn't know…well, don't you feel even the slightest remorse that you're going to kill two people?" he laughs at this.
"Nali, what's the significance of two measly lives compared to ours? We can have a much better life than being in this pitiable desert by sacrificing these two lives. And once you're ranked, you will train to be one of my highest Elites." I blink in surprise. So he just wants me to do his dirty work?
Come to think of it, isn't that technically what all Gerudos do for him?
"Nali, do you know what would make me the proudest father in the world?" he says. I look at him excitedly.
"What is it?" I ask excitedly. He smiles.
"You need to start training much harder, and you need to learn to kill." My smile turns into a frown.
"Kill?" I ask. "But I'm only six…"
"You'll be seven in five days, and then eight a year from then. You're almost ready to be ranked. You need to start thinking deeply about these things. Don't you want to make me proud?" I nod.
"Yes, Daddy, but…don't you feel guilty for saying things like this?" he laughs at this.
"You honestly have no idea about what I do, do you?" he asks. This sends chills down my spine.
"I suppose…I'd kill for you, Daddy…but not innocent lives. Only people who pose a threat to you." I say. I don't want to kill period, but I suppose if it was a life or death situation, I might kill just out of self-defense. He smiles.
"Well it's a start, I suppose." He says. "By the way, that was very clever thinking last night…Jasela found my rapier in the training grounds, just like you said it might be." I nod.
"See? Nobody took it." He laughs. Suddenly there's a knock at the door.
Who comes in this late at night?
"Go to bed, Nali. I'll see you tomorrow morning." He says, pulling the blankets over me.
"Goodnight." I say. He nods and shuts my door. I wait about a minute and then slowly tiptoe to the door and eavesdrop.
"Hello, Love." I hear my father say. It can't be my mom, can it? She doesn't knock…
"Where's Kali, Ganon?" the woman says.
"Don't worry. I sent her out to do some errands." He answers.
"And Nali?"
"She's asleep in her room." There's some footsteps and then silence. I quickly run over to my bed and hop in, quickly pulling the blankets over me incase he were to check on me. But he doesn't.
I spend the next fifteen minutes or so staring up at the ceiling and wondering who's here before I realize I'm thirsty. I crawl out of bed and quietly open my door to go get water from the kitchen, and also to greet whoever's here.
As I'm walking out of the kitchen and back to my room with my water, I stop as I hear noise coming from my parents' bedroom. I slowly make my way over to the room. The door is slightly open. I'm shocked by what I see.
There's an Elite, I'm not sure what her name is, in the bed…and my dad's on top of her. The blankets are covering them, but I know what they're doing.
"OH MY GODDESSES!" I shriek before realizing my mistake. The woman screams in surprise and my father looks over his shoulder and glares.
"NALI, GET TO YOUR ROOM!" he shouts. I drop my water and dart back into my room, slamming the door. I quickly hop back into bed and start crying. I'm shaking…I don't know whether it's because I'm scared or shocked or both.
I can hear the two mumbling in the family room. I think the woman's leaving because I hear the door open and close. A few seconds later, my father enters my room in his robe.
"Nali," he says sternly. I can't help but start crying.
"I was getting some water. I was thirsty…I didn't mean…"
"It's alright. I should have shut the door." He tells me. I sigh in relief. So he's not mad at me…but I can't help but say the next thing.
"How can you do this to Mom?" I whisper, my voice shaking. He glares and raises his voice.
"That's none of your concern! How do you know what…that is, anyway?" he asks. I blink. How do I know what sex is? Well it's in my home education lessons. I thought he knew that.
Gerudos are trained to know things like this young because we're considered an adult by twelve and are actually encouraged to have sex to reproduce for the culture…he should know that I already know this.
"That's right, you probably studied it." He says, answering his own question. He starts advancing towards me. "Look, if you say anything about this to your mom, I'll beat your little ass, do you understand me?" I gasp in surprise. He's never talked to me like this before.
I can't help but let a few more tears roll down my face.
"I won't say anything, Daddy. I promise." I whisper. He sighs and sits on the edge of my bed.
"I must apologize for snapping at you. I suppose it's not your fault you saw that." I can't help but ask him…
"Daddy, why…I mean, I know you and Mom fight a lot, but how come you did this to her? Don't you feel remorseful for doing such a thing?" he shakes his head.
"Your mother is a little…" he trails off. I suppose he's trying to clean up his language in his head. "Your mother and I aren't exactly in love anymore, Nali. She tries to continue being in love with me, but it's not something you can force. It has to be something you feel."
"From your heart?" I ask. He nods.
"Yes, exactly." I nod in understanding.
"So don't breathe a word to her, okay?" I sigh and nod. He pulls the blankets over me. "Goodnight, Nalissa." He says.
"Goodnight, Daddy." I say as he shuts my door. Goddesses, this is going to eat me up inside for a long time…
A/N: If you remember reading from "Buried In The Desert Sands", Nali tells Katara that she sees Ganondorf coming home with different women constantly.
Disturbing? Yes…
And if Nalissa seems a little mature for her age, that's because she is! I figure all Gerudos would be mature for their age because they are forced to grow up fast. They are ranked at eight and are adults at twelve, and like Nalissa mentions, they're encouraged to reproduce quite young. Also, back in the time OoT is set, the majority of the kids seem pretty mature anyway.
And Ganondorf is barely telling his soon-to-be seven year-old daughter that he's a killer and she needs to start learning how to kill as well! I'm interested in hearing the reader's thoughts on this. So remember to drop in and leave a review! =]
~Green Eyed Gerudo