Zelda returned to her kingdom exactly one year after her disappearance, much to the delight of the people. Rather than tell the whole truth, she decided to honor her brother's memory. She explained to everyone that Edwin had been possessed by an evil power which had consequently driven the land into despair, ordering her death and attacking their allies. She had recovered from the assassination attempt with the help of the desert king Ganondorf, who banished the demon from Edwin's body. The king spent the last six months trying to recover, but had succumbed. The people were so glad to see Zelda alive that they didn't question her story, and even thanked the Gerudo for saving them. There was thus no objection when she told them they had wed.

The royal advisors accepted Ganondorf's role as King once they realized that he was not as ferocious as the Sages had described. He knew much about leading and providing for a kingdom, and even more about protecting one. Hyrule was at peace, but he offered valuable strategies for keeping it that way. He also bowed to Zelda's every whim and placed her rank above his own, earning their favor.

The gang of misfits Zelda had brought to the castle were also scrutinized at first, but all too soon did they prove that appearances are deceiving. Vaati was an excellent scholar and joined the Royal Librarians, offering accounts of peoples long since forgotten.

Yuga became the official Royal Painter, and even redid the painting that had earned him his scars. Soon his works were in demand, and he was all too happy to paint for the poorest to the richest citizens.

Zant reconnected with his people and brought Twili fighting skills to the Royal Guard, teaching them to fight with both blade and shadow. His scars tended to frighten new soldiers, but they soon learned that he was not a cold demon. He had a sense of humor, and before long Captain Zant's quips were famous.

The Skull Kid did not want a royal title, but he did play with the staff workers' children and show them how to play a flute. He liked to plant flowers and gasha seeds, so he made a garden in the castle courtyard where anyone could come visit.

Agahnim retained his position as Ganondorf's closest advisor, but did use his influence to get the Royal Church to preach of The Three in addition to Hylia. Protocol always taught that the Royal Family was descended from Hylia, and he knew for a fact that this was true as he could see the divinity in Zelda. But somewhere along the line the focus had shifted away from The Three (probably when Daphnes abandoned the Triforce), and he wanted to give the people a choice in their religion, so that no one would be punished as he had been.

Ghirahim became Zelda's personal knight, ensuring that no harm would come to his best friend. He took his duties seriously, spending nights sparring with his master so that he could defeat any enemy that would threaten her.

But one thing stayed the same, and it was that they all lived together. The royal chambers were remodeled so that they resembled the cabin, and they all had interconnecting bedrooms. The King and Queen occasionally took "holidays", locking out the royal aspects of their life and retreating to this comfortable space. Vaati and Agahnim would cook, Skull Kid would play his flute, Yuga would sketch, Zant and Ghirahim would bicker, and Zelda and Ganondorf would relax. No one would bother the happy family.

No one, that is, except its newest member, welcomed a year after relocating to the castle.

"Sounds like Marin is awake..." Ganondorf stood from his desk and walked over to the window, where a wailing newborn with golden skin lay in her cradle. He scooped her up and kissed her head, fussing with a strand of her soft red hair. "Are you hungry, little one? Mommy's asleep so you'll have to deal with me."

"Oo, oo! Let me, Master!" Ghirahim ran over to Ganondorf and the baby, bottle already in hand. "Marin likes it when I hold her."

"Yes, she likes to mock your horrible hairstyle," Yuga called from the corner, making the other boys laugh as the youth fed their new sister. Zelda soon woke and joined them, giggling when she saw Marin yanking on Ghirahim's fringe.

Ganondorf heard the angelic chuckle, and turned to his wife. "Zelda. Didn't we have this discussion before? Go back to bed. It's too soon to be walking around, your body has been through a lot."

"And just who's fault would that be?" she asked with a grin, recalling the last time she was ordered back to bed. It worked, and Ganondorf relented. She sat on the cushion next to him, and they watched as the boys took turns holding Marin.

"Would you say this is living happily ever after?"

Zelda tilted her head at Ganondorf's strange question.

"My life's been like a faerie tale since I met you, and I never even believed in that nonsense."

She laughed and hugged him. "But this is a faerie tale, Ganondorf. The beautiful princess was saved from the wicked tyrant by a handsome king, they married, and returned to the castle to live happily ever after..."

The new King of Hyrule smirked. "But this is your castle."

"I never said I was the princess."

-The End-

A/N: Waah, it's finished! I'm going to miss writing about this cute family.

Some notes: Agahnim's torture reveal in chapter 9 was last minute. I thought of the idea of having the three corner Edwin separately, and since Agahnim was the only one Edwin knew personally I wanted it to be suspenseful. That's why Edwin is able to trip Agahnim up. We all know Agahnim is too badass to go down that easily. Agahnim's little religious conflict is hinted at through the story, but it wasn't something I wanted to dwell on. I imagine it to be like Christianity and Judaism- they started as a single religion. So somewhere along the line people started worshiping Hylia (like Ghirahim and Vaati) instead of The Three (like Ganondorf and Agahnim).

I seriously cried my eyes out writing those eulogies. Maybe I have irregular tear glands. :(

Marin is a callback to an earlier chapter. Remember when Zelda gave Ganny that necklace? ;) I love Marin and wish she were included in more games. Or at the very least more fanfic.

I imagine Ghirahim is going to be the overprotective big brother, and I can already see him chasing off people who try to date his innocent little baby sister. He would have chased Ganny away from Zelda had he not been like a father to him. XD

Thank you so much to everyone who has read this far, and a big thanks to those who have followed and reviewed! Now to get back to writing Sword in Repose...