Chapter IX – New Bonds but Old Chains
His breath stopped. His heart missed a beat. Overwhelming. Everything. As if he had entered a different world from one moment to the next without any warnings.
For the first time in his life, Ganondorf did not merely listen to stories about the outside, he witnessed this world with his very own eyes. He saw it. He heard it. He felt it. The impression flailed at his mind. Relentless. Without mercy. No matter where he turned his head, it did not end. There was no end.
People everywhere, walking on the streets without boundaries. Allowed to go where their hearts desired. Engulfed in conversations of joy. They were cheerful. No orders were spoken within the peaceful atmosphere. No threats either. And the wind that blew here, touching his face and whirling through his hair, it felt living. Not even a touch of rotten flesh polluted it.
Nothing, absolutely nothing out here shared a similarity with the death that lingered around him every other day for as long as he could remember. Yet one thing was true. As magnificent as these impressions were, they overstrained him. Entirely.
"It is fascinating to just observe you and your expression." Ganondorf breathed flatly when he turned his head around and looked down to Aldar. "You remind me of men who were freed after years if not decades of imprisonment. Or even torture." He sounded melancholy when he added, "But I assume your situation doesn't differ that much from those men."
Ganondorf's view wandered back to the crowd. He merely understood Aldar, but that one continued, undisturbed, "Even for me it's hard to get into your mind and imagine you've never seen something ordinary like this. The daily life of Hyrule's inhabitants. I'm convinced you'll get used to and as easily bored out of it as me and the others. Maybe this day will even be tomorrow." Aldar clapped him on the shoulder. "We shouldn't let Link and Jyrik wait. They already look annoyed at us."
Aldar pointed in the direction apart from the masses where his lieutenants, together with their horses, stood. Ganondorf did not move. Still overwhelmed, he stared mesmerized at all those people, humans, humanoids and other races who showed such a cheerful and peaceful attitude towards each other he had never seen before. It was another world. It must be. But it was a wonderful one.
Since Ganondorf did not react, Aldar grabbed his arm and pulled him along. He did not do it forcefully like the guards, he paid attention that he could follow him easily without stumbling.
"I hope this outlaw doesn't slow us down on our journey," grumbled Jyrik when he observed Ganondorf. "I want to be back at the castle when dinner is served and not when everybody sleeps."
With a piercing glare, Aldar silenced Jyrik before he took the reins of a horse with a muscular build and black fur. "This is your stallion, Ganondorf. I hope it isn't a problem for you to get on it with your injuries."
Ganondorf hesitated. Not because of the wounds, he barely noticed them anymore after all the excitement, but because it was the first time he ever faced a horse. His pride forbade to ask for specific instructions in how to mount it. It just could not be too difficult.
The stallion whickered unpleased and Aldar soothed it when Ganondorf tried to get on it. Even though it proved to be more difficult than expected, he sat in the saddle. Albeit it took him some time and even more attempts.
"And you're certain, Sir, that this dork shall become a knight when he doesn't even know the most essential basics to be one?" Jyrik looked suspiciously at Ganondorf and screw up his nose. Aldar's face got even more bugged than the last time and Jyrik took his distance without losing another word. Ganondorf could not hide his grin when he saw Jyrik's troubled face. He knew that man at most a few hours, yet he found him to be obnoxious to the core.
"I have to agree, it wasn't the most elegant way I've seen a man mounting a horse. There's a lot of room for improvement," said Aldar with a doubtful voice. "Yet I won't judge on that since it was your first time. At least you're sitting and haven't fallen down again. Now let me show you the most basics of riding."
Once Aldar began to instruct him, Ganondorf felt a lot more comfortable in the saddle than he thought he would be. In the end, it proved to be quite easy and to his biggest surprise, it did not feel new, but very familiar like he had been often and long on horseback. His memory though, he recalled nothing.
Albeit feeling safe on the horse, he refrained from using the chance to escape. Most likely Aldar was still superior and faster in terms of riding. He would soon catch up and since he must be a skilled swordsman, there was no chance he could offer him a battle without sword and armor himself.
"Without a doubt, you are very talented," acknowledged Aldar after Ganondorf smoothly absolved his first round alone and returned. "This way we make it back to the castle in less than two days. I have to admit, I feared it would take us much longer with you, but it seems my worries were unnecessary."
"Maybe his folk are excellent riders and their skills are resting inside his blood. I haven't seen anybody learning that fast." Link sat on his mare, a brown one with a white mane and tail. Jyrik was close behind. They had mounted their horses when they saw Ganondorf's success.
"Maybe. Maybe not. It doesn't matter," responded Aldar unusually aggressively. For some reasons, Aldar could not stand it when the topic about his origin came up. Ganondorf believed that Aldar knew more about him than he admitted but right now, to experience his unknown future interested him more than pondering over his forgotten past. When the time had come, he could still seek that one out.
In the late evening they built up the tents to camp for the night in the middle of a plain which Aldar had introduced as Hyrule Field, the greatest and most prosperous landscape of the kingdom. Ganondorf sat together with the three knights around a campfire but once the moon had climbed up to the sky, Link and Jyrik decided to take their sleep, leaving him with the general behind.
Ganondorf had not spoken on the journey. The impressions of it stuck deep inside him, even until now. The landscapes he had seen, they were beautiful. Words alone could not do them justice. And when they rode, he heard it. Adorable voices of the animals, carried by the wind that blew over the countryside. The peace the field showed was just one thing: wonderful.
As wonderful as it was, the more depressing his life as a gladiator seemed to be. Once his eyes caught the beauty, he realized how much he had missed in life and how small his own horizon was. For the first time he witnessed eye to eye how petty his actual knowledge about the world was.
One question remained. It got buried under his impressions, yet constantly nagged on him and crawled back into his mind. Now that he was not bond to Azett anymore, he would not fight in the arena again. But neither was he a free man. Even though his bonds changed, he was still chained to the will of Aldar.
Ganondorf turned his head towards that man, who gazed lost in thoughts at the flames. The cracking of the burning woods disrupted the silence. He observed him for a little while, but Aldar did not move. Ganondorf addressed him straight-forwardly, "What do you expect from me?"
To his annoyance, Aldar did not react. Before he was able to ask him again, this one said, worried, "Is it me or has it become quite cold around here? If we're unlucky, we might catch a cold."
Ganondorf looked in irritation at him, feeling how his anger arose because his question got ignored. Aldar remained undeterred and began rummaging in a knapsack standing by his side. After a while, he put out a convoluted sheet of paper. Once he had mustered it, a pleasant smile appeared on his lips. "I'm certain this will give our fire the input to burn brighter to warm us." Without hesitation, he threw the paper into the flames.
Ganondorf watched how they nagged on it, turning it into ashes bit by bit. He saw it. Wax. Astonished he watched how it melted into a shapeless clump, never meant to be recognized again.
"That was…," stuttered Ganondorf, unable to grasp the words and only ended up with an open mouth. No mistaken that this sheet of paper was the one and only evidence that had documented his bond to the man beside him by law.
"Oh, yes, you're right. It was this one important document. By the Goddesses, how could a man of my degree commit such a mistake? I've just let half a million rupees perish into the flames. I'm afraid I'm getting old," sighed Aldar with a bitter voice, but it soon turned into a cheerful laughter. "But in the end, it wasn't my money, therefore it isn't such a tragedy. Just don't tell anybody. Especially no word to the townspeople."
"Half a million?" stumbled Ganondorf, still absorbed in bafflement.
"You still haven't figured it out?" Aldar raised an eyebrow, looking wondering at Ganondorf before he smiled. "Your lacking knowledge is truly amusing. But yes, I've given up 500,000 rupees for you. Which was, by Azett's standards, quite a decent deal. He only did because he was not sure if you're still profitable for him after you suffered such a defeat. Otherwise only the Goddesses know what he would have demanded."
Ghastly, Ganondorf looked at Aldar. Either this one had snapped in the last past minutes or he was kidding. Though in the last case, his jokes tended to be expensive. Very expensive.
"I see, I should quit joking. Otherwise I'm afraid you get the idea of me being a madman." Aldar returned to his serious behavior. "See, Ganondorf. What I've done was a symbolic act. The flames have not only eaten a useless scrap of paper, but destroyed the fictive chains that bound you." Ganondorf met Aldar's eyes but they told him he was deadly serious. "You are now what you ever wished to be. A free man. Your will is subdued to that of another no more. From now on, it is up to you to forge your life. No one will force you to do anything your heart doesn't desire and your mind denies."
Moments passed by in which none of the two said a single word. Ganondorf was still in disbelief what happened right now. Only a few weeks ago he dreamt about winning the tournament to get free, yet he lost miserably without even remembering it. He lost a person dear to him, Karlos, and it seemed his life was doomed only to be ordered to meet his visitors of whom one became his new master. He was meant to join the army but Aldar burnt the property paper to let him free without any restrictions. Without even being asked!
After he had sorted some of his thoughts, he turned again towards the general and asked doubtfully, "You wanted me to become part of your men. Why did you change your mind?"
Aldar did not take his eyes off the fire when he responded, "I haven't changed my mind. This is still my favor to ask you."
Once Ganondorf noticed Aldar had no intentions in explaining himself further, he confronted him skeptically, "But you are aware that you can't force me to fight for you?"
Aldar let some time slip in which he leaned forwards, bracing his upper body with the elbows on his knees before he responded seriously, "Gladiators and knights have much in common. Both are warriors who risk their lives on the battlefield. Who mastered a specific part of combat. But do you know what sets them apart?" Aldar turned his head to him, looking directly into his eyes. "Be honest, Ganondorf. What would you have done if Azett would have been attacked by an enemy and you were the only one who could save him from his certain death?"
Ganondorf grinned. Although he had no clue what Aldar was up to, he answered bluntly, "I would have helped this one to bring Azett's deserved fate faster to him." He despised this man and all the ones surrounding him. Seeing him dead, seeing his men dead, it would be one of the greatest pleasures.
A satisfied smile appeared when Aldar responded, "You certainly don't mince your words, but I appreciate it that you don't make a secret out of your aversions. But this was exactly the difference I meant. Loyalty. You, as a gladiator, only fulfill the biddings of your master because you have to. What you do is not what you believe in. Given the chance, you would backstab your master without asking twice."
Aldar leaned backwards and looked into the night sky when he continued thoughtfully, "However, I can't afford a fragile bond like this in my army. Men who become knights of Hyrule put their hearts into it, even their souls. If they wade into a battle or even into war, they fight with everything they have for their fatherland. They're convinced that what they do is what they have to do by any means necessary."
Aldar looked again at Ganondorf, but he remained quiet. He wanted to listen. "When I'm outside on the battlefields, I need men who stand by my side even until death. I devoted my life to this kingdom and to my queen. To protect both is my duty and I do not carry any doubts in my heart to lay down my life to fulfill it if this becomes necessary one day." He smiled, but it was a cold one. "That said, if only some paper tells you are my servant and I'm your master, I would encounter the same fate you would bring to Azett if I'm on the edge of death."
Both looked again at the campfire and Ganondorf could only agree on Aldar's words. If he turned out to be a second Azett and the chance of slaying him came at hand, he would not have hesitated a single second to exploit his weak spot.
"See, Ganondorf." Aldar sounded calm albeit he did not look at him. "I would appreciate it if you decide to become a knight. You have much potential, I've witnessed it with my very own eyes and your powers and skills surpass that of many, even at such a young age. As for the other common abilities, we will find ways to improve on those ones." Aldar turned around to him and his gaze was piercing when he continued in a serious manner, "Yet you should only decide to come with us if you truly desire it. I have no place for men whose hearts are fragile."
While Aldar stood up, he yawned before he added, "I go to sleep now. You can choose if you stay until tomorrow or if you get on your horse and take the way that seems fitting to you. This is your decision. And yours alone." Without waiting for an answer, Aldar left him.
Ganondorf stayed at the campfire. The wood crackled when the flames rose higher before they fell again. Lost in thought, he watched their struggle of rise and fall. It was harder to make a decision on his own than he thought it would be, as the free man he was now.
For the first time in his life there was not a good or a bad choice. It was not about if he wanted to follow his nature and act reluctant towards the guards and suffer the punishment or ignore his pride and give in to their demands. This time, there were no cruel consequences, regardless of which path he would choose. And that made it hard to decide. Very hard.
Author's Note
And with this chapter, Ganondorf's life as a gladiator has officially come to an end. However, it doesn't mean his journey and especially his struggles have ended as well, as he can't easily let go of his life and methods as an arena fighter. And then there is also his rather arrogant and short-tempered personality that not everyone will be pleased about, which all lead to new conflicts . And of course his biggest secret remains still hidden: His forgotten past.
But well, that will be the content of the new act alias the coming chapters. However, now is the perfect opportunity for a longer comment. :D
First of all, thanks to all the ones who read and support this story. It means a lot to me. Really, especially since I still think about this as an rather uncommon story. :)
I truly appreciate all the feedback I can get and I'm always happy to see the reactions from readers, so always feel free to give it to me. :)
Another big thanks go to my beta, Debochira, who still sticks to me and helps me a lot to get the story to the version you can read. Without his help, there would be a lot of weird sentences and word uses, therefore I'm very grateful for the time and effort he takes into it.
About the story itself and my motivation behind it: Originally, it was only a small idea how it would be if Ganondorf wouldn't be a powerful king but rather stuck into the opposite position. A prisoner or slave. Shortly afterwards, the idea of him being a gladiator popped up in my head and never let go of me until I took the premise to my NaNoWriMo project 2013. Since writing 1667 or more words a day for 30 days is quite sapping for a slow writer like me, I only started after a longer break to work on the raw manuscript again, which means entirely rewriting and revisiting. And the result, well, it's what you see and hopefully enjoy here. :)