Chapter XXVI – The Moment of Truth

Ganondorf had never felt a more tensed silence in his life. He regretted nothing. Aldar still remained his best bet to find out the truth about his origin though the highgeneral obviously had a hard time in keeping his facial expression under control and keep his wrathful temper at bay. He truly hated to speak or even hear about the Gerudo, that much was certain.

After some time had passed, Aldar calmed down, a doubtful smile ranging over his face. "This is an interesting assumption. I should've known you'd come up with this once you would meet one of those pests in person." The smile vanished. "However, Ganondorf, before I might give you a satisfying answer to your question, you have to answer me one first: What would it matter to you if you were indeed descended from those desert bandits?"

"What's that for an idiotic question?!" Ganondorf barely suppressed the urge of punching Aldar straight in his face. "It would change a lot! Even everything!"

"Really? And why would it?" Aldar showed no intimidation, neither in body nor in voice, when he continued in the same cold manner, "Then tell me, what do you know about their culture? Wait, let me guess… it's about nothing. How many bonds do you have with them? No, no, you don't have to say a word, I already know the answer. And did you ever care for them even a single second in your life? Did they care in all the years you belonged to Azett? I assume zero is the right answer, isn't it?"

"How could they? How could they care for me?!" Ganondorf burst out. From the way Aldar spoke and behaved, it eliminated a lot of doubts he had about descending from the Gerudo. "You and your men killed them! You murdered them! One after another! Women, children, all of them without remorse!"

"Listen, you fool! It's one thing you go out and murder people just for the sake of murdering. It's a completely different case if those would do the absolute same if you even hesitate for a second. Even someone like you should know this." Even though Aldar was tensed, he kept his voice calm. "We're not talking about some rebellion, we're talking about a full-fledged war, one that had claimed hundreds of thousands of lives of every tribe living within this kingdom and even beyond. The only possible outcome was the extinction of one of the main forces, Gerudo or Hylian. Gladly, we gained the upper hand and put that madness along with the tribe to an end, otherwise who could say what hell this kingdom would have become if that pack of filthy women had won."

Ganondorf just stared at him as he felt his throat drying up. Not only was he still troubled in realizing him being a Gerudo, but Aldar spoke of them as just scum not worth being treated as living beings at all, therefore killing them meant nothing to him. Never had he seen a man carrying that much hate, even despise, against one single tribe.

"As for your question, even you must have figured it out by now, but yes, I knew right from the moment I first saw you in the arena, who you are. I admit, at first I was shocked to see Azett had gotten a hold of a Gerudo, though I don't know if he had known about your origin or not. He's a living mystery to everybody." Aldar looked away and fiddled around with his fingers, seemingly not being pleased by the situation. "I can be certain you know how we sentence those outlaws and I'm certain you are aware of your own condition in comparison. So, do you really think you would've stayed alive until this day if we and especially our queen, hadn't believe in you? You may share their blood, but that's all. Your life is a very different one than theirs, you even became a knight. You won't tell me you're willing to foolishly throw away everything you've achieved, just because of some irrational sentiments you carry for a tribe you don't even know?"

Ganondorf did not look at Aldar. He encompassed his legs with his hands to conceal his trembling. The thoughts just ran wild. One after another hammered on his mind. Gerudo, Hylian. Right, wrong. He had no clue about it anymore. This became too much to handle, way too much.

"You see, Ganondorf, you may be unable to reshape your past, but you're entirely free to shape your future. Since there are only very few people who know your origin, this one won't be a problem as long as you don't boast about it." Aldar turned his back to Ganondorf, but even though he could not see the expression of the Hylian, his reluctance showed through in his voice. "As for me, I've accepted you're staying in the queen's favor for the Goddesses know why, and your lieutenant mysteriously managed to get along with you. I don't understand the two regarding you, and probably never will nor want to, but for their sake I can pretend this conversation never happened and forget about it. That is, if you never bring it up again to bother me and leave immediately!"

Ganondorf could not give him an answer. Nor did he move. He just stood there, gazing at the ground, still captured in his astonishment and by all the information that swirled in his mind. However, one thought pushed the others aside. Slowly he realized he reached a point in life where his next choice would decide his future forever: Either keep on with his life as a Hylian knight of a kingdom he knew very well or follow his roots of the Gerudo he barely knew at all.

The decision seemed so easy. He had no reason to give up his current life. He had everything he had dreamed of. He himself was a free man, he had a lovely woman, a reliable friend and a place he could call home. Nothing would change for him if he just left Aldar alone.

Still struggling, Ganondorf lifted up his head and his view returned to the man in front of him, on the black armor, on the golden symbol of the Hyrulian dynasty shining on it. And on Aldar's despise against the Gerudo when he forcefully hammered the sword into the puppet.

A blood-curdling scream echoed through his head. Piercing. A stench of burnt flesh. Sickening. Blurred memories showed up before his inner eye, each one crueler than the last. The nightmare, that nightmare, now surrounding him by misery and death at day. Contours of humans, one falling after another, melting with the ocean of blood, slain ruthlessly by those death knights. Maimed. Mauled. Massacred.

And then there was him. Surrounded by lightning. Standing atop the corpses. Triumphing mercilessly over his prey. The one who had slain the most, the one of pure hate, the one he always believed to be the leader of the slaughterers. And that vicious smile…

"Now I know who you are… and where I first met you," Ganondorf stumbled over his words, pressing his hand against his chest, trying to relax his heart and fighting back the dread rising inside him. "Because you are the one. You are the one!"

"What are you talking about?" Confused, Aldar turned around.

Fearful, Ganondorf stared at Aldar before he loosened his gaze, trying to calm down. He balled his fists. The fear, it vanished into the destructive force within him. Wrath. And something else awakened as well. Something immensely strong. A powerful and unsatisfiable thirst for revenge he never felt before. Within the split of seconds, he gave in to it, letting it consume his entire being and blinding his mind. He felt it within every part of his body. His every muscle. He would not let go of it. Not until he appeased at least a bit of his vengeful thirst.

Without warning, he unsheathed his sword and let it rush down on Aldar. "You slayed them without mercy! You were the cursed leader of the death knights! You massacred them all and bathed in their blood, laughing!"

Aldar parried the attack without blinking an eye. "Hot-blooded as ever. I don't even know what you're talking about. Not that I care." He grinned ice-cold with a dangerous glare in his eyes. "However, I must thank you. I feared the day where you raised your sword against the kingdom would never come. Be it your last as well, Gerudo."

"Shut your trap and die, bastard!" Ganondorf roared. He recovered his sword to slice it through Aldar's chest. This man had to pay. In blood. With all of his blood. He did not care what would become of him after he had slain the highgeneral himself, but he could not care less. As long as he took that Hylian's life with him to hell, it was more than enough.

No further words spoken. Ganondorf hammered his sword mercilessly into Aldar's armor. He would break it. He must. Seemed the highgeneral had not expected those brutal attacks as he could barely block the sword to protect his vital parts. He had even less room to come up with a counter. Aldar lacked the agility other opponents showed to him and even though he had a well-built body, he lacked brute power as well. Power this arrogant Hylian would have desperately needed to challenge him. And this, it would prove to be his doom, making him pay for all his atrocities against the Gerudo's kind and for fooling him into becoming a high traitor.

From the right. From the left. From above. He slashed the sword down, breaking through Aldar's defense. Though the Hylian recovered and stepped backwards, out of his attacking range, Ganondorf did not let go and rushed after him. This man, he would not get even a single second to prepare for an assault, no matter what.

Aldar showed no fear within his eyes as a man used to death battles, yet he lacked confidence as well. The serious fight tore his armor apart, leaving most of his flesh unprotected. Ganondorf's steel could easily eat through it, and the sweat soon mixed with his blood. Yet he held nothing but hate towards that man and he showed it to him every time when his blade rushed down.

The swords crashed once again into each other. Aldar seemingly prepared for him to next aim at his head. The Hylian took a step to the right to abuse a blind spot of Ganondorf, but he was wrong. The head, he never targeted it. With a loud roar, Ganondorf hammered his sword down on Aldar's right hand, the one holding his blade, breaking his armor and underarm, cutting down to the now broken bone.

A painful scream echoed through the hall, when the general's sword clashed down next to Ganondorf's feet. But this, it was only the beginning. Ganondorf punched Aldar with such a force into his face that he crashed to the floor a few feet away, the sound of a cracking nose accompanying his flight.

Victoriously, Ganondorf stomped on the sword. Aldar would not recover it and without his steel, he could not fight any further. He was finished for good, finally. His bad luck he could never prepare for this fight and wore no metal on his body to protect him, restricting his skillset. More aggressive attacks would have left him open for a mortal blow.

Ganondorf grinned. Aldar could not have avoided his deserved fate anyway and this would come to him in just a few seconds. And he would not show that man any mercy. None at all. He could beg, wail or threaten as much as he wanted to, but he held absolutely no mercy for this Hylian. Just as he had not shown any when he massacred his kin in front of his eyes.

"Not bad. Truly not bad. You've become troublesome in barely two years. I hadn't thought you could reach or even surpass the level of my swordsmanship in such a small amount of time. But seems like they trained their gladiators well and you've used your time here wisely." Aldar knelt on the ground with his elbow braced on one knee, holding his bleeding wounds spread over his face, inking his uninjured hand soon in red. "I have to give you credit for this, even though it pains me. Literally."

Despite the compliment, his fearless talking, enraged Ganondorf even more. Aldar should just shut up. He was sick of his words, of his presence, even of his entire existence. He only deserved death and even though he wished to extend his doom, to increase the pain and humiliation of being slain by his archnemesis, he preferred to end it soon so he could not be miraculously rescued by one of his men.

Blinded by his wrath and thirst for revenge, Ganondorf stormed towards Aldar still kneeing on the ground, aiming for his neck to pierce his blade right through into his heart. With the sword raised, he was ready to deliver the mortal blow and drink from the blood of his enemy, crushing the last remaining highgeneral of the Hylians.

At least, he thought so until a searing pain pierced marrow and bone. He still clutched his sword and kept himself up, yet he soon got hit by another ache, feeling as if he was struck by a thunder bolt, strong enough to push him off his feet. Even while down, he felt another strike trying to burn him from the inside, spreading in the last of his limbs, stunning his muscles and silencing the scream of pain.

Ganondorf lay there, paralyzed, absolutely unaware of what just hit him with such a might. The pain dominated his body, though his hand still grasped his sword. Out of the corner of his eyes, he watched how Aldar stood up to get his own blade back.

"But I have to disappoint you, Ganondorf. I never considered myself a swordmaster. Though it proves to be an interesting art, my fascination had long before been caught by another." Ganondorf lifted up his head, agony still befallen him and his view fell on Aldar's left arm, surrounded by lightning sparks. "You can be proud of yourself, I only resort to magic when opponents drive me into a corner. And you can be certain, it has been a very long time since someone pushed me this far. Congratulations."

Caught in disbelief, Ganondorf remained quiet, yet Aldar did not seem to be bothered. "One thing you should do before even thinking about going into a battle is to get to know your enemy. Otherwise you might be in for a surprise. Just like you are now since you only have this worthless sword on your side." He grinned icy. "Too bad that no one ever showed you how to use magic. Or better say luckily, because your bloodline truly is an opponent to be dreaded, even by entire kingdoms."

Ganondorf still denied that he had lost. He just could not have lost. Not here, not yet. And especially not against that arrogant Hylian!

He grinded his teeth, tightening his grip around his sword. It was not worthless. Not even against sorcerers. And he waited. He had only one goal and that was to take Aldar with him to the afterworld. In no way would he fail his own last wish.

Aldar stepped towards him, the sparking slowly vanishing when he pointed the sword at Ganondorf, holding it with his left hand. "A tragedy how easily you were willing to throw your life away, but when this is your decision, I won't question it."

Without wasting power to answer, Ganondorf unleashed the last ounce of strength that kept his body moving. He leaped to his feet, grabbed the sword with his spare hand and lunged at Aldar with a warrior's cry.

At last, he saw the shock lingering in Aldar's eye, yet the Hylian reacted far too late to dodge the full onslaught. The blade cut right through his eye. Ganondorf, now standing next to Aldar, felt his body losing its last strength. His sword slid out of his hands, followed by a paralyzing impact on his back that forced him down on the ground again.

Ganondorf saw the sword laying beside him. Even if he had strength left, Aldar had stepped on his hand. He felt cold steel scratching on his throat.

"I admit that last assault got me. Who would've thought you already possess such power." Ganondorf could not lift his head, Aldar's blade and his exhausted condition forbade it, but he saw how the Hylian pressed his arm against the right side of his blood-smeared face, twisted in rage and pain alike. "But at least, all has an end now. With you gone, the history of the Gerudo finally reaches its deserved end."

"It will not end," Ganondorf talked back, albeit he had difficulties speaking loud enough. "There are still enough of my kind living in this world. Even if they're hiding, I swear to you, one day they'll gather to get their vengeance against you and your cursed kingdom."

Aldar's anger vanished and he broke out in a fit of laughter. "By the Goddesses, yes, in the heat of the battle I've completely forgotten your ignorance. It's so pathetic and ridiculous that words alone cannot express it!"

"What's so funny now, you moron?" Ganondorf muttered, still paying the price of the battle when laying there motionlessly.

"Since you've decided on the side you'll want to fight for and since that side is already utterly defeated, including yourself, it doesn't matter anymore if you know this detail or not. But to be honest, it gives me great pleasure to let you know and see you suffer just a bit longer." Ganondorf had never seen such a sadistic smile on the highgeneral's face. "So, fool, do you have any idea which role you had amongst those desert brigands, for you being quite manly for a tribe of only women?"

Ganondorf stared irritated up to Aldar, feeling so much aggression for his arrogance, but at the same time being unable to do anything against him. "There are indeed male ones born, yet only one every century. Often they did not even reach adult age, being raised in such a hostile environment." Aldar pressed the sword closer to Ganondorf's throat. He felt the cut it caused. "So you probably realized that you must be something special for being such a rarity. And yes, there's an old legend which said that this one would bring them to prosperity while wielding superior powers. He, meaning you, was indeed destined to be their leader, followed until death and worshipped as a savior and god. Yes, Ganondorf, you're a king, a true king by blood and all of these wonders would have become true for you…," Aldar's smile grew vicious, "if you only had been born about ten or twenty years earlier. But now, instead of having being raised as a king, you became a slave who doesn't even know his own people. See how laughably pathetic you are?"

Ganondorf just gave up. What was hammered onto his mind in just one day was way too much to handle. Everything he had believed in, everything he knew, his entire life, it was all turned upside down in just one day. One single day.

"Don't be afraid, all of it won't bother you any longer. And see, you'll meet all of your followers soon and whichever hell you strand, there you can maraud the country as long as you wish."

Aldar raised his sword, preparing for the mortal blow. Ganondorf closed his eyes, nothing left he could do now. It was ironic that now when he finally found out about his past, his origin, he had doomed his future, his life. After all, the one who bestowed him with freedom, a new life, would also be the one who took it away from him again.

Prepared to feel the steel drilling through his body before he would either die from bleeding or being cut through his heart, he waited. And he waited a few moments longer. Despite the remaining pain caused by Aldar's lightning magic, nothing happened. Or perhaps it came so fast that he did not even notice he had already died.

His curiosity overpowered him. When he reopened his eyes, he found himself on the same ground he lay before. If he concentrated, he could hear his breath, meaning he still lived.

Only then did he hear another one shouting, "Sir, the preparations are finished. If you give the order, my highgeneral, we can set off."

Barely, Ganondorf saw soldiers gathering at the entrance who Aldar must have noticed earlier on. "By the Goddesses, you have much more luck than it does good to you. I won't leave a good impression on my men if I kill one in front of their eyes," Aldar grumbled, just loud enough for only the ears of Ganondorf. "But just because it's delayed doesn't mean you can avoid the inevitable!"

The group neared, probably wondering what he and Aldar were doing, until one of them asked surprised, "Sir, what has happened here?" before it turned into horror. "You… you're bleeding!"

"Thanks for the information, otherwise I'd probably never have figured it out myself," responded Aldar harshly.

Confused, the knights looked at each other, not knowing what to do when their views switched between Ganondorf and their highgeneral. "Did he attack you? But for what reasons?"

"Yes, one can say we had a little dispute," responded Aldar, reversing to a calmer manner. He still pressed his arm on the spot which was once meant to be his eye, yet by that time, the blood dripped down from his elbow. "However, we were unable to solve it with mere words alone. But instead of staying around like a bunch of commoners watching a spectacle, you could indeed fulfill your duty and get this one out of my sight before I lose it! And make sure he doesn't sneak out of his cell like the other Gerudo!"

"The 'other' Gerudo?"

"I said 'that' Gerudo!" yelled Aldar in all his wrath. "And now stop asking me things and get them done instead! Or are you starting to disobey my orders as well?! You see how this ends!" He gazed down at Ganondorf, but somehow he did not want to make a fuss about his origin.

"No, Sir, of course not!" said the whole group and approached Ganondorf. Being absolutely unable to make any proper movements, he had no choice but to accept his imprisonment.

Back on his feet, albeit more due to the help of the soldiers than his own power, Aldar did not say one word when their eyes met. Or at least his remaining one. His view said everything on its own, that there was no chance anymore that he would get out of this, alive.

The men dragged Ganondorf along, though they did not need to chain him as they carried him more than he walked on his own. Along the way to the oubliette, Ganondorf noticed the people looking surprised or even confused at them, though one who crossed their way marched towards them. "What's going on here?"

"Lieutenant Link, he's attacked and wounded Highgeneral Aldar severely. He's meant as a prisoner at this state," answered one of the soldiers.

"Are you kidding me?" In disbelief, Link first looked at the soldier, then at Ganondorf.

"I apologize to contradict, Sir, but I didn't make a joke. If you would step aside, the highgeneral himself ordered his imprisonment until his sentence is decided."

Link seized Ganondorf by his shoulders, who moaned. Those wounds! Furiously, Link yelled, "Ganondorf! Tell me that this is a joke! You haven't done this, have you?" He did not react. "Look at me when I'm talking to you!"

Slowly, Ganondorf lifted up his head to see the furious face of Link. He witnessed the worries, even the doubts in his eyes, refusing to believe the soldier's words. Yet he had no intentions to deny it. "He's right. In every regard." The moment he said it, Link's face lost its color.

"But why…?" he stumbled. "Why would you do this? Why haven't you said anything before?" Link could not keep up his gaze and turned his head to the side, pressing his hand against his leg while the other formed a fist. "By the Goddesses, why haven't I noticed it yesterday? I should've been more persistent because I knew to which disasters it leads once you act that stubborn. Yet I failed." With sorrow in his voice, he looked again at Ganondorf. "But why have you attacked Aldar? There's no meaning behind it. At all!"

Ganondorf forced a smile, an ugly one. "At some point in life, the past is rejoining with us. It happened to me and after that there was no turning back. It had to come this way, there was nothing you could've done to prevent it. So don't blame yourself."

"Don't say this. There's always another way. Always," Link answered, determined. "We'll solve this. Somehow. I promise this to you."

"Don't make promises you can't keep. You make them lose their value and yours always had a high one. So don't cheapen them." He knew, no matter what Link would come up with, he would not get him out of this misery. "Yet it's interesting to see how much truth your words held when we first met. Never thought they would truly turn out as my kin."

Link, at first perplexed, seemed to realize what he meant, but it did not break his spirit to hear that they were meant to be enemies instead of comrades. "I won't lose faith in you. After all, you're still one of my men and nothing will change that, especially not your origin. I'll see what I can do," he whispered, probably making sure that no one else besides Ganondorf heard it.

Author's Note

Honestly, when I wrote the (quite awful) raw manuscript for this story way back in November 2013, this scene, where Ganondorf confronts Aldar and gets to know the truth, it was one of my favorite parts, if not even the one. I really looked forward to work on it and now it's finally done!

However, what I had not expected is just how much Aldar would grow on me throughout the story. It's not his first appearance, he made that in my first Zelda fanfic where he was merely cannon fodder for Ganondorf and I only bothered to give him a name when I reworked the chapter he appeared in (though I constantly misspelled his name...). Guess I have hard times coming, now that two character I truly like turned into archenemies who most likely will not settle their differences peacefully whilst a coffee party. Then again, those turnarounds make writing interesting for me, because sometimes, even as an author, I get surprised just what the characters are doing, even to me. ^^

So, it would be cool to hear what you think about that turn in story. Did you like or not? I would be really curious to know, so don't hesitate if you feel like commenting on it. :)