Chapter XXVIII – Fallen King
Thick air, polluted with the stench of rotten flesh. The ground just as cold and wet as the walls. The guards carried the only lights, while armor protected them. Their weapons only waited for those foolish enough to stretch out their noses through the bars. The oubliette proved to be as unpleasant for a prisoner as Ganondorf had imagined it. Even worse.
They had left him with nothing but a few rags and solid iron which encompassed wrists and ankles alike, connected to chains attached to the wall. It restricted him enough to not even be able to reach the cell door. They certainly did not want to give him even a slim chance of escape.
As the time passed, he at least had recovered from Aldar's lightning bolts and felt most of his limbs again but his whole power was just as far away as his freedom. Only thanks to great effort did he now lean against the wall. Ganondorf let his shoulders sink and grinned forlornly. His current state of a condemned prisoner was a long drop down from a knight. Even longer for a king.
When he stared in the emptiness, he felt it. The deep regret for giving in to his thirst for revenge and assaulting Aldar. Not because he wounded him severely, even now he desired nothing less than seeing this Hylian dead for good, but because he did so on a ground without escape and without knowing about Aldar's abilities. He should have kept a calm head and walked away to take his preparations before rushing into such a battle, just as his lieutenant so often had told him. He would have been victorious and not as humbled in body and mind as he was now: A high traitor for his own folk at the absolute mercy of his archenemy with no way out.
This cursed archenemy who had robbed him of everything. He could have had such a better life if the Gerudo still lived in the desert as a tribe and not as persecutees shattered all over the kingdom. He would be a royalty, just as Zelda. Nobody would have stood above him, ordered and commanded him around and most importantly, he would have suffered from no punishment or threatened with death if he would have forced his own will through. Such a delightful thought yet only a dreamful wish.
Bitter. Just bitter yet his rising anger mixed with sorrow would get him nowhere. He alone could not find a way out and the ones, the two who always stood by his side, they belonged to the enemy. No matter how much he wished for them to stick by his side, he could not expect it, although he hoped that at least they would not turn against him. A hope of a fool, for him not just being a Gerudo, but their king who raised his sword against their homeland. An unforgivable action though deep inside he still clung to this hope.
Ganondorf stared at the bars with anger and desperation seething inside him though the sound of footsteps interrupted the rattle of his chains. He noticed the flickering of torches drawing nearer, accompanied by a voice, "It is this way, Sir," before he faced, of all people, the man he loathed the most.
Once Ganondorf had observed Aldar, a mischievous smile emerged despite all the circumstances. "Well, you're looking nice. Tell me, how is it going with only one eye? Is it comfortable?" He might have been unable to kill him but seeing Aldar not having gotten away unharmed delighted him. That way, even if he was gone, that Hylian and all the others would remember him very well, every time they looked into his smug face.
Aldar looked down at him with that despised gaze Ganondorf knew very well by now. "Ask again and I'll show you firsthand how it feels."
"Heh, you should be more grateful. You always had an ugly face, a scar can only make it prettier. Though I admit I'm not sure if it's true for scum like you." Since he could not settle that dispute with fists, he at least wanted the Hylian to know that he would not beg for mercy or any leniency. If he had to die, then with his head held high and not as a coward.
"You know, little king, you should spare your last breath for important matters because I've some information. I could not miss the chance to deliver them personally to you, despite it being a waste of my time. Unfortunate, I had to delay your fate but when the sun rises tomorrow, it will be executed." He grinned, pleased. "Just as you will, finally. I've waited long enough for this day."
Though Ganondorf had expected a sentence of such cost for trying to slain Aldar, his throat dried up by hearing about his execution without cushioning words. On the outside, he showed no fear, especially not towards that man, just as he would never kneel down before him to maybe get his life spared. He indeed preferred death over enduring such humiliation.
Aldar by contrast, he seemed to bathe in the pleasure of having the upper hand, not even trying to keep it hidden. "And you know what is the most pleasing in this whole matter? That there won't be anybody to save you. Though I still fail to understand the affection of Her Majesty towards you, this is finally over. If my eyesight was the price for this, I'd gladly paid it."
Just to see Aldar that delighted despite his injuries, and he himself was held in such a hopeless state, enraged Ganondorf. "Just shut your ugly trap! You're an obnoxious bastard! I hope you'll encounter a slow and painful death through one of my people! That would serve you right, you ruthless murderer!"
"Your people? Ha, you're even funny when you don't intend to be," responded Aldar, amused. "And where, you little powerless king, do you intend to find an army to come up against that of the Kingdom of Hyrule? At most, you can consider your remaining pests as a bandit gang who will just get eradicated like the others that pay no respect to the law. But even if all of you last desert rats would gather together, I doubt you're enough to be called a gang."
"Just you wait! We'll find allies, even if they are beasts and monsters. And once we'll have invaded your precious kingdom and hung your corpse at the border of the capital as an example, we'll bring the same fate over the rest of you cursed Hylians!"
"Ah, yeah, nice try to intimidate me, would-be dark lord. But I'm afraid I have to crush your pitiful self-image as you're just a filthy cur without claws. Bark as loud as you want, it doesn't hurt." Aldar retained all of his joy. "I'm just glad I don't have to endure your temper for long anymore. The time your head is rolling on the floor will be a true blessing for all of us. Almost a shame you will be no more to witness your only great moment in your otherwise pathetic life."
Ganondorf, unable to grasp any word, only screamed in rage, accompanied by the rattling of his chains when he had jumped to his feet and strained them to their length. The arrogance of this man, this arrogance was just unbearable! Nothing, he wished for absolutely nothing more than to tear this man apart with his bare hands. Yet he could do nothing but watch Aldar walk away with that satisfying grin of victory on his lips.
Left alone in his cell, Ganondorf's rage vanishing for fear. Fear of death. In his whole life, he had been often confronted with this being, sometimes barely avoided it, sometimes only because another saved him. he execution though, it was an entirely different case because with it, his death was set in stone, on a fixed time and he could only wait for it. Sit here in the oubliette and await his fate. No battle he could fight to determine the true outcome. No chance to escape its claws once again.
The time went by, though in the darkness Ganondorf only noticed it by the sound of dropping water that had found its way through the stones. Hopeless, his head fell against the wall, still trying to keep the fear and the depression from nagging at his sanity by the thoughts of whom he would be today if he had only been born a few years earlier. A king, a true king, not a slave or prisoner.
Thanks to his battle against Aldar, he had no strength left to even attempt to break free. His body felt weak and he slid to the ground, at least as near as his chains let him. Exhausted, that was all he felt by now. Despite his effort to shake off his tiredness, it got worse with every second. It took great effort just to keep his eyes open yet he did not want to waste his last hours with just sleeping. He was stronger than just giving in. He was stronger… he was…
A scream woke him up. A scream of his own. Sitting upright, he gazed in the dark and turned his head around to find out where he was. As he tried to move in his absent state, the iron bit into his skin and he realized he was still imprisoned. He just had fallen asleep. Furiously, he crashed his fist on the ground for his own inability to stay awake and letting his body overwhelm his will, though he noticed he felt much stronger than before. Odd, what such little sleep had done to him.
His outburst caused an unusual noise as if something clattered on the floor. Wondering, he turned his view to the side but saw nothing except darkness. Still curious, he frisked the ground though he had to stretch his arm to reach farther away, causing the iron to cut into his flesh, before he got hold of a small metallic piece.
Ganondorf examined it with his fingers and the longer he held it, the more he felt to lose control over himself. That thing had to be a key. Nothing else but a key. In utter disbelief, he just sat there before he tried what he believed to be insane. After he had searched for the lock on his handcuffs, the iron fell to the floor. Entirely speechless, he touched his wrist and stroked over it before he pinched himself. No dream, he felt the pain.
He needed a few moments to find the way back from his bafflement and free himself from the other chains. His disbelief remained. In no way, in absolutely no way would the Hylians forget such an important key here in his cell. There had to be more behind it. Or maybe somebody. Thinking about it, the Gerudo thief could also free herself. Maybe his tribe was not solely hated.
Unfortunately, the key did not fit into the door lock. Ganondorf, his hopes returning, banged against it. In the same moment, he reflexively grabbed the bars and hung there, barely avoiding a crash to the floor when the door opened without resistance. It had been open all along, though it only added to the idea that there was a helping hand involved.
No guard patrolled in this part of the oubliette for now, though he had to watch out his step in the dark. Quietly and always perking up his ears for suspicious sounds, he crouched along the wall. He remembered which way the soldiers had taken him along and hoped his memory would serve him well.
At a fork, Ganondorf saw a flickering light and once he neared the edge to look around, one guard slandered along the corridor. He grinned. Though that man was not his size just as no one else in the Hylian's army, some of his armor might be useful. And his sword would be even better.
Ganondorf sneaked up from behind but it never suited him as he preferred to head into battle with full force. The Hylian noticed him halfway, turned around and held the torch in his direction. Without thinking, Ganondorf hasted towards him. He was his only chance, otherwise death awaited him.
The moment the guard went to call for his comrades, Ganondorf had caught his arm and pressed his other hand against the man's mouth. The soldier tried to unsheathe his sword but Ganondorf pushed him against the wall and restricted his movement.
In that position, the Hylian had neither a chance to attack nor to call for assistance. Ganondorf closed his grasp around mouth and nose. If he wanted something from him, the Hylian had to be unconscious or dead.
A searing pain tortured his hand and Ganondorf bit into his own tongue to repress the scream of surprise. "Bastard," he grumbled mutely and pulled more force into his grasp. The Hylian struggled yet Ganondorf ignored the teeth drilling into his hand.
Finally, the arms of the Hylian fell motionlessly from Ganondorf's own. He waited to be sure the man did not only pretend to be unconscious before he let him slide down. He grinned dismissively when he wiped off the blood sticking on his hand, had he suffered worse bites from beasts, and those damned Redeads in the Shadow Temple. The strength of a human jaw was no match against them.
Ganondorf took the sword and armor pieces that could be fixated with leather-straps. To his luck, the helm had an open field of view because otherwise his nose would have caused him problems. No denying, to wear this unfitting armor was unpleasant, very unpleasant, but from a distance he could pass as a Hylian soldier. Though it would be vital to stay in the shadows as one closer look would blow his cover.
Carefully, he continued on his way and even though he would have loved to just slay down anybody who crossed his way, it would be wiser if he caused as little attention as possible, just as in the one night where he tried to leave Hyrule Castle Town. However, he had to go to the stables and get his stallion. On his own feet he would never be fast enough to escape the company which certainly would chase him without mercy as long as he lived and stayed within their kingdom.