Act III – The Life of a King
Chapter XXX – Twins of Old
"You must go… To the west…"
"But you come with me!"
"I can't… Take the rest… of our water…"
"No, mommy, I won't! You come with me!"
"Please, my dear… you must go… You're our last hope… To the west… there you will find… shelter…"
The boy knelt before his mother, the sand blowing into his face. He shook on her shoulders. She did not react. Not anymore. No words either. "Mommy?" he whispered, bending himself further down to her ears. "Mommy?! Mommy!" Tears ran down his cheeks but his cry for his mother remained unheard in the endless ocean of sand.
'Go to the west' she had said. Still sobbing, he took her water bag and clutched it tight to his chest. Slowly he stood up, looking for the sun and the direction to go. On his way, back he looked, but soon only sand remained, sealing the remnants of his mother under it, leaving only a blurred memory behind, meant to be forgotten.
The boy walked under the merciless sun, to the west as his mother had said. To his shelter as she had said, across a never-ending land of sand. He carried her hope, their hope, the hope of an entire tribe. Despite being raised under the sun, he was young and all on his own. He was alone, for even the beasts had abandoned the desert after those death knights had invaded it. No one left. No one, just the sand and him.
Exhausted, the boy fell on his knees, still crying, yet the heat left only dried tears on his cheeks. "A man you are," they had said, "and a man does not cry." It hurt so much. He was not a man. Not their hope. Never would become one either because the sand, it felt so warm, encompassing his body, easing his pain, easing his struggle. He closed his eyes. Easing his memory, leading him to the dark.
A voice from afar pierced through the black void. "You always find the most surprising things in the desert. Even abandoned children."
"Why bother with such a nuisance?" interrupted another, just as blurred. The boy opened his eyes. Only the darkness showed itself. "I thought we were here to see if we get some treasures out of a Gerudo's settlement."
"See, that's the reason why I'm the leader of you two idiots. You're both stupid enough to burn money without even noticing."
"What's that supposed to mean?!"
"Well, to make it simple enough for dumb people: You find a child in a place where most adults only find death and he still lives. So, take a closer look and you'll see he's a warrior of the future."
The boy lifted up his head in the hope to get a glimpse on the men talking but he saw nothing. Even his voice got eaten by the emptiness.
"And why should I care? The army has enough men and they don't take youngsters anyway. Not to mention we'll get cut a head shorter if we ever dare to show up there again after our sudden disappearance."
"You're a great idiot! A great one, I say! The army means only trouble, especially for us now, but there are other places who look for… new recruits. And they're paying well for good ones. Can you imagine what they can get out of someone this young and well-conditioned?"
"I don't get it."
The same the boy felt about the strange voices. Every effort to get up on his feet or at least his knees, they remained in vein. His body denied its work, forcing him to be a silent witness about the things to come.
"By the Goddesses, dumbass! He's talking about arena fights and this child is a perfect gladiator. Homeless, no parents and in a good condition. You'll get money for him, probably much more than for some abandoned treasures."
"Ah, at least one intelligent person here. Well then, let's see if we find any Gerudo settlements on the way back before we find this one a new 'home'. I already have an idea of someone who would be interested and willing to spend a lot of money if he thinks it's profitable. And I'm certain he will."
Fear rose inside the boy as the men begin to laugh. One fiercer than the other, full of spite. But his body, his body just refused to move and his screams just faded into emptiness. He felt hands grabbing him. Not gentle or kind. Rough, lifting him up, pushing him nearer to the laughter. There was no way back. Just no way back…
Ganondorf screamed when he felt cold on his stomach. He grabbed the slick thing as he lifted up his body and tossed it away. A hissing sound echoed through the vault and, still half-asleep, he saw a snake wriggling away.
He calmed down once he realized he had fallen into a slumber. Dreaming of something he never had before and could not remember. However, that knowledge itself, it remained inside him. Ever since he had touched the desert, he felt, he even knew that his destination waited in its far west.
Long had he lost track of time when he marched through the hot sand during the day, only to be greeted by the cold winds at night. With every step he felt the power passing from his body. Only when he found himself at the end of his limits, did he see a gigantic monument rising into the sky. With his last breath he reached it and beheld of an oasis that allowed him to forget about everything around.
Once refreshed, he looked up to a great statue, a colossus amidst the desert, which guarded the entrance to a sanctuary. A monument in the form of a woman carved into the mountain and untouched by the war. Probably even the last remnant of the Gerudo's culture.
He had entered the temple in search of a place to rest, the same spot in which he sat now. He looked up at the wall to his side, one ornamented with symbols and depictions. Carefully he stroked over it. They felt so similar, yet foreign at the same time. He was certain: Once in his life he understood the meaning behind those letters, all of them.
Ganondorf crouched outside the niche while his thoughts still lingered on the dream. For long he had wondered why his family had abandoned him. How he ultimately ended up as a slave condemned to fight for his life for enjoyment of others every time his master demanded it. Never had he imagined his mother died within his arms after she had protected him from those death knights. The ones that had so often haunted his dreams and on whose side he fought for over two years.
True, he shared no bonds with her due to his lacking memory yet he felt sorrow for never being able to reunite with the one who shared his blood. It would have been something special, at least somehow. What concerned him even more though, that was he finally understood how he ended up in the claws of Azett. To know that he owed his life to his mongers for picking him up half-dead in the desert enraged him. Out of all people, those men had to be Hylians, especially ones who had once served the arrogant Hylian Aldar that had bought him free later. To think he had been 'saved' twice by such scum. His stomach churned.
With an outcry he rammed his fist into the wall, sending bits of dust and small rocks to the floor. Ganondorf felt the pain the rough wall caused on his skin. His rage overshadowed it. Indeed, there was nothing worse than to know he only lived today thanks to his archenemies.
As Ganondorf gnashed his teeth, his rage began to turn into a mischievous smile. Their scornful generosity, he would make sure they would regret it, deeply, without even the smallest chance to make up for it. No, not them, they had toyed around with him long enough and he would make sure they would pay a very high price for their mockery. He would make doubly sure Aldar would suffer for all he did to him and his folk. He had to suffer, really suffer in a way that only death was his salvation. Yet he had no intentions on being so merciful as to grant death to that wretch.
The problem remained just how he should get revenge against a whole and especially well-trained army. Maybe this temple could give him a starting point. Unfortunately, monsters filled the corridors after all those years of absence. Most of them went into hiding when they heard his footsteps but the other more foolish ones that attacked him ended up as a meal. He could not be too picky and they would serve well enough as nourishment.
As he walked along the corridor, it surprised him that despite the extinction of the Gerudo and abundance of the temple, the torches still burned bright. They gave him a fine view of the ornamented walls, though it still filled him with sorrow that he did not understand their meaning. Ganondorf reached a doorway. And what he saw beyond, it stole his breath.
A large hall, the ceiling far out of his reach with corners that got lost in the dark. Perplexed, he took a look around. Never had he expected to find such an impressive view in here, though it soon got topped as he reached the middle of this place. He looked upon a gigantic statue, a woman about five-times his size, cross-legged and a snake of stone embracing her. He might not have seen her before but he had no doubts he stood before an edifice of the Goddess of the Gerudo.
Amazed, Ganondorf wanted to get a closer look when he heard a whizzing sound from behind. He sighed while his hand slipped down towards his sword to face yet another monster foolishly thinking he was walking food. Once turned around, he raised an eyebrow. Nothing to be seen but he felt a presence lingering in this room, one which let him feel cold and hot at the same time. Unpleasant, almost frightening, yet he repressed his upcoming shudder.
"Can you believe this? After all these years of solitude, we have an intruder again. Wasn't it getting boring without those fools? Hee hee hee."
"Some are just stupid. Don't understand that there are places that best be left alone. Ho ho ho."
"Who are you?!" Ganondorf yelled into the dark, upset by the giggling of the female voices. "And where the hell are you?!"
"Did you hear? Looks like we've gotten a courageous specimen here. Or maybe just an extremely foolish one, acting so bold in front of two ladies. Perhaps we should cool him down?"
"That is a brilliant idea!"
A hissing sound pierced the air. Ganondorf dove to the ground. He felt the cold draft over his head, before the hall brightened up. He had to protect his eyes first before he was able to look back at the statue. He wished he never had. Ice covered the stones. Ice conjured by one of the women. Horror slowly crawled back into his mind as he realized he was up against the species he despised the uttermost.
Sorcerers. Despicable sorcerers.
"Did you see that, Kotake? He avoided your spell. Maybe he isn't as stupid as we thought," said one of them, the surprise overshadowing her giggling.
"Well, Koume, he doesn't even look like the generic fool that else tries to infiltrate our temple. More like a lost beggar."
Ganondorf stared up to the two elderly women, probably twins by their similar appearances. He could not even tell what bothered him more: Their eyes and nose which were far too big for their small bodies or that they rode on brooms midair with hair consisting of flames and ice spikes. All he knew for certain was that he was in trouble. Big trouble.
"I don't think you should wield this in front of us. Has your mother failed to teach you manners?" Koume spit out her words as Ganondorf got back on his feet. "And especially how to behave in front of ladies?"
Ganondorf did not understand her since they did not move, until a prickling feeling bloomed in his right hand, soon getting uncomfortable. With a silent groan, he let his sword fall, as it had grown hotter and hotter up to the point where it would have burnt his flesh. He still shook his hand when he witnessed the glowing steel melt into a shapeless chunk.
"This is better. Now, might the outrageous invader tell us what the other fools call him?" asked Kotake.
"I'm not an invader!" Ganondorf talked back to overshadow his fear. His head was spinning for he had no clue how to fight them. All encounters, just all up to today with skilled magicians ended in a disaster and these two fit that description, seeing how easily they commanded fire and ice.
"You're not? Oh, too bad we think otherwise, fool. Hee hee hee," responded Koume, a vicious smile spreading all over her face.
"And too bad we can't allow fools to pollute this place either. Ho ho ho."
Ganondorf stepped back, wiping sweat on his trousers. Panicking would not help him, he had to remain clam to get out of here. Once again he heard the suspicious sound, the same when Kotake had released her ice spell last time. Tensed, he tried to locate her attack but as he felt the cold under his feet, it was too late to escape her incantation. Within a split-second, a block of ice grew out the ground and up to his groin, closing him solidly inside.
Terrified, Ganondorf attempted to smash the ice with his bare fist, but it only grew higher, encasing his whole arm. It reminded him far too well of what Azett had done to him once he got displeased.
The giggling he heard in his struggle to break free was scornful and cruel. "The only entertaining thing about you fools is the time your gaze flits around like a caught filthy rat. Hee hee hee." Koume did not give Ganondorf any time to think, much less answer, when she conjured a fire pillar and aimed it at him.