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Title: Treasure of the Yiga

Epilogue

Author: Sailor Song

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Many years passed, and any memory of the Hyrule that once had been quickly faded into myth and legend. The people soon learned to embrace their new ruler with a love that was shrouded in deep fear. As time wore on and he was restored to his former body, they were far too loyal to even question that they had welcomed the King of Evil into their hearts and homes. That is but for the outlying villages that were protected as if by some sort of magical barrier that shielded them from his long reach, though that did not stop him from trying. It mattered little. He was patient. It was inevitable; he would get them all in time.

He rose from his throne and walked out of the Sanctum into a secure antechamber. It was his room alone, containing the trophies he had amassed in a near-century of rule: the preserved heads of the fire, electric, and ice dragons he had slain for sport; a Zora spear, Gerudo sword and shield, a Boulder Breaker, a Rito bow - the broken weapons of the proud, worthy fighters he had defeated in his early days; an unbreakable container that held the secret stone of the first king of Hyrule, a bust adorned with the malice covered crown of the last Hylian king. He walked toward the object in the center of it all, a crystal, blue and gold, that served as a prison, containing within it his first prize, his unattainable conquest.

"You are mine," he spoke in a low voice to her. He had promised that he would be her destiny, although he hadn't meant like this. The Yiga were meant to deliver him a queen, yet once again, the one with the Hero's spirit had meddled with her heart and managed to undo a lifetime of brainwashing in only a matter of days.

He raised his hand to the smooth surface, feeling the buzz of electricity. After doing this daily for all of these years, it had long since stopped hurting. Maybe she was weakening, finally accepting and succumbing to him. Perhaps he was gaining strength over her sacred powers. No matter… she couldn't hide in there forever.

"Your Majesty?" He could hear one of his Gerudo warriors call from just outside the room. This had better be important. Everyone knew this part of the castle was off limits.

The woman took a step back as he opened the door. She knew as well as he did that whatever she said next would determine whether she lived or died.

"Word has arrived, my king. The one you've been searching for has appeared."

She would live another day.

"Bring him to me without delay. No one is to say a word to him."

No other words were wasted. With a nod, she was off. Finally, after all this time, all of this waiting, he would have him, have them both. He slipped back in to see his golden prize. "Did you hear?" he asked, but she remained entombed in her crystal prison. What had he expected? That she would burst forth and run to him immediately? Perhaps, and he wouldn't put it past her. Goddess incarnates always found a way to draw the Hero to their side. But this time, this fight, he would take precautions to keep them apart. He had one chance to win them both over. If only he could get to her.

His lips curled upward into a smile as his finger ran along a thin, newly-formed crack in the shell of her cage.

She would soon be awake.

She would soon be his.

After all, he was her destiny.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: I wanted to start by saying thank you to everyone who read this story. Whether you have been with me from the beginning or you discovered this sometime after it was finished, I really loved writing this one, and your support means so very much!

I very much enjoy "what ifs" of history and fiction, so it was fun to change one detail in BotW: what if the pre-Calamity Yiga Clan was actually somewhat competent (it was nice to see them a bit more organized in TotK although they were still bumbling about). The domino effect this had on the kingdom was predictable as I planned this story, but how it impacted Link and his father was an unexpected treat as I started writing. Landon might be one of my favorite OCs I've ever written.

Will there be a sequel? YES! Working title: Ganondorf's Top General or The Demon King's Top General (let me know if you have a preference).

When a sequel will be written is less clear. Part of why I stopped writing for a while (aside from work and grad school) was because I was awaiting the release of TotK. Its plot didn't end up impacting this story (and won't impact the sequel), but it did change a bit of Dawn's Early Light, so I'm still trying to figure that out. I've decided that going forward, it would probably be best for me to complete stories (at least a rough draft) before I start publishing chapters. Current plans are to finish outstanding stories (Shrinking Trilogy & Dawn's Early Light), but I also have a few others set before or after TotK that I have been working on whenever I encounter writer's block.

Thank you again for all of the comments and kudos. I'll see you in the next one! :)