She was standing in a city in a torrential rain pour. Water rushed down the streets, pulling signs off of store fronts, toppling merchant stalls, making parents cling tightly to their children. Zelda herself found it difficult to stand. Heavy winds tore tiles off roofs. Somehow, she knew that this was Castle Town, although it did not look like her Castle Town.

She saw a women wading through the flooded street, trying to make it to a clearing. "What has happened?" Zelda called to her.

"The Demon King!" the woman yelled. Her eyes were wide with panic. "The Demon King has returned! Everyone must evacuate to the mountains!"

"What Demon King?" Zelda shouted, but then she was struck by a flying piece of debris and her vision went dark. When she came to, the scenery had changed. She stood in what appeared to be a Hylian village, but the buildings she could see appeared old and poorly maintained. The grass under her feet was yellow and dying. She could see in the distance a pile of stones and wood, the remnants of a collapsed home.

"Well, what have we here?" came a deep, growling voice behind her. Zelda turned and fought the urge to scream. The thing was humanoid, its body that of a man, but the face was covered in matted red fur, the mouth a long fox-like snout whose lips were pulled into a sneer, letting Zelda see the pointed teeth. "You don't look like you're from around here, sweetheart."

"Might I ask where here is?" she asked, voice trembling.

The fox creature laughed; a wheezing sound that seemed to get stuck in its throat. "Nowhere good for a pretty girl who clearly has money." It narrowed its eyes at her, contemplating. "You must be that Maiden the Demon King captured! How did you escape?"

"You mistake me," she said, but the creature snarled and lunged towards her. Zelda held her right hand in front of her; light burst from her, blinding. She saw the creature recoil and heard a shriek, then the light became so bright it was all that filled her vision. When her power receded, the scene had changed again.

She was in Hyrule Field, the familiar sight of Hyrule Castle in the distance. Castle Town was on fire; she could distantly hear screaming. As always, standing beneath a tree in the middle of the field, staring at the wreckage was a large humanoid figure, obscured in shadow so she could not see clearly. The figure threw their head back and laughed; a deep masculine sound that left Zelda terrified. Somehow, she knew this figure was the cause of her country's destruction. Heart pounding, she crept closer, trying to get a better look. She could see horns poking out of the figure's head, muscular arms that were covered with what appeared to be scales. Demon King, her mind supplied, certain of the figure's identity though she did not know how.

Suddenly there was a roar and seemingly out of nowhere a massive beast rushed towards the figure, tackling him to the ground. It lifted a clawed hand and swiped at the Demon King's face, but he was able to roll away, freeing himself. The Demon King pulled out his sword and began to fight back, laughing wildly as he did. The beast roared again, jutting its boar-like snout and sharp tusks towards the demon. Zelda watched the two clash, neither staying still for longer than a second, and neither turning to look at her. They appeared to be evenly matched. Perhaps I ought to help, she thought, but it was as though her feet had become planted to the ground and her magic would not come to her. The monsters fought endlessly, neither showing any sign of slowing down. In the distance, Castle Town continued to burn. After what could have been hours or even days, the fight became sloppier, both the beast and the Demon King tiring. The beast swiped at the Demon King, stumbling when it was dodged, creating an opening for the demon to stab his sword into the beast's chest. There was a terrible cry of pain, and the beast slumped, the blood pouring from the wound the same colour as its majestic mane. Zelda screamed. Then she woke up.

She sat up in her bed, drenched in sweat and shaking slightly. The room was pitch dark, no light coming in from her curtained window. Just another dream, she thought. Or more visions… She sighed, lying back down. What could it mean, the constant dreams of Hyrule's destruction? It was meant to be over. We are meant to be at peace. For what was not the first time, Zelda worried that she had made a mistake in sending the Hero away.

She lay there for some time, trying to sleep again, but it would not come to her. Finally, she gave up, slid from her bed and got dressed, deciding a walk would help calm her worried heart. She wandered the Castle's halls, deep in thought. Could her dreams mean anything? It was said that the power of prophecy dwelt within the women of the Hylian Royal Family, but that had always sounded like legend and superstition to Zelda's rational mind. Yet she could not deny that there was some power that traveled through her blood; the triangular symbol on the back of her hand made that very clear. And if Ganondorf was to be believed, Hyrule had used a child princess' dreams as the basis for his execution.

He was another thing that weighed heavy on her mind – was she doing the right thing in keeping Ganondorf alive? With his magic sealed, she did not think the Triforce of Power would save him again. She told herself that it was to protect Hyrule, that anyone who had been alive for the length that he had must be a demon who would not die permanently, that it was safer to keep him so that she knew where he was and what he was doing. She also told herself that these were mere excuses, that all she was doing was placating the part of her she was desperate to deny, the part that even while she was his captive found him intriguing and wanted to know more about him. To her credit, Ganondorf was clearly sharp and quick-witted when he wasn't snarling like a beast. She had kept to her word and visited him several times in the past two weeks, and though there were flashes of rage he mostly kept it supressed, apparently not wanting to drive her away again. Just a front so that you will give him back his magic, she thought. The moment you do you will be dead.

Lost in thought, she was paying little attention to her destination until she realized she had taken herself to the entrance of the dungeons. She shook her head, wondering what was wrong with her that after waking from a nightmare her subconscious thought was to seek out him. Still, she opened the door and went down the stairs to the entrance of his cell, even as she told herself that it was late and he was probably asleep. She paused, listening, and to her surprised heard heavy breathing. Slowly she unlocked the door and peered inside.

Ganondorf was facedown on the floor, legs straight and arms bent beside him, raising and lowering himself. His torso was bare, giving Zelda a glimpse at his impressive back muscles. She had seen some of the Hylian knights without shirts before, during their training, but none of them had looked like that. The thought gave her the urge to flee, but before she could close the door, he looked up, seeing her. His expression became bewildered.

"Princess? What…?" He pushed himself off the ground and sat, leaning against the wall. "It must be late."

Now she could see his bare chest, which was shining from exertion. He was covered with scars, most prominently the one on his abdomen from where the Master Sword had pierced him. Zelda forced herself to look at his face, hoping he could not see her flush. "What are you doing."

"What does it look like?" he said, frowning. "I may be locked in a cage, but I will not let myself become weak. What are you doing?"

"I'm… It is late," she said. "I could not sleep and I – I'm sorry, I should not have come here." She turned to leave.

"Wait," he said. "Come in." Zelda hesitated a moment, uncertain. He motioned to the floor next to him. She sighed, then crossed her barrier and came to sit beside him. He turned towards her. "So," he said, lips curling into a smug smile. "You cannot sleep and so you come to me for comfort."

She looked away, unable to meet his self-satisfied gaze. "Not for comfort, for distraction. And do not act like you haven't done the same," she added pointedly.

He only chuckled; his smugness was palpable. "You have an entire Castle now of people to talk to. For me it was you or Zant."

"Glad to hear I am ranked above him at least," she said dryly.

He snorted. "That is not high praise. Though," he added thoughtfully, "I did enjoy being called a God."

"You really are the most vain person I have ever had the displeasure of meeting."

"It's only vanity when it is undeserved." He turned his head towards her, leaning in slightly. "I saw the way you looked at me when you walked in here."

Damn, she thought. His arrogant smile deepened as he saw her discomfort. "It is alright, Princess. I know you haven't had the chance to see a real man before."

"Do not insult my people," she said, but there was little bite behind her words. "Besides," she added more forcefully, "It is not your appearance that I find detestable."

His smile faded. "Careful, Princess," he said softly.

She gave him an incredulous stare. "Of what? We have already established there is nothing you can do to me."

His jaw clenched and his fingers twitched but he said nothing.

"Well done," she said, mocking. "It seems you can control yourself."

The look he gave her then was one of pure rage. Why did I say that? Truthfully she did know why; she was uncomfortable at his insinuation that he thought she found him attractive. I cannot keep letting him goad me.

"I apologize," she said. "That was not called for."

"It wasn't," he muttered.

There was a silence for long enough that Zelda wondered if he meant for her to leave. Finally, he spoke again, "You said you could not sleep. Why?"

She sighed, leaning back against the wall. He really was trying to be civil, she thought. She supposed she could offer the truth. "More dreams – nightmares, really." She shook her head. "I know you do not believe in visions but I… I cannot help but worry."

Ganondorf scoffed. "I suppose I am destroying the world in them, am I?"

She exhaled heavily. "Something is," she said finally.

He narrowed his eyes at her, contemplative. Then he stood abruptly. "Well, Princess, it sounds like you need to tire yourself out more before you go to sleep." He shifted his back, stretching. "Less dreaming that way," he added at her questioning look. He began to jog on the spot. Zelda let out a shocked laugh. "Join me," he said. "Or don't. I don't really care. But I was not finished when you entered, so…"

"I am wearing a dress."

"Remove it," he said.

"What!"

He stopped running, giving her an amused look. "I grew up in a female-only society. It is nothing I haven't seen before."

"I will not."

Ganondorf shrugged, then continued jogging in place. "Too bad," he said, eyeing her. "It has been far too long."

"Too long since what?" Zelda said, tone icy.

"Since I've trained with another person, of course. Why, what did you think?"

"Pig," she mumbled, though she giggled as she leaned back against the wall, content to watch him exercise.

He really was impressive, Zelda thought; his strong physique like that of no man she had ever seen before. Since taking him prisoner, she had spent what small amount of free time she had attempting to research the Gerudo – a difficult task with how little they were mentioned in Hyrule's history books – and the one thing that was made clear was that their culture revered physical strength. There must be something in their physiology that makes building muscle easier. Or perhaps it was simply the difficulty of life in the desert. Her books indicated that Gerudo women were also exceptionally strong. Zelda could defend herself with her magic of course, but she wondered what it would be for her body itself to be a weapon. Watching him, she could not deny it to herself – physically, at least, Ganondorf was an attractive man. Horrifying thought. She snickered; he glanced at her briefly but said nothing. Eventually, lulled by his repetitive movements and steady breathing, Zelda found her eyelids growing heavy.

Some moments later, she felt a touch on her shoulder. Sleepily, she opened her eyes, seeing Ganondorf kneeling in front of her. "Go back to your bed." he said softly.

She yawned. "Yes, I think that will be wise." Reluctantly she stood, making for the exit. Before she passed through her barrier, a thought came to her. "Ganondorf, why are you awake so late? Do you also have bad dreams?"

He was silent, looking at her pensively. "No, Princess," he said eventually, "It is just that this mattress is very uncomfortable."


Zelda was torn from her sleep by the sounds of loud footsteps and her chamber doors being thrown open. Sliding from her bed, she quickly pulled a shawl over her nightgown before opening her bedroom door and peering out.

"What is going on?" she said, irritated. "It is the middle of the night."

Ganondorf had come to stand by her balcony, his eyes narrowed and stormy. He did not speak until she fully exited her room and came near to him.

"Your hero has liberated Eldin," he said darkly.

"My hero? He is Midna's hero, surely," she replied, trying to hide the excitement in her voice. "When did this happen?"

"I was informed by Zant this afternoon."

"This afternoon?" She frowned. "Then why are you here now?"

He ignored her question, continuing. "They are going to claim the power at Death Mountain. Then they will be coming to Lanayru, I am sure. Zant claims to have a means to stop them…" His eyes flashed and he threw out his arm. "I am sick and tired of this weakness. Had I my full strength, that hero would already be in the ground, not left to his own devices due to Zant's incompetence!"

Zelda stared at him, eyes wide. In the short time that she had known him, Ganondorf had maintained a cool composure, the only emotion to come through his face was smug arrogance, but now he appeared pained. Perhaps he will speak more freely, Zelda thought. She would have to choose her words carefully.

"The weakness brought on by the Twilight, you mean," she said.

"Obviously," he snapped.

"So long you have spent in the Twilight Realm," Zelda murmured. She watched him, considering. Then, hesitantly, she lay a hand on his upper arm. She doubted he could even feel her touch through his armor, but still, he looked down at her, surprised. "I cannot even fathom…"

He rose his head again, staring out her window. "You feel for your subjects below, turned to shapeless spirits? Imagine being as such for an eternity, torn from home, alive and yet not."

She shook her head. "I cannot imagine," she said truthfully. "But then, Ganondorf, why do you attack Hyrule in this way? Surely you must want the Twilight gone as much as I?" She looked up at his face, still touching his arm. Would she finally get answers?

"I have told you that I must work through Zant," he said after a moment. "In the Twilight Realm, I was able to reconstruct my body by siphoning his power. Now that I am back in the Light World, I am regaining my strength, but not quickly. Zant must fulfill my plans for now, and he is stronger in the Twilight. The need for it will soon be gone."

"I am glad," she said.

"Yes," he said. "Though there are other benefits to it. Hyrule is cut off from the outside, its people weakened and hopeless." He brought his hand to cover hers on his arm. Zelda could feel his warmth even through his glove. She resisted the urge to pull herself away. "There will be little resistance when I overthrow you publicly." He looked at her then, a cruel smile on his face.

Anger welled up in her. She willed it away. Keep him talking.

"You think the people will support you?"

"They will when I make their problems go away. But it does not matter," he said, beginning to trace shapes on the back of her hand – triangles, she realized. "Once I obtain the rest of the Triforce from you and that hero I will be unstoppable."

She swallowed. "You believe he has Courage?"

"I know that he does." His touch on the palm of her hand grew firmer. "And so do you, so do not try to lie to me."

"You said Zant has a means to stop him," she prompted.

"He has a plan. He –" Ganondorf cut himself off, looking at her strangely. Then he chuckled. "Well done, Princess," he said. Too obvious! Zelda thought, cursing herself. He held on to her hand, removing it from his arm and squeezing it. "Truly it does not matter if you know my objectives. You have no way to warn anyone."

"I suppose not," she said bitterly.

"Still, I must watch myself around you," he said quietly. She did not know if he was speaking to her or to himself. "I should go," he added in his normal tone. He smirked at her, then brought her hand to his mouth, pressing his lips to the back of her hand. Zelda stiffened.

"Good night, Princess," he said, then exited the room.