A/N: I have posted this fic in its entirety on AO3. I remembered that I have this account and thought I may as well post it here as well for anyone who may be interested.

Part 1: Captive

Zelda could not put a name to her emotions as she watched Ganondorf die. Distantly she was aware of Link running to Midna – had she been hurt after using the Fused Shadows' power? – but despite her worry for her friend she could not tear her eyes from the dying man in front of her. Somehow, despite the Master Sword lodged into his stomach, the wound seeming to exude light as much as blood, he was still standing. His eyes stared forward listlessly, towards her and through her, though Zelda did not think he could see her. After what felt like an eternity but may have only been seconds, his legs buckled and he collapsed to the ground.

Zelda ought to have been pleased. Here was the man who had invaded her kingdom; a man who was, if his mad ravings were to be believed, hundreds of years old and had spent the majority of his life plotting to take Hyrule for himself. Even his final words were a threat of violence: "The history of light and shadow will be written in blood." And yet… Zelda had shared her mind with this man, temporarily. While his spirit was inside of her, taunting Link and Midna with her body, she could feel what he felt: there was rage, overpowering rage that threatened to melt her bones, and hatred, towards herself, Link and Midna, and most strongly towards Hyrule itself. Beneath the malice and anger, Zelda thought she had sensed something more: pain, and loneliness. And she had conversed with him many times throughout her captivity; Ganondorf was clearly intelligent, having orchestrated Zant's invasion and maneuvered himself from an existence of nothingness in the Twilight Realm to controlling Hyrule's castle. In a different life, Zelda thought, he could have been a good king. It felt almost like a waste.

She approached the body lying before her – Ganondorf was crumpled in a heap, bent over the sword that was still impaled in him – and laid him on his back. His mouth was still open in that expression of shock; he truly had not believed it was possible for him to die. His dark skin had taken on an even stronger hint of green; a side effect of dark magic, he had explained once, when Zelda had mustered the nerve to ask him why he did not look like the Gerudo in her history books. His eyes were dead. Zelda reached to his face and closed them. "Goodbye, Ganondorf," she murmured. "Be at peace."

"He does not deserve peace," came a voice from her. Link had returned. Zelda startled; how long had he been standing there, watching her mourn the tyrant king who was the cause for upending their lives? She forced herself to look away from Ganondorf's body, and stood.

"Yes," she replied, "I just… I didn't think he should be alone." She cleared her throat, then turned back to the body. "This will need to be returned," she said, reaching towards the Master Sword. She closed her hand around the hilt and slid the sword out of Ganondorf's body. It came easily. She held the sword towards Link. "Will you take it back to its pedestal?"

He nodded, squeezing her hands briefly before taking the sword and placing it into its hilt.

"How is Midna?" she asked.

"Good," Link said, his eyes brightening at the mention of the leader of the Twili. "She wanted some time alone. She has been cursed so long that she isn't used to her normal body."

"Her true form is very striking."

Link's face pinkened but he merely said, "Yes." Then, after a few moments: "It's hard to believe that it is all over."

Zelda nodded. "What will you do now, hero?"

"I don't know." Link briefly glanced behind him, to Midna. "I suppose I will go where she goes, if she lets me. I can't imagine returning to Ordon Village. Too much has changed and I…" he trailed off, eyes widening as he looked towards the ground. His hand moved to rest on his sword's hilt.

"Link?" Zelda turned to see what had startled him, and let out a gasp.

Ganondorf's right hand was glowing. Zelda quickly knelt at his side; from this close, the source of the light was clearly the triangular symbol on the back on his hand. His abdomen was also beginning to let out a faint light, centered around his sword wound, and Zelda could see skin beginning to knit and reform.

"The Triforce of Power," she breathed, her heart starting to race, "It's healing him."

She heard the sound of a sword unsheathing. "Wait!" she called out, glancing behind her and throwing out her arm. Link was holding Master Sword in front of him and had taken a step towards Ganondorf's body. He froze at Zelda's words and shifted to a fighting stance. Zelda continued to watch Ganondorf with wide eyes, thinking rapidly. I should – but then – terrible idea – what if? – but maybe! Her thoughts were fragmented, feeling as though they were coming from somewhere outside of her. Ganondorf's chest begun to rise and fall again.

"Princess…" Link said warningly. "Please let me kill him before he wakes up."

Zelda stood, the start of a plan forming in her mind. "This man is a demon," she said, talking almost to herself as much as to Link. "That is how he has been alive for so long; that is how he survived his execution. If you kill him, he will return."

"Then what can we do?"

"We take him to the castle," Zelda said, her voice more confident than she felt. "I will keep him as a prisoner. I will make sure he does not hurt anyone else. I will keep an eye –"

"Are you insane!" Link interrupted, then winced. "That is – Princess – with all due respect, he is too powerful. You won't be able to contain him!"

"There is magic – "

"This is madness – "

"Link," Zelda said. "Give me your hand."

She grasped him by the hand that was not holding the sword. Her own right hand, which always glowed faintly in the presence of the other Triforce bearers, began to shine. She held out her other hand over Ganondorf's body, concentrating. Twin lights arose from the backs of Zelda's right and Link's left hand. They levitated a few feet in the air before joining, beginning to shine so brightly Zelda had to close her eyes. She heard the Master Sword fall to the ground beside her. The light extinguished and when Zelda opened her eyes she saw in its place, a pair of golden handcuffs. They floated over towards Ganondorf and attached themselves to his wrists. Then, they vanished. In their place, a band of gold was inked into Ganondorf's skin. Zelda let Link's hand drop, suddenly exhausted.

"What was that?" Link said, retrieving the sword that he had dropped. He too, appeared somewhat haggard.

"I have sealed his magic," Zelda said, "A sealing spell, fueled by the Triforce of Wisdom and Courage. He will not be able to break it. Now," she said. "I must take him to the Castle before he wakes."

Link opened his mouth to argue, but Zelda cut him off. "You ought to check on Midna." She warped herself and Ganondorf's body away before he could say anything.

The following day, Midna destroyed the Mirror of Twilight and returned to the Twilight Realm. Link's expression broke Zelda's heart. Ganondorf slept.

"He still has not woken?" Link asked.

"Not yet. The guards have been instructed to alert me immediately when he does."

"Hopefully he won't," Link said bitterly.

It was two days after Midna destroyed the Mirror. Zelda had invited Link to tea after finding him sleeping face down at a table in Telma's bar. Apparently he had been there the entire night, asking patrons about their travels, whether they'd ever seen anything resembling a grey mirror with a triangular pattern.

Link sighed. His face was pale, save for the large dark circles under his eyes. "I still don't like this," he continued.

"I see you are still carrying that sword," Zelda said, looking at his side.

"I might need it," Link said. "Princess, Ganondorf is dangerous. What if your seal doesn't hold? What if – "

"I know that he is dangerous," she interrupted, "but I can handle him. Link, do you not trust my judgement?"

"I do trust you, Princess. It's just – he held you prisoner in your own castle for months!" Link begun to speak faster now, perhaps wanting to get the words out before she could cut him off. "Everything Zant did, he could do because of power he obtained from him! Corrupting the Goron patriarch, killing Ralis' mother, Kakariko village and, and, and Midna!" His voice had raised and he took a shallow breath before continuing. "He cursed Midna, he hurt her, he almost killed her! It's because of men like that that she broke the mirror, that she left me!"

At those final words, all of the fight seemed to leave him and he slumped over, body trembling. "She left me," he repeated, now quiet, "before I could even tell her that I love her."

He began to cry in earnest now. Zelda placed her hand on his shoulder. "Oh, Link. I believe Midna does love you." When he said nothing, she continued, "When you came to me, after Zant hurt her, I gave her the Triforce of Wisdom, and I gave her my spirit. For a time, I was split in two: half of me in my body in the Castle, and half of me within her. I could see as she saw and feel as she felt, and I could feel that she cared for you very deeply."

"Then why…?"

"She felt like she had a duty to her people," Zelda said, "and she was scared."

Link's tremors had begun to die down, and he raised a hand to wipe at his face. "I'm sorry, Princess," he said. "You must think me pathetic."

"Not at all," she said.

He coughed. "Do you think…"

"Yes?"

Link took a breath, resolving himself. "Do you think that the Mirror of Twilight was the only way into the Twilight Realm?"

"I have been thinking over this," she said. "I think it is unlikely. The Mirror was made specifically so that only the true ruler of the Twili could destroy it. They must have been involved in its creation, I think. But the Twili are descended from people from this world."

"Then they must have been banished through a different portal! Yes, I think so to!" Link had regained some of his colour. "Princess, if there is another way to the Twilight Realm, I need to find it. I need to see her again. But that would involve leaving Hyrule."

"Then you must leave Hyrule," Zelda said.

Link shook his head. "I won't leave you while that demon is still alive. Hyrule's knights are useless." He winced. "Sorry."

Zelda smiled sadly. "I cannot argue with that. But Link, Ganondorf is why you must leave Hyrule. He wants all of the pieces of the Triforce. If you leave, you take the Triforce of Courage with you. He won't be able to fulfill his plans. Without you, I am also the only one who can break the seal on his power. He will want me alive."

Link frowned. "I don't know, Princess. I don't understand this Triforce, or why I even have it. But I do understand that don't want to see my friends hurt again."

"You are truly a kind person, Link," Zelda said. She reached to unclasp the chain around her neck and removed it. Attached to it was a sky-blue stone, which she held out to him. "This is a precious treasure passed down through the Royal Family of Hyrule. I have its twin in my private chambers. Together, they allow you to communicate over long distances. If anything happens, I will be able to let you know to return."

Link stared at the pendant for a moment before accepting it. "Why did you even have this with you?" he asked, eyes narrowing. "Were you planning this?"

"My apologies," she said. "I do believe there is another entrance to the Twilight Realm. But yes, I think it would be best if you were far from Hyrule when Ganondorf wakes."

Link sighed. "Why am I constantly being manipulated?" he grumbled. "But fine," he said, standing. He hung the pendant around his own neck. "I will go. If there is even a chance that I can see Midna again, I need to try."

Zelda stood as well and grasped his hands in her own. "Thank you, Link. For everything you have done for Hyrule."

"Thank you, Princess," he replied, "for all that you have done for me."

"Please," she said. "Call me Zelda. I know we have met only briefly, but I hope that you would consider me a friend."

"Zelda," he said, then pulled her into a hug.

That night, as of most nights recently, Zelda dreamed of dark clouds gathering over the desert and of a horned figure, clocked in shadows so she could not see more than a silhouette, standing over a barren Hyrule Field. The next morning, she was informed that her prisoner had awoken.