How dare they imprison her in her own castle, Zelda thought, not for the first time since Zant's invasion. She heard the sounds of heavy footsteps descending the stone stairs that led to her cell. Zant, or one of his lackeys coming to taunt her again. As if she did not already know that Hyrule's military was far too weak. She was in poor spirits today, as she was every day recently. Her power allowed her to retain her physical form in the Twilight, but the oppressiveness of it still filled her with despair and hopelessness. The air itself felt thick and heavy.
The footsteps stopped, the turning of a key sounded, and a moment later Zelda was looking at the largest man she had ever seen in her life. He was clad in black armor, cape trailing behind him. His red hair was coiled into elaborate braids which wove into his golden crown. His lips, the same dark grey as his face, curled into a smirk as he watched her.
"Greetings, Princess," he said. His deep voice suited his large frame. Zelda gaped at him for a moment before composing herself.
"If Zant has sent you then tell him I have nothing more to – "
The man laughed, the sound reverberating around the small cell. Zelda felt a chill and suppressed the urge to shiver. She suddenly had the thought that this man was more dangerous than anything she had seen so far.
"Zant send me?" He chuckled. "Princess, I am the one that Zant calls God."
"His God? You are real?" She had thought Zant mad.
The man inclined his head slightly in a mock bow. "I am Ganondorf. But you will be calling me your King soon enough."
Ganondorf… The name felt familiar to her, but she could not recall why. She narrowed her eyes as she registered his words.
"Well, Ganondorf, I say to you what I have said to Zant already. You may have forced me to surrender my castle and my people, but they will never accept a violent invader as their king. Nor will I."
Ganondorf's eyes flashed. "I will have your kingdom, Princess," he said, all levity gone from his voice. "That is a promise." When she didn't reply, he continued. "Anyway, I merely wanted to confirm Zant's claim that you can retain your form in the Twilight. Why would that be?"
"I don't know," Zelda lied. "I could ask you the same question. You are from this realm, are you not?"
Ganondorf ignored the question, beginning to step towards her. Do not step back, Zelda thought. Do not let him scare you. When he was mere steps away, Zelda's right hand began to glow. His eyes widened and then he was directly in front of her. He grabbed her arm, moving faster than she thought possible of a man of his size. The Triforce mark on the back of her hand was bright, shining through the thin fabric of her white glove. Zelda resisted the urge to pull her hand away, her skin crawling as he studied the back of her hand, his grip tightening on her arm. When lifted his head back to her face, his gaze was almost hungry. For the first time since he had entered the cell, Zelda felt truly afraid of this man.
"So you have also been chosen by the gods," he murmured, so quietly she thought he was talking to himself more than her.
"Also?" she whispered.
He smirked, dropping her arm. He reached to his own right hand, and slowly peeled off his glove. Zelda could see the light emanating from him even before he finished removing the thick black glove. With the glove removed, the shining triangle symbol seemed to fill the room with light. Against his darkness of the twilight and Ganondorf's own skin, it was striking.
"Who are you?" she said, still unable to raise her voice above a whisper.
Ganondorf began to replace his glove, still smirking. "I told you already," he said, stepping away from her. "I am the man who will be the King of Hyrule. And you, Princess, have just become very interesting to me."
The next day, Zelda was removed from the prison cell and returned to her normal chambers.
Zelda had locked Ganondorf in Hyrule Castle, in the same cell that Zant had placed her in at the beginning of the Twilight Invasion. It was the most logical place, she told herself, as these days lawbreakers were rarely kept in the castle itself, and she wanted as few people as possible to know about her new prisoner. Still, she could not deny the thrill in her at the thought of turning the tables on him. She now descended the stairs to the castle's dungeons and walked past the cells, all of which were empty, until she came to the door to the room in which she had imprisoned him. It was solid, with a smaller locked opening through which food could be passed to the prisoner within. She had given that key to one of her most trusted servants, but the key to the door itself she kept on a chain around her neck. Taking a deep breath, she unlocked the door and opened it.
Zelda had thought the room small when she had been kept there, and it seemed even smaller now. There were no windows. Much of the space was taken up by the large mattress she had had placed there while Ganondorf slept. He was sitting on it now, but when he heard the door open he looked up warily. When he saw her, his entire body tensed with rage. "You…!" he snarled, standing. He lurched as if to approach her, but was stopped by a chain around his wrist, securing him to the wall.
"There is a magic barrier across the entrance," she warned. "You will just hit a wall if you try to cross it. Now, I am going to come in and remove that –" She gestured at his wrist, " – and we can discuss your circumstances. Do you understand?"
He nodded stiffly. Zelda entered the room, feeling her magic wash over her like a wave as she crossed the threshold. She approached him slowly, observing him. His entire body was still but for the rise and fall of his chest. His eyes did not leave her. His armor and cape were removed, revealing his black underclothing. His hair, normally braided tightly to his scalp, was undone and fell past his shoulders. Somehow, when not tied up, his hair appeared an even brighter red. The crown on his forehead had not been removed.
"I will have a wash basin brought to you," Zelda said, "and clean clothes. Although that might take some time, given your height."
He did not reply, still staring at her. When she reached him, she took his chained right wrist, turning his hand over to look at his Triforce mark. This time it was not glowing. "Power…" she murmured. "You still have not told me the truth of how you came to possess this."
She did not think he would reply, but he narrowed his eyes and quietly said, "I was chosen."
"So you keep saying," she said, and unlocked the chain around his wrist.
Not a moment later, Zelda found herself slammed up against the wall, Ganondorf pinning her wrists with his hands. He leaned in so his face was inches from her own. "Undo it," he hissed. When she didn't reply, he continued. "Whatever you did to my magic. Undo it."
She laughed, hoping he could not tell how her heart was pounding. "You think I am that foolish."
He snarled again, pulling her against his body. His free hand came to rest against the back of her neck. "I don't need my magic to destroy you, Princess." He leaned in so that his lips were directly next to her ear. "I could snap your neck right here and now."
"I would not do that if I were you." She pulled back, forcing herself to look into his eyes. "If I do not return, my servants have orders to leave you here to starve. Do you trust the Triforce of Power to save you a third time?"
His grip on her tightened. "I am willing to find out."
"I placed that seal on you using the combined power of the Triforce of Wisdom and Courage. I am the only one who can undo it. If you kill me –"
"If I kill you Wisdom is mine."
"Yes, and without your magic what of it? You would still not be able to leave this room. Even if you could, it would not matter. Courage is gone."
"What do you mean?" he growled.
"The Hero is gone. He followed Midna into the Twilight Realm. The Triforce of Courage is no longer in Hyrule." She laughed again. "You've lost, Ganondorf. You could not kill Link and so the Triforce is lost to you forever. You cannot kill me or you will live out the rest of your short life in this cell as powerless as a normal man. I am the only one who can free you so you would do well not to antagonize me. I suggest you begin by letting go of me."
He looked at her with a look of such rage that Zelda thought she had misjudged and he would kill her anyway. Then he loosened his grip so she could pull herself free, which she promptly did.
"So what then?" he said darkly, bristling, "I am to spend the rest of my days in this cell, groveling to you in the hopes that you don't decide to kill me after all?"
"For now," she said. "Perhaps if you behave, I will consider improving your situation." This earned her another look of loathing, delighting her. Perhaps Zelda ought to have been concerned with how much she enjoyed finally having power over him. For her entire life, Zelda had prided herself on her rationality, feeling like she had to prove to herself that she deserved the Triforce piece she had been born with. Those instincts were telling her that Ganondorf was still extremely dangerous, that Link was right, that she should execute him and be done with it. She ignored them.
"At least I let you keep your own rooms," he complained. "You chain me to the wall like a dog."
"You invaded my Kingdom," she said, rolling her eyes. "Do not act like you have any moral high ground. Anyway," she added, "I was telling the truth. If I feel that I can trust you, I will consider moving you to a larger room. I will even consider breaking the seal on your magic. I am not interested in needless cruelty."
Ganondorf sighed, sitting back onto the mattress and slouching slightly. The fight appeared to have drained out of him. "Why am I even alive, Princess?" he asked. "If you are just trying to satiate your bleeding heart…"
Zelda snorted. "I assure you my intentions are not so noble. Somehow, you have become a demon –" Ganondorf scoffed at this – "so even if I can execute you I believe you will return. Better for me to keep you here, out of trouble. And…" she hesitated, unsure. It's fine, she thought, there is no one for him to tell. Again, going against her rational instincts, she pressed on. "And I've been having… dreams."
"You've been having dreams," Ganondorf repeated flatly.
"Dreams, yes. Women in the Hylian royal family often have a gift of prophecy. My mother passed when I was still a child so I cannot be certain, but I fear my dreams may be a vision of the future. They give me a feeling that you are important. I see dark clouds from the desert… Hyrule field, destroyed… sometimes, there is a great beast …" she trailed off, noticing that Ganondorf was becoming increasingly agitated.
"Princess," he said coldly, "do you know why I was arrested, all those years ago?"
Zelda frowned, confused by the change of subject. "Conspiracy against the Hylian Royal Family, swearing false allegiance to the Kingdom of Hyrule, and attempted coercion of Hyrule's allies," she said.
"And that was enough to get me executed in a prison reserved for the wickedest criminals? A prison which used to be a place of worship of my people?" His voice was raised now. "That was enough to get me thrown into the hell that is the Twilight Realm for eternity?"
Zelda opened her mouth but he cut her off, continuing. "No," he said, "It was because of your ancestor, the Princess Zelda, and her visions." He spat the word out as if it were a curse.
"My ancestor was a child at that time," Zelda said.
Ganondorf laughed, but there was no humour in it. "Yes, a child. She had dreams, like you. Dark clouds. She claimed they meant that I am a monster, that I would destroy Hyrule if left alone. Her father was all too happy to agree. He never did like the Gerudo. And that forest boy…" he trailed off, then laughed again. Zelda thought his eyes looked crazed. "Tell me, Princess, do you think that is right? To murder someone because of what they might do? I will not sit here and be told that I am evil because you cannot sleep at night."
"I'm not – "
"The goddesses did not think it right!" He stood, raising his right hand and studying the mark on it. "Why else would they give me this? Power, to take revenge!"
"I don't think – "
"That is why I will not stop! I may have returned to the Light Realm and found that I have outlived all those who have wronged me, but I can still take their Kingdom! I will free myself from your seal, and I will have Hyrule!"
"Ganondorf, you must calm down."
"Do not come here, talking about your dreams and visions, and tell me to calm down." He started as if to lurch towards her but held himself back. "Get out!" he roared suddenly. "The sight of you disgusts me! Do not come back!"
Zelda shook her head. So much for behaving himself, she thought. "Very well," she said, and exited the room, locking the door behind her.