"This is grossly inaccurate," Ganondorf said as Zelda entered his cell, not looking up. He was lounging on his mattress – a new one Zelda that had sent for, taller and softer than the old – and was holding a book open before him.

She glanced at the book cover; it was a book on the history of Hyrule, one she had read as part of her education growing up. She looked at him curiously.

"There is a chapter on the Gerudo people," he expanded, "Unlike many of the other books you've given me. But it is clear the author is an ignorant buffoon!"

"Your people did leave Hyrule hundreds of years ago," Zelda said, sitting beside him. "This book was written, I think, fifty years ago? He inevitably had to make some assumptions."

"He did not have to paint us as barbarians," Ganondorf said sullenly. "He claims our women's masculine uncomeliness meant we had to capture Hylian males for reproduction. That we resorted to thievery because we were too undeveloped to understand agriculture – I'd like to see Hyrule grow crops in the desert," he added bitterly. "There is even a claim that the reason there are only female Gerudo is that male babies are murdered at birth – what idiocy."

Zelda winced. "I will admit it has been some time since I have read this." Then, because she could not help herself: "Did you capture Hylian males for reproduction?"

"No!" he spat, then softened when he saw the playful smile on her face. "We did not need to – Hylian men would fall over themselves hoping for a Gerudo woman to even look at them. Occasionally a Gerudo would marry a Hylian and bring him to the desert. Usually he could not handle it and left." He rolled his eyes. "And yes, uninvited Hylian men who came to our fortress sniffing around like dogs would get imprisoned, but they were not raped and used as breeding stock." He sounded offended at the very thought.

She sighed. "I apologize on behalf of our historians' ignorance," she said. He nodded curtly. "I did not know Gerudo and Hylians would marry; I have read that the Gerudo did not believe in marriage."

"It was not common. We don't believe in marriage, typically. But if a Gerudo loved a Hylian man and wanted to marry him, she was not prohibited." He touched his beard, deep in reminiscence. "We did have a ceremony for two Gerudo who wished to commit their lives to each other – a marriage of sorts, but it was only symbolic."

"Did you ever…?" She trailed off, angry at herself for even wanting to know.

"No," he said simply. "I am the King. If I were to marry, it would have been for political reasons."

"I see some things do not change between cultures," Zelda said darkly. At his questioning look, she shook her head. "Never mind. Why were the Gerudo mostly women?" she asked.

"Not mostly women, only women. Except for the one male child every one hundred years who is the King." He shrugged. "I do not know why. Some sort of magic, clearly. Our legends say that we were cursed by the Goddess of the Sand. Or blessed, as some of my countrywomen would say."

Zelda laughed.

"You seem quite interested in the Gerudo," Ganondorf said.

"I am interested in history in general," she said. "It pains me to know that our history books may be perpetuating misconceptions. You were alive during the period this book is written about; it's fascinating!"

Ganondorf looked pleased. Zelda lowered her eyes, wondering if her excitement was unbecoming.

"However, there is a reason I am particularly interested now," she added. "There have increasing reports of strange happenings in the desert."

He raised an eyebrow. "Such as?"

"There has been an unnatural increase in monster attacks on merchants passing through the desert and explorers to the Gerudo ruins. The desert has always been dangerous but there have been multiple deaths this month alone. And the danger seems to increase in frequency as you approach one ruin in particular."

"Continue," he said.

"It is a large statue of what is believed to be the Goddess Din – your Goddess of the Sand, I suppose – that contains a temple within. We call it the Spirit Temple."

"The Desert Colossus…" Ganondorf breathed. "I used it as a base, before…"

"I've sent a group of soldiers to investigate," Zelda said.

"You must update me on what they find." He frowned, apparently disturbed by the thought of his old base being overrun by monsters.

"Yes, alright."

"Not that I trust Hyrule's soldiers to investigate competently, or even make it to the Desert Colossus," he said, scoffing. "Not with the ease of which I was able to take over their Castle. And hold their princess captive for months with most of them being unaware."

She said nothing, annoyed and yet unable to deny his words.

Ganondorf continued, becoming more animated as he spoke. "You have been at peace for far too long; it makes men weak."

"Peace is something that should be strived for," Zelda said coldly.

"To have lasting peace requires you to cultivate a mighty army or your country will be flattened. As happened to Hyrule. Once I am in charge –"

"Once you are in charge?" Zelda interrupted. She stood and turned to glare at him. "Does your arrogance know no bounds? You were defeated. You will never be in charge."

He closed the book still in his hands, set it down and stood directly in front of her, looking down at her. She was struck again by his height; she was not a short woman, but she barely reached his mid chest, and had to strain her neck to look in his eyes with him this close. His lips curled into a wicked smile.

"Make no mistake, Princess," he said softly. "I may be content to play at friendliness for now, but I have not forgotten myself. I made a vow and I intend to fulfill it. This Kingdom has dealt too large an insult to me to ignore. Hyrule, this castle, and everyone in it, will be mine."

His smirk faded as he looked at her, the look in his eyes deathly serious. He lifted a hand to her face, taking hold of one of the strands of hair that fell in front of her ears.

She swallowed. "Do not touch me," she said, but refused to step away.

He dropped her hair. "You should go now."

"You do not tell me what to do," she hissed, raising a finger at him. "Do not forget your position, Ganondorf. You are my prisoner. It is only by my grace that you are still alive. If you intend to become a threat to Hyrule, then I will not hesitate –"

"Then do it! Execute me!" He leaned down, bringing his face closer to hers. "You will not," he murmured. "You claim to be afraid of my potential rebirth, but that isn't true, is it, Princess? I have seen inside your mind. You despise yourself for it, but you enjoy me. You pity me. You think to yourself, 'if only things were different, he might have been a good man.' I am not ashamed of who I am. But you are ashamed of liking it. You cannot bring yourself to kill me."

She glared, her face hot. "If you have seen my mind then I have seen yours as well. You want to hate me. You blame me for the actions of my ancestors; you see me as a representation of them to enact your revenge upon. An immature attitude, by the way – the princess who accused you and the king who arrested you have both been dead for eons. They have nothing to do with me." When he opened his mouth to argue, she cut him off, her voice raising. "Yet despite this, you continue to seek me out. I alleviate your loneliness. You attempt to control me, and when I resist, you like it."

He stared at her in outrage. For a moment, it was silent except for heavy breathing. Then, he said tensely, "Princess – Zelda – Please leave now. I do not want to do something regrettable."

She blinked. Was that the first time he had used her actual name? No, she thought, remembering. But the first time since I am no longer his captive. Clearing her surprise, she met his narrowed eyes. He was furious, clearly, but also looked somewhat pained.

"Very well," she said, then turned on her heel and walked away.

When the Twilight was lifted from Lanayru, Zelda stood at her balcony and cried. Finally, the sunlight shone on her face again. She could see her people in the streets of Castle Town, the city bustling once again as the unknown weight had been removed from their shoulders. She could breathe properly again, which she did as she raised a hand to dry her tears. Maybe Midna and her Hero can actually defeat him, she thought, feeling so deeply affectionate towards them that she nearly began to weep again.

She stood there for what might have been hours, watching the movement in the town center, before she heard her door open and familiar footsteps behind her.

"You see this, Ganondorf?" she said, not looking at him, unable to tear herself away from the sunlight. "You are losing."

The only response was laughter. Not the typical scornful laughter she generally associated with him, but bright and jubilant. Frowning, she turned around.

Without the dimness of the Twilight, she could see him clearly for the first time. His skin was more than the dark grey she had seen before, with hints of brown, even green. His hair and beard no longer a muted red, but bright, bringing to mind flames. The gold adorning his forehead and lining his armor shone. Bringing her eyes to his face, Zelda saw that he had a peculiar smile on his face, his eyes brighter than she had ever seen them.

"Princess," he said, also looking at her as if he was only seeing her for the first time. "Princess, in this light… you are beautiful."

Shocked, Zelda squinted at him. She frowned. "Are you intoxicated?"

Another delighted laugh came from him as he stepped towards her. When he neared, as usual, their Triforces began to glow, the radiance almost hard to look at now.

"I have been dead for so long, Princess," he said, joining her to look down at the city. "I am finally alive again." He looked down at her again; brushed a strand of hair from her face. "There is gold in this…" he murmured. "I could not see before..."

She shivered, taking a step away. He dropped his hand. "So then," she responded, electing to ignore his comments about her hair. "You are glad that the Twilight has been lifted."

"It is no longer necessary to my plans." He looked back towards the balcony, tilting his head to let the sunlight hit his face and closing his eyes. "And now I will gain my strength back more quickly."

"Your plans… I don't suppose you would tell me about them?"

Ganondorf snorted. "Someone is feeling bold today."

Zelda shrugged. "You are clearly in a good mood. I thought perhaps you might be more open with me."

"I am in a good mood," he said. "Why not? Here is what is going to happen. That hero is going after the final Fused Shadow; I am sure he will be successful."

"Surprisingly impartial of you."

"I am no fool," he said. "Once he has obtained it, Zant will go to greet them. With my magic, the hero will be crippled. The imp as well."

"How?" Zelda breathed.

He smiled. "I will keep that to myself, I think. Anyway, after it is done, I will be free to wait until I am fully recovered. Then I will hunt him down and take the Triforce of Courage. If he is somehow able to undo my enchantment, he will be sent on a wild goose chase trying to get to Zant. By the time he realizes that his true enemy is here, I will be strong again. He will be slaughtered and the Triforce will be mine."

Zelda shuddered.

Ganondorf frowned suddenly, opening his eyes and looking at her. "If they come here again, you will not tell them of my existence. I would make you regret it."

"You threaten my life? How is that a deterrence, when it is clear you intend to kill me anyway?"

"Your life is not the only thing I can threaten," he said, gesturing meaningfully down at the streets of Castle Town. "I intend to take this country with minimal bloodshed, but that could change."

"Minimal bloodshed?" she snapped. She turned away from the balcony, walking back into her room, unwilling to look at the people he threatened. "How can that be when you have already loosed Shadow Beasts upon my people?"

He followed her. "Zant may have been a bit overzealous. Soon he will no longer be needed." When she turned, he met her eyes, again that odd expression on his face. "In any case, I have been thinking. Maybe you do not need to die."

She inhaled sharply, not taking her eyes off of his.

"My plan is to execute you publicly and declare myself the King of Hyrule. Kill any who resist. But there are multiple ways to become a King." His voice deepened as he stepped towards her. "You could abdicate your throne. Declare yourself unfit to rule and give Hyrule and the Triforce to me."

"If you think I would abandon my people to save myself you are sorely mistaken," Zelda said, stepping back.

"Or," Ganondorf added, continuing to move towards her until her back was against the wall. One arm came next to her head to support himself as he leaned over her. "You could marry me," he said softly.

"What?!"

He chuckled, a low sound that seemed to reverberate around the room despite its lack of volume. "It would be an elegant solution. We will tell the people that I am a King from a far-off land, come to Hyrule to court the lovely Princess Zelda. I become the King of Hyrule, but you can remain its Queen. The Hero will still need to die of course, but no one else. I can even give Midna back her Kingdom."

"You would do that?" she whispered, still in shock.

He raised his free hand to her face, stroking her cheek with his thumb. She found it difficult to think with him so close. "Why not?" he murmured. "It would make a fitting wedding present, I think. You will give me the Triforce of Wisdom. I will give you Zant's head."

"And once we are wed, I suffer an unfortunate accident, is that right?" She forced herself to say.

Another deep chuckle. "Only if you misbehave yourself." He learned down, bringing his lips close to her ear. "Come, Princess…" he whispered. "You could be my Queen. You are the only one who could."

"Why…?"

"You are like me, chosen by the goddesses. That mark on your hand proves that we are equals." The thumb on her cheek stilled as he pulled back to look in her eyes. "There needn't be any more violence, Princess… So let me…"

Violence. This was the man who attacked her country and threatened her people, allowing a madman to do as he pleased. She felt as though cold water had been poured over her, and turned her head away.

"Ganondorf," she said. "Please stop touching me."

He complied with her request immediately, though he was still close, far too close. Zelda slid herself out from under his arm and moved to the center of the room, away from him.

He turned, leaned his back against the wall and smirked at her. "Well?"

"Your offer is not serious," she declared. "You are drunk on the feeling of being in the light again and acting insanely. For you must be insane to think that I would marry you."

His smirk faltered, eyes narrowing.

"I will never hand over my people to a tyrant," she continued. "And even if you are telling the truth that you would spare them, I also must think of myself. I will not betray myself by marrying a man I will never trust."

She saw his jaw clench, but he maintained his casual stance against the wall and lifted a shoulder. "Fine," he said. "I won't ask again."

A/N: Happy Echoes of Wisdom day! :)