Ganon was not thrilled about the prospect of spending more time in Condé's house, but by the time he and Zelda had stopped pelting each other with snow and the yeti had finished building a snowman for his brother, he had ice clinging to every part of his fur that was exposed, and Zelda's clothes were completely drenched. And so, still cold and wet but feeling somehow lighter, he returned to Condé's house to dry off and spend the night, as it was starting to get late and Zelda was not interested in heading down the mountain in the dark (probably wise, he thought).

Now, he sat on one of Condé's chairs, smoothie in hand (made of peppers, Zelda claimed, and sure to warm him), waiting for her to dry off and change so they could discuss their next plan. Tri had fallen asleep on the armrest beside him, while Condé had gone outside to shovel snow from his porch.

Soon Zelda emerged, having changed into a dress that looked nearly the same as the one she had already had on (why did she have so many identical dresses, he wondered. When he had been a human, he hoped he had had a better fashion sense). She collapsed into a chair next to him and let out a yawn. The armchair had clearly been made for someone Condé's side, so she looked very small curled up on it.

She gave him a sleepy smile. Cute, he thought, then immediately pushed the thought away, disconcerted.

"Feeling better?" she asked.

He grunted.

"Me too," she said, then, playfully, "But you had fun, didn't you?"

He did not deign to give this a response, but instead asked, "Do we make for Faron tomorrow?"

"No, actually," Zelda said. "I'd like to go to Castle Town."

He narrowed his eyes.

"I want for you to see my nursemaid, Impa," she elaborated. "I think she may be able to help with your memory problems."

"How would your nursemaid help my memory?"

"Impa is the most intelligent person I know," said Zelda. "And she is no mere nursemaid – she is Sheikah, with all the power that entails. Perhaps she knows some magic that could heal you."

He did not much like the idea of letting some stranger into his head, especially one in service to the Royal Family of Hyrule. He was, however, very tired of feeling clueless.

"You would still return my memories, then?" he asked suspiciously. "Even after what the goddess said to you?"

"I told you I would, didn't I?" She raised her head defiantly. "I want to know you, Ganon," she said. "And maybe it is foolish of me, but… I'd like to trust you."

It was foolish, he thought. But what he said was, "Fine."

The next day, they left Mount Lanayru (Condé asked them to please visit him again. Zelda promised she would; Ganon said nothing) and began the trek to Castle Town. He was very pleased to be back in the sunny green fields that made up the majority of Hyrule proper, and breathed in the fresh air deeply. The cool breeze was refreshing on his face.

It was no wonder he desired Hyrule, when the winds he was used to were… were what? As usual, when he tried to hold on to the fragmented memory in his mind, it quickly slipped through his fingers like sand in an hourglass. He scowled. As apprehensive as he was about meeting this Impa, he hoped Zelda was correct that she could do something for him.

Sheikah… He recalled little of the Sheikah, the mysterious servants of Hyrule's Royal Family who lurked in the shadows. Could I have been Sheikah? Perhaps he had been a defector, had overthrown the very king or queen he had vowed to serve and that was what had drawn the attention of the goddesses. He found he quite liked the idea, though it did not stir any feelings of recognition within him. And he could not really see himself in the position of servant, even temporarily.

They made their way towards the capital, passing back by the same cathedral and cemetery where they had repaired the rift before. There was a man standing there (wearing an acorn on his head – very bizarre, Ganon thought) who let out a gasp when he saw Ganon and ran into the cathedral. Zelda watched him run away, frowning.

"I suppose we will have to find a back way into town," she said, putting a finger to her chin. "It may cause some commotion if you just waltz through the front gates."

"You think so?" he asked dryly. Zelda did not seem to note his sarcasm.

"Yes, well, I imagine most people would find your appearance to be quite alarming."

"Not you?"

She shrugged. "I've met many odd kinds of people since starting this journey." She giggled. "In Eldin, I met people who are literally made of rocks. A talking pig doesn't seem as strange as that."

"I am not a pig," Ganon spat.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Zelda said with a slight smirk. "Talking boar, then."

He relaxed slightly. "Better."

They fell into a silence while Zelda thought about how they might enter Castle Town.

"Getting into the Castle will be easy, at least," she said. "I know many secret passages."

"Your nursemaid lives in the Castle?" he asked, widening his eyes in mock surprise. He felt very gratified as her cheeks went pink.

"Oh, well…" She sighed. "I guess you were going to find out today anyway…" She straightened, then cleared her throat. "I'm sorry for not telling you earlier – I am actually the Princess of Hyrule."

"I know," he said.

She blinked. "What, really?"

"Yes."

"What gave it away?" She sounded nearly disappointed.

He looked her over, from the diadem she had over her golden hair to the triangular crest adorning her fancy dress.

"Everything," he said, and felt a flicker of amusement at her responding pout.

"If there are guards at all the entrances," said Zelda, staring at the tall stone wall that protected Hyrule Castle and the surrounding city, "then we'll just have to go over."

He touched his hand to the hard wall, feeling the mortar between the stones making up the wall. There was not nearly enough ledge for him to get a grip. Not to mention, he did not think he would be able to climb much of anything with the hooves that were his feet.

"And how do you propose we do that?"

She tapped her fingers against her staff, thinking.

"I could bind you to a crawtula," she said, summoning in a spider which quickly began scaling the wall.

"Absolutely not," said Ganon, very much disliking the idea of not being able to control his body.

"You're right – poor thing might find you too heavy."

He rolled his eyes.

She summoned now a block of water which somehow was able to maintain its shape. "Can you swim?"

"I refuse to meet this Impa soaking wet."

"Good point." Her eyes lit up. "I have it! Watch out," she warned, then waved her staff. Not a moment later, something slammed to the ground beside him. He flinched (embarrassing).

"Quick, get on," Zelda said, climbing onto what he saw now was some sort of one-eyed monster with a platform-like body. He followed her, muttering, "Make enough noise, why don't you."

The monster raised them up towards the top of the castle walls, though not quite enough for Zelda to grasp the wall and pull herself up. "Hold on," she said, "I'll summon a second one."

"Don't," Ganon growled, certain that someone must have heard all the sound they were making. He did not want any guards coming to investigate. Lowering himself, he said, reluctantly, "Just – hold on."

She climbed onto his back, wrapping her fingers around the spikes on his shoulder pads to secure herself. He took a breath, then jumped to the top of the wall. From here, he could see down into the city, though much of it was obstructed by the massive castle next to them – Zelda had chosen this wall to scale for its proximity to Hyrule Castle.

Now he felt her shift on his back as she raised herself to more easily talk to him.

"There's a door over there," she said, pointing to the circular tower closest to them. "My room isn't far from there – can you jump?"

"Not a problem," he said smugly, and soon they were inside the castle at the top of a long spiral staircase. Ganon lowered himself to let Zelda down, and they set off down the stairs.

"Hey, Ganon," Zelda said as they walked. She had a mischievous glint in her eyes that made him think he wasn't going to like what she was about to say.

"What."

"Is that pattern on your cape supposed to be your face?"

He grabbed the bottom of his cape, pulling it so he could see. The pattern did look like it could be a face, perhaps… The diamond near the top of the cape had an awfully similar shape to the gem on his forehead. And below it, markings that may have been eyes, then a snout. Suddenly sure that she was entirely correct, he quickly dropped it, gritting his teeth.

"Did you make that yourself? Or ask someone to make it for you?"

"How would I know?" he muttered.

"Oh, don't glare like that," she said. "It's a very nice cape." Her eyes were bright with amusement. "And it's a confidant statement, to wear your own face. You must have been very bold."

"You must be very bold, to continue mocking me like this," he said snippily.

"Teasing," she said. "And I am." She gestured down the hallway they had reached. "This way."

Soon, Ganon found himself waiting with Tri inside Zelda's bedroom while she went to go find her nursemaid. It was a large room, and very fancy, surely fit for a princess. A lush carpet covered most of the floor, soft under his hooves. Against the wall was a large bed with a canopy; a fluffy white cat was curled up on Zelda's pillow, asleep. Ganon amused himself by snooping through her books (she had many, both fiction and otherwise), then her drawers and closet (he wondered again why she had so many of the same dress). He caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror on her vanity, and glared at his boar-ish reflection. He had not realized that his eyes had become blood red; he really did look like some demonic monster. Had he really chosen to become this?

He was distracted by a shout coming from the bed, and turned to see Tri being chased by Zelda's cat.

"Ganon!" they cried. "Help!"

Ugh, he thought, but moved to intervene.

And so, that was how Zelda found him when she entered the room again: sitting on her bed, holding a squirming and mewling cat away from him while Tri perched on his head, watching nervously.

"What is going on here?" she asked.

"This infernal creature thinks Tri is a toy," he muttered.

"Why does it attack me, Zelda?" Tri asked. "I am not a monster!"

Zelda frowned. "She can see you?" Her eyes widened, and she took the cat from Ganon, cradling it to her chest. Immediately it stopped struggling. "My poor girl," she cooed, "Were you trapped when the rift overtook Castle Town? That must have been so scary."

The cat purred.

Someone cleared their throat, and Ganon noticed then the second person who had entered with Zelda. She was an old woman, with white hair she had tied back from her face. She held a cane, had a short stature, and the wrinkles around her eyes suggested someone who smiled frequently. She was not smiling now.

"So," she said, "this is your monster, is it?"

Zelda nodded, putting her cat down, who immediately jumped onto Ganon's lap to better watch Tri, still resting on Ganon's head. Zelda pursed her lips as if to stifle a laugh. Ganon wondered, not for the first time, what he had done to deserve being put in this situation.

"Yes, Impa," Zelda said. "This is Ganon."

"You would trust this monster? The same one who captured you earlier?"

"It was Null who captured me. Ganon didn't want to capture me any more than Father wanted to execute me."

That seems… not quite true, he thought, thinking again of his vague memory of a princess in a crystal. Impa gave him a dark look like she suspected exactly what he was thinking.

"I know, my Princess," Impa said. "But is it really wise to seek to return his memories? You don't know anything about him."

"I don't, but… Impa, somehow I feel like I should know him. Like… the goddesses want me to know him. It is the same feeling I had when I saw Link."

Impa said nothing, looking at him still with narrowed eyes.

"Ganon has been nothing but helpful so far – it would be wrong to condemn him just because he looks monstrous." Zelda smiled. "And if he does end up being bad, well… I will put him in his place."

Good luck, Ganon thought.

Impa sighed, shaking her head. "Only my Zelda would go out on an adventure and come back with a monster," she said fondly.

"Don't tell Father," Zelda said. "He'll just worry."

"Of course he worries, dearest." Impa reached up to stroke Zelda's cheek. "Your father and I both know you are a grown woman now. But it is hard to look at you and not see that little girl that used to run around the castle, always getting into trouble..."

"I can take care of myself," Zelda said.

"I know you can." Impa blinked as though holding back tears. "You are beginning to look so like your mother…"

Ganon, who was becoming uncomfortable with the increasing amount of emotion in the room, snapped, "Can you help me or not?"

Both Impa and Zelda turned to him, Impa's expression becoming cold once again.

"Rude one, isn't he?"

"I don't think he remembers how to act around people," Zelda said. Lowering her voice, she added, "He's a bit shy."

"Shy?" Ganon sputtered. "You – I ought to –"

"Quiet." Impa tapped her cane on the ground. "And never threaten the princess in front of me."

He sneered. "What will you do about it, old woman?"

"There are many things I could do to you," she said, and the fire in her eyes made it clear she was not joking. Ganon suppressed the urge to shudder. He decided that, aged or not, he did not want to be on this woman's bad side.

"Ganon," Zelda said sternly. "Behave, please."

He huffed. Impa approached where he sat on the bed, studying him. "I've never seen a monster like this," she murmured. "Nor met one who could speak and think like a person."

I am a person, he thought, but somehow this felt too personal an admission to speak aloud.

"I'm one of a kind," he said instead.

The corner of Impa's mouth twitched. "You really cannot remember anything?"

"Nothing concrete until Zelda woke me after repairing the rift I was in."

"But now you walk in the rifts?" She put a hand on her waist. "How is that possible?"

"I don't know."

"What are you?"

"If I knew that," Ganon said darkly, "I would not be here."

"Do you have any ideas, Impa?" Zelda asked.

Impa tapped her fingers against the top of her cane. "If your memory loss is due to the rifts, I am not sure there is anything to be done. Perhaps if Null is defeated…"

"Is there nothing else? I thought there may be some Sheikah remedy." Zelda smiled crookedly. "Some way to retrieve memories shrouded in shadow."

Impa thought for another moment. "There is one thing I might try," she said. "Wait here."

After she exited the room, Zelda sat down on the bed next to him. She reached over pet her cat, who had tired of watching Tri and was now lying down on Ganon's leg with her eyes closed.

"She likes you," Zelda said. "I'm surprised – she doesn't like many people."

Ganon tentatively gave the cat a pet of his own. When she didn't shy away, he gave her a second, then a third.

"She is… cute," he said.

"She is dangerous," Tri said, floating down to rest by Zelda's shoulder. One of the cat's eyes cracked open and Tri quickly hid in Zelda's hood. Her eye closed as Ganon pet her again.

"You like animals?" Zelda asked.

He shrugged. "They are… easier."

Soon, Impa returned, raising an eyebrow when she saw Ganon and Zelda sitting together with the cat. In her hand she held something that looked like a magnifying glass, though its glass was covered with the design of a purple eye.

"This is an old Sheikah invention, meant to help you see the truth," she said. "If there is some magic blocking your memories, perhaps I will be able to see it, and… remove it from you." She stepped closer to him. "If there is anything you can recall, the slightest thing, I want you to think of it now."

He held in his mind the little he did know: that he was a man, that he was a king, and stared at Impa as she leaned towards him, raising the artefact towards one eye. He saw her mouth open slightly as she beheld him, then the eye he could still see narrowed. He continued to think, to reach for a memory, any memory at all…

Impa continued to examine him while he thought, and he stared at her; at that unblinking purple eye that seemed to look into his soul, and at her actual eye, her iris the typical Sheikah red.

And he realized, there was something he remembered.

"When you were younger," he said, "Did you have tattoos underneath your eyes?"

He saw that red eye blink. "Excuse me?"

But Ganon had become confidant now. "Yes," he said. "And when the princess was a child, you and her… you were chased on a horse."

Impa removed the artefact from her eye and looked at him in bewilderment. He saw her and Zelda exchange a look.

"It didn't work," Zelda said, dejected.

Impa shook her head. "I fear I have only made him confused." She sighed. "I am sorry, dearest. Perhaps he might try meditating – I know a Sheikah in Kakariko Village who swears by it. Or perhaps if you went somewhere he has been before, that might jog his memory."

Ganon frowned. He wasn't confused – he had seen her on a horse. Hadn't he? Now that he was no longer looking at her eyes, he had become uncertain.

Zelda stood up to give Impa a hug. "Thanks, Impa, for trying. And for making time to see me."

Impa pat her back. "I will always make time for you, Zelda. And he has reminded me – I have a gift for you."

"Oh?"

Impa nodded. "Go to the stables west of town and tell them I sent you." She stepped back, then lifted her cane towards him. "And you – don't do anything foolish."

He glared back.