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Ganondorf lay alone in his bed, and he did not sleep, mind racing with anticipation. Tomorrow, his and Zelda’s plan would truly begin. Tomorrow, they would stand against the King of Hyrule publicly.
Tomorrow, Rauru and Sonia would know that Zelda had betrayed them – that Zelda had chosen Ganondorf over their precious little family. He could not wait to see the look on their faces.
He was not so arrogant as to not feel at all apprehensive. If Zelda was correct, Rauru possessed seven of the stones he had used to take out Ganondorf’s army of Molduga. He would not stand down easily; in all likelihood his people would be thrown into a war, and it would be Ganondorf’s fault.
It will be a quick one, he thought, turning over in his bed. Rauru doesn’t understand what he’s up against. Visions of Zelda, godlike and glowing, danced across the back of his eyelids. He wondered if the real reason he could not relax was that he had gotten used to sleeping with her in his arms. A weakness, perhaps, but he could not bring himself to care.
He did not know how much longer he would have her; he had to make the most of it.
(“Marry me,” he had said to her more than once. He had blurted it accidentally out in the throes of passion, he had murmured it to her quietly while they were together planning, he had said it with gifts and what he hoped were charming smiles. Her answer was always the same: a wry smile, then, “I’ll think about it.”)
He turned back over, wishing she was with him. Better that she wasn’t, he told himself; they needed to be well rested for tomorrow, and when they were together they often ended up staying up far later than intended. Partially because Ganondorf could not get enough of her, of her taste and her touch and her power, and partially because frequently they would stay up conversing into the early hours of the morning, Ganondorf regaling her with stories of the Gerudo and of the land before Rauru had claimed it for himself – and more and more often Zelda would exchange stories of her own time.
His wonderfully brave queen, locked in an unending duel for a century. With, unless she was mistaken (and he had realized that she rarely was), an entity that was him. Initially this had drawn his scorn, then his fear. These days he regarded it nearly as a comfort.
Even before she came into my life I was hers.
Now he just needed to keep her.
***
He had nearly fallen into sleep when there was a knock on his door. Quickly, he sat up and threw his robe himself. Few people would dare disturb him so late at night; had Koume or Kotake come with an urgent message? Or, he thought darkly, had Rauru found them out and come to confront him at last?
He took a breath, then opened the door. Zelda stood there, in little more than a nightgown. He blinked.
“Can I come in?”
Her voice was quiet and she did not quite meet his eyes.
“Of course,” he said, locking the door behind her.
She took a few steps into his room, then stopped. Ganondorf tilted his head.
“I am delighted to see you, Zelda.” He smiled crookedly. “Though I thought you wanted to –”
“I need to talk to you.”
Ganondorf frowned. “Did something happen? Did Rauru –”
“No, nothing like that,” she said, still looking away from him. “I… I’ve been thinking about it.” She swallowed. “And yes.”
He wondered if she was saying what he thought she was saying. Then she said, more firmly, “I’ll marry you,” and jubilation flooded him. He laughed, taking a step towards her, but she had already turned away and begun pacing.
“You are right,” she said. “It makes sense for us to marry. Hyrule and Gerudo in alliance. Those of your people who are in favour of joining Rauru may come to our side if we show that they do not need to swear fealty to have a strong friendship. There is benefit to be gained on both sides by strengthening our ties. And those in Hyrule who consider Rauru a godking will be more likely to follow me, someone of his line. You alone would face more opposition.”
Ganondorf hummed, though truthfully he was paying little attention to the words. Yes, he had made many of these arguments before, though less because of a strong belief in them but because he was becoming increasingly desperate for her to stay in this time. Preferably with him.
“You are a good king,” she continued, still pacing. “Your people respect you. Some think you harsh, perhaps, but these circumstances that is needed. You are strong. And you… you are a good man, Ganondorf. You will be a good husband.”
“Is that so?” Ganondorf purred. “Well, I will do my best to –”
“And,” continued Zelda, as though she had not even heard him speak, “You are right about the Calamity. The best way to prevent it is to stay with you and ensure that this Hyrule – our Hyrule – is not the same one that bred the Calamity. So yes. I will marry you.”
Finally she stopped, her back facing him. Ganondorf took a step towards her (he felt like he was walking on a cloud), intending to take her by the cheek and kiss her. “Zelda,” he said fondly, and she turned. Her eyes locked onto his.
Then she burst into tears.
Alarmed, he reached for her and pulled her into his arms.
“Sorry,” she sobbed. “I’m sorry. I’m not – I didn’t mean – Sorry, I…”
He shushed her, stroking her hair. Had he ever seen her cry? No.
“Zelda,” he murmured, brushing his cheek across her hair. “What is wrong?”
Her shoulders began to shake even harder, though she shook her head. Ganondorf said nothing more, holding her close and stroking her, torn between elation and anguish. There was only one reason, he thought, that her words would have brought her to this state.
When her sobbing had begun to subside, he gently touched his hand to her chin and tilted her head up towards him.
“Zelda,” he murmured, “If what you want is to return to your own time, then return.” Then, though the words pained him: “And I will turn the world over to find a way to get you there, if that is what it takes.”
Rather than the comfort he intended, this only prompted a new wave of sobbing. She buried her head in his chest.
“I know,” she whispered finally.
“I mean it, Zelda. I will help you go home, whatever it takes.” He smiled crookedly. “Though I may grumble the whole way.”
“No – I mean, I know…” Her voice wavered, but she pressed on. “I know how to go back.”
His hand stilled on her hair. “You can’t mean the draconification process Rauru’s sister spoke of?”
“No,” she said vehemently. “No, that idea was ridiculous.”
“Then…”
She sniffed. “The same way I came here to begin with. The same way I sealed you. A wish.”
He frowned, perplexed.
“I haven’t been able to test it, obviously, but I’ve been thinking… I’ve done some reading – if there’s one benefit to Sonia’s obsession with her royal heritage it’s that the library here is well stocked – and I’ve noticed some patterns…” She became more animated as she spoke, and her voice stronger. “Events that seemed to echo my own experiences, and I don’t understand it perfectly yet myself, but I’ve developed a theory, and, well…” She swallowed. “I think I know how to go back to my time.”
Ganondorf resumed his stroking of her hair but said nothing, sensing more to come. He did not have long to wait; Zelda’s eyes quickly welled up with tears once again.
“But I don’t want to.”
“You… don’t?”
“No. I want to stay.” She gripped the sleeves of his robes. “I want to marry you.”
Renewed delight roared in his chest. She was staying; she wanted to stay. And while he had not made much sense of her theory of a wish, if she was coming to understand even more the golden power in her blood and in her hands, he wanted even more to stand by her side. My Zelda, he thought, resting his chin on her head. My goddess, my queen…
Yet he could not show the full extent of his exuberance, for she still seemed one word away from falling apart. He pressed a soft kiss to her forehead.
“You have no idea how pleased it makes me to hear you say that, Zelda,” he murmured. “That is wonderful –”
“It’s not,” Zelda whispered. “I shouldn’t want this. I shouldn’t.”
“And why not?” He ran a finger down her cheek. “I’ve told you before that someone of your power should be a queen.”
“Queen of my own Hyrule,” she argued. “Not of this one.” She shook her head. “When I came here and realized where I was I thought Rauru and Sonia would teach me what it meant to be the ruler of Hyrule. That I would go back and have another chance to be the leader that Hyrule needs, even if I had failed everyone before. Instead I’ve come to realize that Hyrule shouldn’t exist, not as it does now. But that doesn’t – that doesn’t mean I can just abandon it!” She trembled in his arms. “Link will never stop looking for me; that’s the type of person he is; can I really – and that’s if by changing the past I haven’t destroyed him – though I would still need to exist to come here to begin with, so that world would still need to exist, wouldn’t it? But what if –”
“Zelda,” said Ganondorf, moving his finger to her lips (she had looked like she was nearly hyperventilating). “Relax.”
“Sorry,” she whispered.
“There is nothing to apologize for.” He nudged his cheek against hers, then lifted her. She clutched at him as he carried her to the bed (he had never seen her so touchy), and immediately rested her head against his chest as he settled them in his cushions.
“Lovely queen,” he murmured. “You are allowed to want things.”
She sniffled.
“You’ve given so much of yourself to your Hyrule. At what point is it enough?”
“I don’t know,” she mumbled, then, “But I still failed. I lost my father, Urbosa, my friends… And now I love the one who killed them. Does that make me wretched?”
You love me? Pride blossomed in him, but he held his tongue. Instead, he intertwined his hand in hers and said, “I haven’t become your monster yet. We will change your future, Zelda.”
“I know you haven’t,” said Zelda. “But I think… even while we fought, I…” She swallowed. “I hated you, more than I’ve hated anything. But I loved you too, I think. You were so… free. You were allowed to feel your anger. Sometimes I wished I could tear everything down and I… admired you for it.” Her grip on his hand increased. “I am horrible.”
“You aren’t horrible for having feelings. And if being angry makes you horrible, then, well…” He smiled crookedly. “I suppose Rauru is correct in what he says about me.”
She laughed quietly. He pressed another kiss to her forehead.
“I love you, Zelda, and I want desperately for you to marry me. But if you feel that you need to go –”
“No,” she said urgently. “I’ve made up my mind. And besides, even if I made a wish, I… I don’t think it would bring me back.”
He tilted his head. “But you said –”
“You have to want it. And I don’t.” She sighed. “I was drowning in my own time. Everything was so different – I was different – but they all wanted me to be the same. Link wanted me to be the same princess he guarded and I tried, I tried for so long but I… I can’t be that person.” She lifted her head, looking into his eyes. “That place… it isn’t my home, not anymore. My home is you.”
Ganondorf blinked, eyes beginning to feel uncomfortably wet. “I love you, Zelda,” he said again. “I love your mind, I love your power, I love your –”
He was cut off by her gripping his shoulders and kissing him. He grinned into the kiss. She loves me kept echoing in his mind, along with She’s staying. When she pulled away, she gave him a shy smile.
“Thank you,” she said.
“For what?”
She said nothing, rising to kiss him again. He sighed into her mouth.
“I should go,” she murmured. “Rest for tomorrow.”
“Stay if you like,” Ganondorf said. “Even if it’s just to sleep.”
“Alright.”
Ganondorf chuckled. “I thought I would have to do more convincing.”
She shrugged. “I want to be here. I sleep better with you.”
It was said completely matter-of-factly, but Ganondorf could see the emotion shining in her eyes.
“Come here, then, fiancée,” he said, pulling her with him as he laid down. She briefly kissed his neck, then his chin before curling up in his arms. He fell asleep within minutes.