The Adopted Prince

Chapter 1

A majestic Gerudo stallion galloped powerfully across the rolling fields of the divine kingdom of Hyrule. The afternoon sun glistened on his muscular frame, and reflected on the plate armor that protected him. Only this steed possessed enough strength to carry the great King of Hyrule in to battle.

A Hylian mare, bred with the seed of the black stallion, supported the Queen of Hyrule through the tall, swaying grass. The sun was warm on her exposed, tan skin, while the wind smelled of the promise of rain. The clouds gliding in from the east swore to make the rain reality. "We will need to cut training short today," she yelled to her husband chasing her across the field.

"I best make this the attack that defeats you then," he shouted back to kindle her fighting spirit. The king commanded his horse to gallop faster. His sword was straight out at his side and poised to attack, while his wife gripped the reins of her mare with both hands. Once he was close enough to strike, the queen suddenly stood from her saddle. She removed one foot from the stirrup, and pushed off from the mare into a backflip, all while equipping her bow in one fluid motion. The king passed beneath her and she lined him up in her sight. She rapidly fired arrows at his back, just before landing gracefully on both feet.

The sudden swiftness of her attack impressed him, but he was prepared. Attacking while in motion was pointless, otherwise she was constantly protected by a powerful barrier. He batted the first arrow away with his sword, but immediately behind it was a second. He managed to deflect the second by quickly firing a weak orb of magic. Most unexpected was the third arrow. Out of options to block and dodge, the king braced himself and allowed the arrow to pierce his upper arm. He narrowed his enraged, yellow eyes on his wife, already galloping away to prepare for her next attack. They charged across the field toward the other at their horse's fastest gallop. He swiped at her with his long sword as he rushed by. She dodged, but he noticed three arrows were nocked in her bow. When they rounded to face each other, she released her tense bow string. The queen was stunned to find all the arrows froze in midflight and snapped about to face her. This was her king's counter attack. She strengthened the barrier that protected her and fled from him.

An arrow zoomed by her head as she attempted to evade. To dodge the second she was forced in the opposite direction, back toward her husband. She became determined to end the fight as the victor, so she brandished her scimitar and continued to gallop straight at him. From out of nowhere the third arrow struck the middle of her back, as if propelled by magic. She lurched and was blinded by agony. When she could see, she found the king directly beside her. He swung his massive sword into her midsection. The blade met with obvious resistance from her protective magic and leather armor, but she was thrown from her saddle. She landed hard on her back and rolled a short distance. The king dismounted his horse while he was still in motion. He approached his wife with the hand of his uninjured arm extended. "Queen Ganondora Dragmire, do you yield?" he asked arrogantly.

She accepted his aid to stand on her feet with her arm held stiffly over her stomach. He wrenched the arrow straight out of her back, causing her to shout in pain. Dora grimaced, but the shallow cut in her abdomen was already in the process of healing over with new skin. Her ongoing discomfort was the bruising from the impact of his sword against her gut. "You win, for now, Ganondorf," she relented.

He bathed in the energy pouring from her as she healed, and he tore out the arrow to allow his arm to benefit from her skill. "You have grown powerful beyond my expectations, Dora," he praised. "Yet I still manage to defeat you when we spar."

As her wound healed, she was able to stand straight and meet his eyes with a glare. "I win on occasion." The clouds above them blotted out the sun, and were so dark the rain might have been unleashed at any moment.

Since conquering Hyrule to begin the Dragmire reign, and moving their family into the castle, the King and Queen of Evil sparred weekly to maintain their strength, and to help Dora master the art of defense and healing. Ganondorf awakened her ability to control magic while they were last trapped in the Sacred Realm. Training was important because he had known granting Dora the skill to wield magic with the same signature as his own intertwined their magical forces in life and death. They benefited from sparring each other, and joining forces to battle their daughter, Din, and Felious, her husband.

"Were I an enemy, the hero perhaps, you would have fought without hesitation, like the vicious warrior I trained in the fortress," he remarked heartlessly. "After all these years you still hold back."

Dora's hand hovered over the wound in Ganondorf's shoulder and concentrated her energy to finish healing him. "If ever I had a weakness, you would be the only one." When the skin was renewed, she whistled for her grazing horse to come to her side. The darkening clouds released their sorrow in tears, and their rage in the roll of thunder from lightning passing between the clouds. The king and queen mounted their horses in unison, and then trotted toward the castle.

"I count myself as your greatest strength," he advised with conceit.

Dora smiled contently and glanced at Ganondorf as they bounced along on horseback, directly beside each other. Her mind was left reeling when she truly considered their journey to reach their current destination in life together. "First one to the castle gets to humiliate the loser," she laughed suddenly, kicked her heels into the horse, and darted off toward the castle.

Ganondorf chuckled. He refrained from reminding Dora he could teleport short distances and chose to take advantage of the opportunity. She bounded toward the castle, her long braid of fiery red hair dancing along in the wind behind her. When she was out of sight, he pictured the castle's stables in his mind with vivid clarity. With barely a thought, he appeared outside the building, still atop the solid black stallion, and startled the stable hands. The king dismounted in one fluid motion and handed the reins to a servant. He sauntered toward the castle to prepare for Dora's arrival.

Chapter 2

The queen sped over the fields of Hyrule with her head tucked by the mare's neck to increase her speed. They rushed determinedly toward a wooden fence and bravely leaped over with unmatched grace. Dora pounded over one of the bridges into the market. Villagers, residence of the kingdom ranging from the Rito bird folk of Hebra Mountain, to the rock eating Gorons of Death Mountain, jumped out of her way to avoid injury. She smiled wickedly, with a glint of mischief in her eye, at their curses and screams for her reckless behavior. The path winded up the hills that the castle sat upon, through a gate house, until she yanked the mare to an abrupt stop outside the royal stable. Dora jumped out of the saddle and praised her horse by calmly petting her snout. The stable hands guided the horse inside and Dora marched swiftly toward the castle.

She shoved open the heavy, red, wooden door with hinges that emitted a long creak, a sound that resonated in the vast great hall. The room was wide with staircases to the left and right to the second level. The steps opposite her led to the throne room. Fire was absent from the hearth, and with the storm blackening the skies, the castle was filled with misleading shadows.

Dora sensed something amiss with her situation. She heard the scuff of a slight step and detected the air shift with the intruder's movement. A man attacked her, dagger poised to stab her chest and flying at her from below. She snatched the wrist of her attacker, but he was stronger, so she shoved his hand to make the blade entirely miss her torso. She thrust her left palm up into his chin and a burst of energy made him stumble. Before he recovered, she dipped down and swept her leg into the back of his knees. His collision with the floor sent the weapon flying from his hand. Dora's swift motion continued, while she brandished her scimitar. She landed with her legs straddled around his waist and the curve of her blade pressed to his throat. Familiar warmth caused her to hesitate; a welcoming smell forced her to think twice. A fraction of light reflected on an amber gem on the man's forehead. Dora realized she stared into those yellow and red eyes that she spent many nights adoring. She resisted the urge to slit his throat for tricking her so completely. "Ganondorf, what in the name of the Desert Goddess are you doing? I nearly ended your life," she exclaimed and calmly sheathed her scimitar. Her heart raced from the adrenaline, so she practiced controlled breathing to slow its pace.

"Exactly," he responded deviously. Ganondorf curled his fingers around her shoulders and led her into a brief kiss. "Your killer instinct is undeniably attractive." He imprisoned her on top of him with both arms locked around her small waist. She hummed with blatant intent as she kissed him more passionately. "Do you seduce all the men who attempt to murder you?" he whispered.

Dora chuckled, meeting his eyes, and combed her fingers through his thick orange hair. His breath was warm and lured her back for more. Her touch was tender, and full of yearning, as she caressed his cheek. "Only the most handsome, with strong arms to protect me, but most of all he must be a king and possess the essence of the goddesses, the Triforce." Ganondorf gripped his wife's waist and lifted her enough to use his legs to roll her on her back. He pressed his weight on her, their lips locked in an aggressive expression of desire, and they instantly began the struggle of removing armor and weapons. He had every intention of claiming her with all his primal lust for that statement that stiffened his ego.

"Dad?" a woman called warily.

Ganondorf considered for less than a second that he might still remind Dora of his unspoken love for her, but thought better.

"Mom!" the same voice shouted, this time sternly.

A torch moved across the room to reignite the hearth. The king and queen casually stood and composed themselves. The increasing brightness of the flames illuminated the faces of the Princess of Hyrule, her husband, and two guards in Yiga garments.

"In the great hall?" Din asked in disbelief.

"Can you blame them?" Felious countered to his wife with a sly grin. "With all the work going into the recent Sheikah activity, it must be difficult to find time for such intimacy."

"Right here in the open where anyone could have seen?" she argued, exasperated.

Dora tilted her head up to point her nose in the air. With her shoulders back, and one hand clutching her hip, she scoffed, "At least we weren't caught completely naked in the stables."

Din glanced away and stared transfixed on the fire, her cheeks burning. Ganondorf cleared his throat abruptly. "You obviously had a reason for interrupting. State your purpose quickly," he said irritably.

Din pressed her thumb and forefinger to the bridge of her nose and shook her head, as if to erase unwanted visions behind her eyes. "Yes, Father, moving on," she sighed. "We have reason to believe the Sheikah have discovered the next hero."

Dora's eyes widened and any erotic thoughts escaped. Her muscles visibly tensed in her arms, chest, and shoulders. "How has this come about, especially without our knowing?" she inquired.

"The Sheikah have been desperate to eliminate us, and this is the reason for their recent heightened activity," Din informed calmly, her hands waving in front of her. "They've been spotted in Kasuto Village as of late. These Yiga captured one to interrogate him, but the prisoner was killed before any useful information was retrieved."

"The man repeated the same words no matter how hard we pressed," the slender Yiga explained. "The hero will rise to defeat the incarnation of evil."

"That could mean anything," Dora retorted.

"We thought the same," Felious added thoughtfully. "I couldn't allow a threat to my family to go unchecked with loose ends, so I followed the Sheikah last night to the house they targeted for a little reconnaissance. They confronted the family of an infant boy to persuade the mother to give him up for safe keeping, but she refused. They believe this boy is the reborn hero."

"Kill them," Ganondorf ordered, his hands resonating with a sickening, purple aura. His wife turned to him and soothingly touched his armored shoulder. His dark glare shifted to Dora. "All of them!"

"Yes, my king," the queen replied curtly to acknowledge his command. "Din, Felious, take me there immediately."

Chapter 3

The sun sank beyond the western horizon before the royal family reached Kasuto Village. The Queen of Hyrule dismounted her horse, followed by the prince and princess. A warm glow from candles illuminated the front windows of the small cottage they approached. Ganondora grasped the handle to the door of her victim's home and turned it, but the door did not budge. She glared viciously, while focused on listening for anyone inside. The scrambling of feet alerted her to two current occupants. She sharply beat her fist twice on the door to gain their attention, and shouted, "There is nowhere to run! Your home is surrounded by Yiga." The cottage became silent. "I wish to speak with you about your son!"

No answer came. Dora lifted her leg and smashed the heel of her boot on the door near the knob. The lumber cracked and splintered, but it was apparently barricaded from the inside.

"Your effort to prevent entry to the Queen of Evil only proves the rumors to be true," Prince Felious yelled.

"Burn it down," Dora demanded, stepping back from the cottage.

"Wait, please," a woman shouted from within. The door opened after a heavy item scraped across the floor. A blonde Hylian woman with round, brown eyes collapsed to her knees in the dirt before the queen. "Please, spare my son's life," she pleaded, quivering. "I refused the Sheikah who asked to take him to be trained. He will be raised to respect you and our king, I swear it!"

"The King of Hyrule has ordered his execution," Dora declared callously.

"No!" The boy's mother wailed, tears streaming down her cheeks in waves. Din approached with a cloth in her hands. The Hylian woman stood to defend herself, but the Gerudo princess overpowered her easily by twisting her arm behind her back to the breaking point. The princess tightened the cloth between the prisoner's teeth and tied it behind her head.

"Leave my wife alone!" A brunette man with blue eyes erupted through the door, swinging a wood cutting axe. His wife screamed for him to stop, while Dora thrust out her left arm for her gauntlet to deflect his axe by intercepting the shaft. She brandished her scimitar with her right hand and sliced open the man's chest in one clean swipe. He landed on his back, writhing in agony. The queen stomped on his wounded chest, causing him to violently convulse. She swung her weapon straight down, skimming blades of grass, and sliced entirely through the man's neck. His eyes remained wide open, even after all of his mind's functions ceased, leaving the corpse to stare at his wife.

"You monster! You beast," she yelled around the gag, making her difficult to understand.

Dora laughed wickedly at the barely intelligible insults. "Kill her and dispose of them both. I will take care of the boy," she ordered evilly. Din restrained the woman, and the obscenities only stopped when Felious impaled her heart from behind.

The queen entered the cottage and stole one of the tall candles from the table to search the small home. There was no second floor, so she moved silently to the bedrooms at the back of the house. Locating the fussy infant was simple. She placed the candle on a small end table and found him resting in a cradle, swaddled in cream colored blankets. Dora suspended the tip of her blade beside the infant's face. The hero's soul resonated faintly from him, but was easily detected it because her dark powers were sensitive to the opposing energy. The boy was so new to the world he could not hold his hands out to surrender.

Dora froze, her mind cranking out thoughts at wild speeds. She had killed children before, but never a week old infant. His mother's words echoed in the queen's head. She rested the tip of her scimitar in the scabbard on her hip, still in desperate debate. Her heart and mind battled valiantly, but in the end her heart was the victor. "You're a pathetic Queen of Evil," she grumbled, as she thrust her sword the rest of the way into the scabbard. Dora curled her confident fingers around the back of the child's head, then slid her other hand under his behind to lift him delicately from the cradle. His fussing quelled at being held, and when she hummed a song he closed his eyes to rest. "My yelling must have woke him," she whispered, and then continued to sing softly.

Dora emerged from the dark cottage with the babe nestled in her arm.

"Mom?" Din questioned instantly. "Mom, no! Stop what you are doing."

"Absolutely not," she snapped.

"I know what you're thinking," Din continued, ignoring her mother. "This is the worst idea you have ever had."

Dora peered up from the boy to her daughter. "Tell me you would not raise him as your own," she challenged.

"But, Mom, that doesn't matter," Din protested. "Dad ordered his execution! If you take that infant home, especially intending to adopt him, no one will be able to save you," Din explained with caution.

Dora grabbed the horn of the saddle, and with one foot in the stirrup she pulled herself onto her mare. "I am responsible for the well being of this child from now on. I have made my choice. I will deal with the consequences."

Chapter 4

Ganondorf anxiously awaited his queen's return. There was no doubting the success of her mission, as long as they did not arrive too late. The family might have fled or chose to forfeit the baby to the Sheikah. If that were the case, he would initiate a frantic search. If the Yiga were unable to locate the child, he may reach the age to wield the blade of evil's bane. Ganondorf proved he was capable of defeating heroes that wielded the Master Sword, but preventing an unnecessary fight to the death was preferable.

The King of Evil became alert to clacking from the hard soul of leather boots slowly approaching the master chamber. He anticipated continuing what he and his wife began earlier, until she walked through the door with an object in her arms. Waves of disbelief and anger collided in his mind when he sensed the essence of the hero residing in the bundle of blankets she carried. The boy whined, and Dora hummed the way she always had when Din was unhappy as a baby. She treated the child in such a nurturing way, and gazed upon him with affection, that Ganondorf abandoned the thought that she brought the boy home to be murdered. "Explain yourself," he demanded venomously.

"I'm adopting him," Dora proclaimed plainly, and laid the baby on the bed.

His thoughts raced out of control in an attempt to comprehend her logic behind her impulsive decision. "You have never failed a mission, Dora, and never disobeyed my order," he scolded, raising his voice.

"I know," she regrettably agreed, and folded her hands with fingers interlocked. "The mother and father are dead," she added, as if it made a difference.

"It was the child that needed to be executed. The one with the potential to destroy all I have worked to gain!"

Dora peered at her husband and said, "He also has the potential to be a great warrior. The hero was always influenced by an outside source of good, whether it was Kokiri, the Deku Tree, Zelda, or Hylia herself," she explained persuasively, and closed the distance between them. "Never have we been presented an opportunity to manipulate him from the beginning, for our own purposes."

Ganondorf glared down at her, his jaw tense with rage. "His only destiny is to slay me, the evil that threatens Hyrule. Bringing him into my castle is an act of treason," he shouted. The faint gasp that escaped when her breath caught in her chest satisfied him.

Her fingers trembled as she reached out to touch his chest. He snatched her arm and shoved her away in rejection. "Ganondorf, I would never betray you," she argued boldly. "I know this is what was meant to happen, as if the Desert Goddess herself told me directly."

"You are deluded if you believe I might accept this insane idea of yours to raise the hero as my own son," he bellowed.

A terrible cry escaped the infant on the bed. Dora hurried to lift him and comfort him by rocking him back and forth in her arms. "I knew you would be furious, but I prayed I might make you understand. He was just lying there, scared and defenseless," she pleaded. Quietly, she admitted, "I just could not bring myself to kill him."

Ganondorf never felt such fury at his wife. Never was she less than loyal to him, and he struggled to cope with the hate swelling inside his soul. "Are you so utterly attached to your emotions that you dare bring my enemy into this family because he is only an infant?"

"I would have regretted killing him," she confessed.

"You are a pitiful evil queen!"

Dora glared at him with eyes of ice, but did not gratify him with a response.

"Have you considered that you are being used by Hylia to keep the boy alive?" he countered, his hands clenched into massive fists. His entire body was consumed in a faint purple aura as he restrained his malice.

"I am not being controlled by some idiotic divine being," she hissed. Dora turned her head back to the boy and sang softly to ease his worries.

Ganondorf watched the way she cared for the babe, and in spite of the hate consuming him, there was a sliver of compassion. It was many years since she nurtured a child, and she must have missed the splendor of being a mother. He wondered if this desire influenced her decision. His menacing aura diminished. "I am giving you one chance at redemption," he said, grasping at attempts to remain calm. "Hand the child over to me. I will take his life."

Dora glanced up to Ganondorf, while she slowed the way she rocked since the boy was calm. She gazed with adoration at his button nose and round cheeks. His innocence stole her heart. She tucked the infant in her arm against her bosom, and firmly answered, "No."

"TRAITOR!" Ganondorf's savage roar was deafening even in their large chamber. Dora instinctively coated herself and the infant in a defensive barrier. The betrayal and hate he experienced overwhelmed his senses. He thrust out his hand with his palm facing Dora, and knocked her clear back to the wall with a powerful wave of energy.

She pressed the child to her chest protectively. Her impact with the wall was minimal because of her magic, and she nimbly landed on her feet. "Please, Ganondorf, I'm begging for your blessing to keep him. He will be raised with my loyalty. We can train him in the old ways of a Gerudo warrior, to fight in your name. We can change his destiny."

"I refuse to accept that filthy Hylian with the blood of the hero into my family. You defied a direct order! I will claim both of your lives!" Ganondorf rushed to her, knowing magic attacks were pointless, but he could easily over power her with brute strength alone. Dora clutched the child to her body when Ganondorf suddenly snatched her throat in his fingers, and then lifted her from the floor with ease. He felt her pulse quicken with panic, and the shift of her muscles when she swallowed, on the palm of his hand. He squeezed her neck until she gagged and her luscious lips faded to a shade of blue, while she shielded the infant with her arms. The King of Evil sought the fear he provoked from his victims in her golden speckled eyes, but it did not fuel his hate as expected. Seeing her afraid of him, of death at his hand, only weakened his resolve to punish her. Dora threw her legs to kick him and break free of his rigid grasp. His anger mounted out of frustration over hesitating to hurt her, and that he was distraught to see her terrified and tormented. "Now you will live with the regret of betraying me," he snarled, and then tossed her across the room. Before she collided with the floor, Ganondorf conjured an image of another room in the castle and sent her away immediately.

Ganondorf stepped back until he collapsed on the bed with his hands draped over his knees. He struggled to cling to his rage, to remember that she willingly defied his command and brought an enemy into his castle. Seeing her frightened, suffering, and close to tears, he only hated himself. That Dora possessed such sorcery over him was an outrage. For the time, she could stew in the dungeon to consider her misbehavior, and he would give the idea some consideration while he slept.

Chapter 5

Dora stumbled to catch her balance and came to a halt. She sucked in huge gulps of air that made her cough until tears came to her eyes. After she finally caught her breath, she twisted frantically in the pitch black to determine her location. "Goddesses damn that man," she cursed aloud hoarsely. Her heart and soul sank when she realized Ganondorf teleported her to the dungeons. She cautiously walked to the door on wavering legs and checked for a handle with trembling fingers. None. She punched the door with a frustrated cry.

The infant screamed. Dora could not deny any longer that the boy was hungry. She sat on the dry dirt with her back against the wall beside the door. Could the simple desire to raise the child be enough to produce the food needed? Milk usually was formed over the course of several months, or while pregnant, not in the matter of hours. Dora carefully shifted to remove her top, and then struggled to help the boy latch in a way they were both comfortable. At first, he grunted and whined in frustration because he received no nourishment. She placed her hand on the breast he sucked from and concentrated her magic to circulate and produce milk infused with her dark energy. "This alone," she said, "should help deter that hero inside. You need to hold onto your courage though. There is only so much I can do to protect you, but I promise to fill you with as much evil and hate as possible." Dora reluctantly closed her eyes, exhausted from the day's events. "All I need is to give you a name."

The queen jerked awake abruptly to the clang of metal. Her mind was numb from poor sleep, and confused by the darkness, until she found the weight of the infant sleeping peacefully in her arms. She realized she was still exposed, and quickly tugged her top in place. As she did, she found the startling sound was the door to her dungeon being shoved open. Ganondorf entered, carrying the light of a glowing blue stone at the end of a rod. Dora scrambled to her feet, but standing on her stiff legs made her ache. Her arms were sore from supporting the child. As soon as she stood she looked at Ganondorf and began to ramble. "I know you're furious and I completely understand why, but we need..." Her words were interrupted and her thoughts faded when Ganondorf pressed his thumb to her lips. He grazed the tips of his fingers along her face until his worn hand rested flat against her cheek. This was his gentle reminder that she needed to be silent before acting a fool.

"How is the child?" Ganondorf asked, though his tone lacked concern.

"He is well. I was able to feed him, but he needs changed," Dora advised.

"You fed him? With sustenance you produced?" he questioned in disgust.

"I was left with no choice," she said in rebuttal.

Ganondorf turned to slide his hand around Dora's shoulder and down to the middle of her back. He escorted her to freedom.

"You know the nightmares I live when being locked in the dungeon," Dora commented sadly. "I am visited by the vivid memories of helplessly watching you be stolen from me after only seven years of marriage, the enchanted chains that bound me for generations, and our first daughter that was taken from my loins and given to another family," she expressed, stopping her emotions by tightening her throat.

"That was the purpose behind forcing you to spend the night there, to remind you of all you endured because of your loyalty to me. Perhaps you even considered what led you to this ridiculous decision," he stated bitterly.

"You believe I did this because I wanted to raise another child, or to make up for the one that I lost?" she wondered, while walking hand-in-hand with her husband up the stairs.

"Whether you acknowledged that notion at the time or not, that is truly why you avoided killing him. You aspire to raise, not just another child, but a son. We have learned by now that you may either never become pregnant again, or if you do we will have another daughter." There was silence between them when they entered the master chamber above the throne room. He led her through the doorway on the left, where servants finished filling a warm bath in the square basin built into the floor. Dora passed the infant to one of the servants to hold, while she stepped out of her boots, removed ties from her hair, unbuckled the belt that held her sword, and stripped her armor. The only item she did not remove, and never would, was her crown. Ganondorf was captivated by her flawless body of muscles, curves, and scars. Dora turned to unfold the blankets around the child, while Ganondorf spoke. "You have not lost your evil spirit. The desire to corrupt your enemy by manipulation is the definition of evil," he explained. Dora grinned brightly at his praise, while using the steps to enter the bath. She rested on the bench within the water and lowered the child carefully to only submerge his back side. Ganondorf slipped out of his night garb and eased into the bath beside her. His caring gestures left her continuing to smile in content.

"Do I have your blessing to adopt the boy?" she wondered, her yellow eyes hopeful.

Ganondorf's expression did not betray any emotion. "He still possesses the potential to become the hero of legend. Despite all your effort, he may still long to fulfill his destiny. That said, I will permit you to adopt him, but if you sense that he is following a hero's path and becomes a threat, you will carry out his execution," he said, his voice cold and empty.

"This is just another test," Dora said with a laugh. Ganondorf curled his arm around her neck and pulled her close to kiss her on the forehead, but he said nothing. She knew the answer, because that was how his twisted mind worked. "I accept your terms."

"Have you given him a name?" he asked, laying eyes on the pale child for the first time. His other features could be predicted, but were a mystery for the time being.

"I've decided to honor an old friend, the dragon, Volvagia, whom I raised from a newborn because of another of your tests. I still cherish him to this day. I have chosen to name this boy Volga."

Chapter 6

"Thank you for coming with me," Din said to reach her mother's wandering thoughts.

Dora's mind returned to the present. She shifted her lost gaze to Din and became aware of their current location. They arrived at Gerudo Valley after leaving the castle only two hours prior. "I'm surprised you were able to convince me to come at all," Dora replied. "All I can do is worry. I should have brought Volga with me."

"That only would have spoiled the entire reason for going to Gerudo Town," she reminded. "You've been changing soiled clothes and suffering sleepless nights for too long. You need to reward yourself. You taught Volga to talk and walk. You cleaned up vomit, chased off monsters and comforted his nightmares away. All with grace, optimism, and without involving Dad that much," Din praised.

"I never wanted to make Volga a burden on him. I do encourage them to interact, under my supervision," Dora added.

"All I am saying is that you earned this," Din said with a smile. "Now stop worrying and enjoy yourself."

Dora inhaled a deep breath and freed it from her lungs slowly. "I will as soon as we reach the spa."

"Fair enough," her daughter chuckled.

After a few miles, the Gerudo Valley surrendered to the barren desert wasteland. The dunes in the distance were frozen waves in the sea of sand. Ancient ruins could be seen against the glare of the sun, even the crumbling Divine Beast Vah Naboris. A path of stone was laid in the shifting sand and continuously cared for, to allow horses to travel more easily to the bazaar. Their destination was beyond the bustling trade shops that permitted both genders. Gerudo Desert always brought Dora nostalgia and sorrow, while Gerudo Town brought amazement and wonder. "I love coming here," she said, mostly to herself.

"I do not envy you for growing up in these conditions," Din commented, overhearing.

The queen laughed, but it was empty. "The Gerudo live luxuriously compared to my childhood. We had only what we stole. No trade was allowed with the Gerudo, decreed by the King of Hyrule. Until Ganondorf came along, we had lost hope," she recalled, her tone growing fierce. "Back then, it was only the strong that survived the daily torture the desert provided. My mother pushed me from the time I was old enough to hold a sword. She told me to use their jests and taunts to make me stronger, and that they only hated me because they were afraid of me!"

Din hesitantly asked, "What happened to your mom?"

"She wasn't strong enough. I still blame her early death on that repulsive rat," Dora answered between her teeth, with her fingers tightly clutching the reins.

"Nabooru?" Din bit her tongue only after she realized the name passed her lips.

The Queen of Evil growled, and she filled with such anger that heat emerged from her heart and crept into her cheeks. "Yes, her. I know I told you how desperately she tried to keep your father's attention, with the goal of killing him and to surrender the Gerudo to Zelda. The Spirit Sage was a thorn in my side from the day I started training. She constantly belittled me. Since the elders favored her, she used her influence to convince them I was the bane of the Gerudo. We were lucky Ganondorf learned to see through her deceit, or the Gerudo would have been erased completely!" Dora remembered to breathe at last, and paused before she continued. "Now, you asked about my mother. Nabooru was one of the younger thieves on her raid team. That pitiful excuse for a Gerudo got them all caught, and they had to fight to survive. They returned with nothing, and Mom was wounded. Despite my futile effort to acquire medicine from Hyrule, she died of infection, just like so many others," she lamented.

"Is that how Rayne died?" Din asked.

"I was imprisoned in Hyrule Castle when she would have passed. Whether she died during an attempt to rescue me, or of old age, I will never know," she admitted, melancholy dominating her tone.

"Mom, you have endured much torture and grief in your life. It would be a jealous person to say you don't deserve what you have, or to try and take what you have gained," Din said thoughtfully. "You should be extremely proud of your accomplishments."

Dora simply smiled.

The two Gerudo standing guard at the archway to enter town saluted the Gerudo Queen and Princess with utmost pride. Young girls rushed to gaze in awe at their beauty, and wore vibrant eye and lip colors to be noticed. The elderly greeted the royal pair with graceful, silent bows. Young adults, still not yet the age to drink, aided the Gerudo from their steeds. Dora secured her bow and scimitar to the mare before she was led away to the stables.

The aroma of smoky fragrances, made from rare herbs and rich oils of flower petals, set Dora's troubled mind at ease when she set foot inside the spa. "Ah! Queen Ganondora and Princess Din," the spa owner greeted pleasantly.

"Rutha, it is a pleasure to see you are well," Dora responded.

Her deep, rich laughter filled the air with warmth like the rays of the sun. "When Din sent word you would be coming tonight for a much needed holiday, I made sure to prepare the best room. I reserved my best masseuse just for you two," she advised, leading them back the middle hall. Rutha turned to ascend a set of stairs that split the building in half, and then gestured to the first room on the right. Dora brushed aside a curtain of beads and entered the candle lit room. "I will leave Avumi to care for you, but let me know if there is anything I can do to make your stay more comfortable."

Dora slipped off her top with the criss-cross back when Rutha departed, leaving only her long, black skirt, and then lay on the firm bed on the right side of the room. Din took the remaining bed on the left side, and said, "Now, are you glad you came?"

The queen absorbed the aroma of the multitude of colorful burning candles. The scent of cool safflina was distinct among the herbal mixture, and was enough to ebb the worry that plagued her mind. "Yes," she admitted, releasing a big breath all at once.

Chapter 7

"Daddy, what's that?"

Ganondorf, and the more slender Gerudo, Prince Felious, stood on opposing ends of a table. A true to life map of Hyrule was intricately designed in the wood with scaled versions of towns, mountains, and rivers. The map was contained in the study, surrounded by exquisite furniture filled with the softest feathers, and finished with the finest leather. The shelves lining the walls were stuffed with books and packed with ancient relics from a time that no one currently alive would remember.

"That is Zora's Domain," Ganondorf answered impatiently.

"Oh, where the fish people live? I want to go there! Can we go swimming?" Volga asked in a whine. He was deathly pale in comparison to his father and brother.

"No," the evil king replied firmly. "Now, sit."

Volga did as he was commanded and found a seat close by the table, but his curious blue eyes searched the room for anything that might catch his childish interest.

"Where have the Sheikah been active?" Ganondorf asked, permitting Felious to continue their conversation.

"The Sheikah? What are they doing now?" Volga wondered, shoving his blonde bangs out of his eyes.

"The problem, little brother, is what they are not doing," Felious explained with a frown. He glided his finger around the map, while avoiding the land markings, and tapped a stone piece engraved with the Sheikah symbol. "We have Kakariko Village occupied entirely by Yiga members. We rooted out some traitors and spies, but it's been impossible to find more than an old scent that leads nowhere," he advised regrettably.

"Why?" Volga inquired, sitting on the edge of the chair.

Ganondorf rubbed the side of his forehead with his index and middle fingers. "This does not bode well," he remarked somberly, ignoring the boy.

"You're concerned they are after him," Felious surmised, doing his best to be vague.

"No, I'm not concerned. I already knew their target," the King of Hyrule said.

"Who?" Volga insisted.

"Why do you think they waited?" Felious wondered.

Frustrated about being ignored, Volga stomped away to investigate a book that caught his eye earlier, which was filled with brightly painted drawings of old artifacts.

"I suspect they waited for his mind to ripen, to fill it with their version of Hyrule's history," Ganondorf guessed.

"You mean they allowed Queen Ganondora the privilege of countless sleepless nights, and the honor of teaching him where to properly defecate, before plucking him out of our lives?" Felious asked out of sarcasm. "Convenient."

Ganondorf watched Volga approach the other side of the map table. The boy searched the barren desert of the Gerudo with squinted eyes. He pointed at the square walls of Gerudo Town and asked, "Is that where Mommy is now?"

"Yes," his father replied.

"Well, I don't see her," Volga said, upset.

"This map would not allow you to see her. Mom and Din will be back tomorrow," Felious chuckled.

Satisfied, Volga wandered off to explore more of the study.

"I'll increase the guard around the castle," Felious informed Ganondorf.

"One Yiga must always be watching over Volga," the king commanded. "Dora would never forgive me if he was taken."

"You're absolutely right," the prince agreed with a grin. "Do you ever regret allowing him to live?" Felious asked curiously.

"I was prepared for the danger involved with keeping him alive, to all of us, but witnessing Dora's delight in raising a son is worth the risk. And I'm far too interested in watching events unfold as he grows older to end it now," he answered with a smirk.

"What do you predict will happen?"

Ganondorf did not hesitate to respond, but he was interrupted by the ruckus of crashing metal. An old suit of armor tumbled to the floor, and he was furious when he learned why. Volga wobbled on scrawny legs with his arms out, and a large stone helmet over his head that covered his eyes. Ganondorf approached him with long strides, but was not quick enough to stop Volga from knocking over a rack of ancient bows that clattered noisily to the floor. He tore the helmet from Volga's head and scolded him harshly. "I specifically told you to touch nothing so that this would not happen," he yelled, his voice booming. Frightened, the boy instantly burst into tears. Felious moved to right the overturned rack and replace the bows, while Ganondorf returned the helmet to the shelf with care. He realized Volga never could have reached the helmet without climbing the shelves, which further infuriated him.

"I'm sorry, Daddy," Volga whined, rubbing the tears as they leaked out of his eyes.

"It is important you do not touch without first understanding its purpose," Ganondorf admonished. "This is the Fused Shadow, and was used by the Twilight Princess. It is a formidable power that is intended to destroy."

"I didn't mean to," Volga whimpered.

The faintest sound, like the muffled snap of gloved fingers, alerted Ganondorf to an intruder. The room filled with black smoke in a matter of seconds. He was blinded, and only heard the double doors to the study close by the click of the lock engaging. Usually he could sense the energies of others, but the smoke hindered that ability.

"Daddy!"

Ganondorf hastened to snatch Volga from the floor before their enemies. The boy felt fragile with his skinny arms latched around his father's neck.

"What's going on?" Volga asked, coughing and trembling.

Ganondorf already worked scenarios in his head with counter plans and contingency plans. As quickly as the smoke strangled the room it began to dissipate. Felious crossed blades with one of the attackers. Each swing of his Windcleaver created a gale that circulated the air, and the smoke drifted out the windows on the cool evening breeze. With the smoke cleared, Ganondorf determined a total of three Sheikah invaders. The first quickly learned that targeting Prince Felious was a mistake. The second hid in the rafters, and the third charged straight for the King of Evil with an Eightfold blade brandished. Ganondorf brought his fist back to his chest, and then thrust it toward the Sheikah. An orb of red energy struck the masked man's torso and exploded. The weapon flew across the room, while the corpse landed sprawled out on the map table, crushing Hyrule.

Ganondorf immediately set Volga on his feet and summoned the Lightscale Trident from a plaque on the opposite end of the study. The aqua colored grip collided with the palm of his hand.

"Dad, up there," Volga yelled in horror.

The Gerudo king twisted to the Sheikah plummeting from the rafters, but the attack was a bluff. His hand gripped three throwing knives that were not poised to stab. Instead of preparing a close ranged block, Ganondorf lifted the trident over his shoulder to throw it at his opponent. The Sheikah never landed, but reappeared several yards away. Ganondorf and his enemy hurled their weapons in unison. There was no time for either man to block.

Ganondorf grimaced when he yanked out one knife that managed to pierce his left thigh. Crimson glistened, trickling down his leg, but a wound from a weapon of plain steel was no more than a nuisance. The King of Evil marched toward the Sheikah, pinned to a chair by the trident's prongs impaled in his profusely bleeding abdomen. Ganondorf curled his fingers tightly around the end of the trident. Solid, black energy snaked up the pole toward his victim. "Tell me the location of your hideout and your death will be swift," he demanded.

The man coughed up blood that dribbled out the corners of his mouth. "Never, bastard."

The black veins curled around the prongs of the trident and entered the man through his gaping wounds. "You cannot resist me," he snarled.

"Why did you keep him alive?" the Sheikah whispered, struggling to speak. He grimaced against the dark malice that invaded him. "What are you planning?"

"You will not have him," Ganondorf declared.

The Sheikah's muscles seized against his will. Despite the agonizing pain, he defied the king. "You will get nothing from me!"

"I accept your challenge!" Darkness burst forth from Ganondorf in thick, suffocating waves that the Sheikah involuntarily absorbed. The nightmares he experienced caused him to shriek in horrific volumes. He writhed and twisted, and tossed his head back to escape the images in his mind. His screaming seemed to last for hours, but it was minutes later when Ganondorf eased off on flooding his victim with evil to allow him the opportunity to speak.

Panting, the Sheikah confessed, "The hideout is under Lake Hylia."

Ganondorf carried out his promise to end the Sheikah's life by rapidly invading his heart with pure evil. He died instantly.

"Felious, have the servants clean up this filth. When Din and Dora arrive tomorrow we assault the Sheikah and eliminate them once and for all," he instructed callously. Ganondorf turned with Volga's wellbeing in mind, and found the boy cowering by the exit. Felious opened the double doors to hurry and relay instructions to the servants.

"Were those Sheikah?" Volga timidly asked as Ganondorf approached.

"Yes, but only a few of them," he answered, walking with confident strides despite his injury. "There are dozens hiding throughout the kingdom."

"Why were they here?"

The king lowered to one knee to speak more directly to Volga, but still towered over the toddler. "They want to take you from us."

"Me? But why?" he asked, shocked, and fought tears under Ganondorf's cold glare.

"They despise our family, and hoped to tear us apart by kidnapping you," he explained stiffly. "I will take their lives before I allow that to happen," he promised.

Volga rushed and thrust his arms around his father's neck in an embrace of gratitude. "Thank you for saving me, Dad. You're my hero."

Ganondorf hesitantly placed his hand on Volga's back. Even after defending him, he struggled to claim the Hylian as his son. Volga's words filled his stomach with disgust, so he said nothing to acknowledge the statement about being a hero. He could not deny feeling grateful the Sheikah's attempt failed. "It's time for bed, Volga," Ganondorf instructed.

"Can I go with you to fight the Sheikah tomorrow?" Volga asked and stepped away.

"Absolutely not," Ganondorf responded harshly. "You would only be in the way."

"Oh," Volga said, disheartened. With his head hanging, he turned toward the door to go to bed.

"Did your mother ever tell you about the dragon whom your name is derived from?" Ganondorf inquired with a smirk, standing straight.

Volga stopped and turned around with a smile. "No. Why?"

Ganondorf walked ahead of the boy to lead him to his room. "You will want to hear this bedtime story," he said ominously. "Hurry along."

Chapter 8

The masseuse entered the room immediately after the Queen and Princess of Evil became comfortable on the beds. She spread her arms with excitement. “Your majesty. My lady,” Avumi greeted, spreading her arms with excitement, and then drew them in to bow graciously. “What brings you to the spa tonight?” she inquired, and then moved to fetch the massage oil warming in a dish over a flame.

“It’s called Mom hasn’t been out of the castle in four years. I’m convinced she lacks the understanding of the word relaxation,” Din answered with a snicker.

Avumi eyed Din with a knowing gleam. “It is always a thrill to hear the royal family will be paying a visit, but it sounds as though your needs are desperate!” She generously poured the oil on the Queen’s exposed back. “How are the king and the prince?”

The heated oil immediately loosened Dora’s spine. “Ganondorf is in good health,” she answered.

“Felious is mischievous as always,” Din chimed.

The queen involuntarily moaned when Avumi firmly pressed down on Dora’s shoulder blades and intricately twisted her fingers to work kinks out of her muscles. “Glad to hear all is well at home,” Avumi continued. “Are there any grandchildren planned for the grand king and queen?”

“Oh, there is enough excitement around the castle. I’m in no rush,” Din answered bashfully.

“To each their own, my dear. The excitement you speak of wouldn’t have anything to do with the young Hylian boy running around, would it? The canteen is abuzz with rumors that you are raising a son, Queen Ganondora,” Avumi advised with excitement. “Why, the strains in your back are proof enough that you’ve been caring for a toddler.”

“Yes, I adopted a boy. His name is Volga,” Dora replied curtly.

“That’s exactly why we are here,” Din said, her tone a warning for Avumi to avoid the subject.

“Is he at home with the king then?” Avumi ventured.

“Yes, quite against my better judgment,” Dora said, her tone darkening.

“Have no fear, your majesty. I know how difficult it is to trust someone else with a child you poured all your sweat and tears into keeping alive, especially when it’s said he might be the hero of legend,” the masseuse said, indiscreetly tossing bait to catch more information.

Dora assumed Avumi believed this part of the rumor to be false, and she was compelled to correct her. “He does possess the spirit of the hero. We strove to make the adoption a secret for as long as possible, for Ganondorf’s sake. It was one that could only be maintained for so long. Tongues of servants loosened at the tavern, and then it was only a matter of time before all of Hyrule learned. If everyone is to know, they may as well have the truth.”

“That is interesting,” Avumi whispered, driving her fingers into Dora’s hips. “You must pardon me for prying, but as you said, it is better the truth than the crazy stories the vai conjure while inebriated.”

She emitted a groan as Avumi discovered tense muscles Dora never knew existed, or they were sore for so many centuries she forgot them. “Is there such peace in Gerudo Town that it is necessary to make up fantastical tales about the royal family?” Dora questioned sourly.

“Yes, your majesty,” Avumi answered with a lighthearted laugh. “Since the Yiga are allies with us we are all much more at ease, and not filled with terror to venture into our own desert. Other than the unruly or drunk Gerudo now and then, our lives have been simple.”

“As opposed to Zelda, where Hyrule was at civil unrest, which often led to war,” Dora scoffed with a cruel chuckle.

“That is true. Not everyone may get along, but there is no war. Our great king is swift to handle any disputes, with an iron fist if needed, to prevent wars,” the Gerudo agreed. “It always was Zelda, and her hero that tried to stop Ganondorf from conquering Hyrule, which caused so much death. They were wrong about how the world would be with him in control.”

“Imagine how boring life might have been without the fight,” Din realized.

“Perhaps, but the Hylians, and the simple minded, will never understand that Ganondorf is where he belongs and Hyrule is better off,” Dora said.

“Princess Din, is your mother always this intense?” Avumi wondered with a smile.

“Yes,” Din laughed, but smiled adoringly.

Avumi walked away to prepare a new bowl of oils for the princess’s massage. Dora stood to don her top, and then rolled her shoulders. She felt spectacular, as if hundreds of years of stress melted from her body. The queen was prepared to continue resting, but she suddenly cried out in agony. She stumbled and leaned on the bed for support when she lost all strength.

“What happened?” Din shouted, and hastened to her mother’s side.

Dora pressed her hand to the center of her left thigh, willing the pain away. As it faded, her head swam, swaying back and forth dangerously. She seethed and pressed her face to the table to wait for her afflictions to subside.

“Mom, what’s wrong?” Din urged in alarm for an answer.

The Queen of Hyrule grunted, with her eyes squeezed tight and her teeth biting down hard. Only once the strain on her energy vanished, did she finally answer. “Something happened. Ganondorf was injured.”

Din was relieved. “Whatever it is, I’m certain Dad can handle. Lay down, and breathe,” her daughter instructed, gently helping her back on the bed. “As long as you do not feel as if you are dying, there is no emergency that requires your attention,” Din reminded calmly. “Even if we left now, it would be several hours before we made it home.”

“Fine,” Dora said reluctantly, but her mind ran rampant with worry. Was it Sheikah? Would Ganondorf defend Volga? Were the two of them fighting? Would Ganondorf really try to kill him? Or was Felious trying to overthrow the king?

“I’ll have my massage, we’ll share a few drinks, and then we will leave. You won’t be able to sleep anyway,” Din reasoned, coming to a compromise. She lay down and gestured for Avumi to continue her work.

Several drinks and two hours later, Dora paid the spa owner with a gold rupee and departed. The Gerudo guards waited with the horses for the queen and the princess outside the town’s archway. As Dora mounted her mare, Din copied her and said, “Hopefully our horses are as well fed and rested as we are. I know we won’t be taking many breaks.”

Only one stop was spared for the horses to drink from Aquame Lake before reaching the fields that stretched before the castle of Hyrule. Din gazed at the deep blue sky, mesmerized by the twinkling stars. “There is one minor detail I miss that accompanied the rampage of Calamity Ganon,” she said distantly.

“The blood moon?” Dora guessed with a whimsical smile.

“Exactly.”

“Me too,” she admitted. “It rallied me to keep fighting. Though, I don’t miss dodging the possessed Guardians, or sitting at Hyrule Castle just to helplessly watch Ganon consume your father.”

“You did all you could,” Din interjected.

Dora’s mare finished drinking and moved along to graze on some grass. Distracted, she said, “My heart grows heavy when I dwell on the times I turned my back on him. I could have prevented that monster.”

“I believe you were limited in your options, and that you did plenty more than anyone else. You waited faithfully, like always, and when the time was right you helped him find his way back,” Din comforted.

“You’re right, and I know that much. I just pray that bringing Volga home was not a decision I will regret,” she said, unusually doubtful.

“Well, Dad accepted the idea,” the princess said optimistically.

“I never told you that he almost killed me before he agreed. I was terrified. He called me a traitor,” she informed somberly.

Din smirked, transfixed on the ground where her horse snacked. “I told you no one would be able to save you.”

“Yes, you did. I spent the night in the dungeon! The next morning he permitted me to adopt Volga, under one condition. I had to swear that I will kill him if he shows signs of answering the call of Hylia. I have no choice but to honor that oath if it becomes reality.”

“Dad agreed because he wants to find out if it is possible to corrupt the hero of legend?” Din laughed. Shaking her head, she added, “That is just like him.”

“It will also challenge me to make it happen,” Dora said with determination, but she faltered. “Of course, I have come to love Volga as my own. More than ever, failure is not an option,” she realized gravely. After a few minutes of contemplative silence, she snapped the reins and bolted toward home as if to escape her fear.

“It is impossible to help her relax,” Din grumbled, and then chased after her mother.

They arrived at Hyrule Castle early in the morning, after the drunks returned home from the tavern, but before the shop owners woke to prepare for another busy day. Dora stabled her horse, and then hurried into the castle. All was silent as she investigated the great hall, the throne room, the kitchen, the study, a select few empty rooms, and finally Volga’s chamber. Dora was distressed to find his bed empty, though the blankets and sheets were disheveled as if he had slept there that night. This encouraged Dora to make her way to the master chamber with swift strides. The door was wide open, and she heard Ganondorf’s snores escaping into the corridor. This helped to slow the rate of her pulse. She warily approached the bed, becoming suspicious of where she might find Volga.

The sight before her wide eyes sprouted wings from her heart.

Volga was curled up beside Ganondorf, using his shoulder as a pillow and his arm as a blanket. Dora swept away blonde bangs from the boy’s eyes, and simultaneously brushed her fingers along her husband's fiery hair. There was no moment more precious than that one, and she prayed to the Desert Goddess it was an indication of their future.

Chapter 9

Several hours later that same morning, breakfast was devoured by the royal family of Hyrule, while Volga recounted his dramatic tale of the Sheikah battle that would be written into legend. When the meal was finished, Dora instructed Volga to help with the dishes in the scullery. After he scampered away, the others discussed a strategy for infiltrating the Sheikah’s hideout.

“The Yiga have scoured that ancient temple of the Water Sage twice. Nothing remains to be found,” Felious explained haughtily, following the King of Hyrule to the study.

“There is a possibility the Sheikah lied, or is attempting to lead us directly into a trap,” Din suggested, but not convinced.

“No, he spoke truth,” Ganondorf said icily, glaring at his daughter. “You know better than to make the mistake of doubting me,” he added, shifting his wicked gaze to Felious.

Dora stopped beside Din and Felious in the center of the study with her arms folded, while Ganondorf continued to a shelf beside a window facing west. “The Water Temple is a maze of secret passages. How do you intend to find what they missed?” the queen questioned skeptically.

“The Guardians and the Divine Beasts are not the only ancient technology the Sheikah created,” Ganondorf advised, and returned with a coffer supported in both hands.

Dora raised an eyebrow, her curious mind racing to guess what could be concealed in the decorative box. She lifted the latch and tilted the lid back fully on its hinges. Her eyes widened as she traced the artifact with her fingertips, as if it might fall to dust from her touch. “The Lens of Truth,” she exclaimed, breathlessly. “How? Where did you find this?” she asked, her expression alight with joy.

“Perseverance, and maybe a bit of luck,” Ganondorf advised. Dora delicately removed the relic and he placed the empty coffer on the table. She marveled at the polished, royal purple frame and the reflective blue and red glass etched with the eye of the Sheikah.

“What exactly does it do?” Din inquired with a quizzical gaze.

“Exactly as the name suggests,” Dora explained. “Any passage that is concealed by an enchantment, using a false wall maybe, will be revealed by looking through this lens. This device was used by the Hero of Time and has been around longer than I have been alive.” She turned to Ganondorf, her mind delving into the past. “I assumed this item was destroyed in the flood. I am ecstatic that it is still in one piece.”

“Then what are we waiting for?” Felious wondered with new excitement. “We best leave while Volga is busy irritating the cooks.”

“Mother, wait,” Volga shouted, bounding through the study doorway, rushing right up to thrust his arms around Dora’s waist. She gave the Lens of Truth to Ganondorf and knelt on the floor so she was eye level with her son. They embraced each other lovingly. “Mom, please take me with you,” he begged.

“Your father already told you it is far too dangerous, and he’s right,” she answered in a perfect balance of stern kindness.

“I can help,” he whined. “Remember, I started training with you a while ago.”

Dora smiled broadly at his eagerness. “No, Volga, but I promise I will punish them severely for trying to take you from me.”

“Fine,” he relented.

“I will see you tonight,” she said, with a kiss on his cheek. Ganondorf walked by, ruffled Volga’s messy blonde hair, and exited the study to lead the others to their destination.

The four Gerudo traveled by horseback to the lake, exchanging lead between them often, and shifting constantly between a canter and a gallop. They cut across the fields of Hyrule, forsaking the roads, until reaching the Faron region. Felious led them along the road, and only deviated to reach what was once a camp of bokoblins. Next to the bi-level tree house was a hill, with an entrance to a cave that had been blasted open by a bomb. Right inside the door was a round platform, split into four quadrants, and shined a brilliant orange. Felious hefted a stone ball with intricate carvings from beside the door, and then placed it in the cavity of the pedestal designed specifically for the orb. The light of the platform transitioned to the purest blue when it accepted the key. The wall to his right shifted and slid aside to reveal a pitch dark passage.“This is the hidden entrance the Yiga found several years ago, which is how we reach the temple without swimming to the bottom of the lake,” he explained, taking a stone rod with a shining blue jewel on the end from the wall. Ganondorf snatched the light from Felious and led his group through the secret tunnel.

The passage ended in a room deep within the temple. Serrated spikes covered the base of the walls along the path around the edge of the square room. A pit was carved out of the center, with four pillars placed evenly inside. Ganondorf treaded carefully along the spikes until he reached the exit on the other side. The corridor descended, with rusted, jagged blocks of steel frozen in time that once slid back and forth as a trap to kill any trespassers. Dora smirked, making her way down the slope with ease. “I remember. I placed that strange amoebic creature in that room to curse the lake.”

“You have an incredible memory,” Din remarked, avoiding the block of spikes.

“It’s difficult to forget the quests in which I was nearly killed,” she sneered.

Felious removed the Lens of Truth from his belt and passed it to Dora. “When we found nothing in the temple, we assumed it was abandoned decades ago. I am eager to see if this lens will prove me wrong,” he remarked. Dora clutched the handle of the lens and shared her dark energy with the device. A lilac aura emanated from the glass, and when she brought it closer to her face she saw the world with a hue of deep purple. Ganondorf continued to lead the way, constantly checking for signs of danger or traps. They descended from the second to the first floor using a rickety wooden ladder, and tediously searched every room for a hidden passage.

After exhausting the search on the first level, Ganondorf continued to the ground floor using one of the connected passages. They entered the central chamber and moved east.

“There!” Dora declared, pointing at the wall on her left. She stepped to the side when Din hurried to peer through the Lens of Truth. Felious joined her, and with their cheeks pressed together, they saw the wall was only an illusion.

“That’s incredible,” Din said in disbelief, glancing from the lens back to the wall that seemed real.

“I admit, we completely overlooked this,” Felious said, defeated. He approached the wall with confident steps and thrust his hand straight through as if he were a phantom.

Ganondorf plucked the Lens of Truth from Din’s fingers and peered at the hidden corridor. He gave the artifact back to Dora for safe keeping and marched straight ahead with unwavering determination. The others remained alert with all senses heightened. Din unsheathed a Vicious Sickle from her back, Felious prepared his Windcleaver over his shoulder, and Dora readied her bow with an arrow.

The room at the end of the short hall was well lit by glowing Sheikah technology. Papers were strewn across desks, journals wide open to ancient research and a few lit candles indicated the Sheikah had abandoned the room in a hurry.

Another strange orb rested on a table. Felious inspected the items on the desks for anything of value. A smooth, rectangular stone decorated with the eye of the Sheikah captured his interest. He was barely able to wrap his fingers around it when he flipped it over. “A Sheikah Slate,” he whispered with restrained excitement. He snatched it from the table and secured it to his belt.

“Gerudo never change, I see,” a woman’s voice called nastily.

Four Sheikah dropped from above what appeared to be a solid ceiling. “Why change the children of the Desert Goddess when we are already perfect?” Dora countered to the concealed voice.

“We’re surrounded,” Ganondorf warned his wife’s feisty spirit.

The four white-haired Sheikah, wearing cowls, shoulder armor, and greaves, stiffly held solid gold bows. Arrows of pure white light were summoned to their taut bow strings. “This is your only chance,” said the disembodied voice. “Surrender Volga to us willingly, and you will not be harmed.”

“Over my dead body,” Dora snapped viciously.

“As you wish. I will see how much the hero’s life means to you. Shoot the princess,” the voice commanded.

“Leave my sister alone!”

Chapter 10

The Queen of Evil’s heart stopped at hearing the innocent voice of her son. “Volga, no!” she shouted to prevent his intervention. The barrier created by Dora that surrounded the princess was penetrated by the arrow of light fired by the Sheikah. Although the pure light was greatly diminished after passing through Dora’s evil energy, Din shrieked as the light consumed her body, crippling her. Felious supported his wife with one arm, while pointing his sword threateningly at the Sheikah. Dora rested her hand directly on her daughter’s wounded arm to expel the light from her body.

In the same instant, Volga barged into the room with his blue eyes targeted on the Sheikah man that injured his sister. He snatched the hilt of a sword from his back in a white-knuckled grip and clumsily yanked it straight up. Volga bravely darted forward and swung the sword like a club at the stunned Sheikah, fatally wounding him.

Ganondorf recognized the astonishment in the eyes of his enemies, and the reason why was evident.

Volga suddenly dropped the sword, the steel bouncing off the stone floor with a resounding clang. He clutched his left arm with his right hand. Dora hurried to him as he seethed and tears escaped his eyes. “What is the matter?” she wondered, until she caught the sword’s features.

“I’m not sure,” he whimpered. “I thought my arm was on fire.”

It was only seconds before Dora comprehended the truth. Volga wielded the Master Sword to defend his sister, the Princess of Evil. The blade of evil’s bane rejected the potential hero. Whether it was because of his act of vengeance, or because of the darkness brewing in his veins, was a debate for a later time. “You were instructed to stay at home,” she scolded.

“But, Mom, I-,” Volga started with an excuse.

Ganondorf furiously yelled, “I ordered you not to touch anything, boy!”

“I’m sorry, Father,” Volga said weakly. “I just wanted to help.”

“Stay behind me,” Dora instructed her son, and he obeyed.

Din returned to her defensive stance with most of her natural energy returned. “Obviously, Volga does not wish to join you,” she said to the Sheikah with a grin. “I will defend my little brother with my life!”

A new opponent appeared from beyond the wall and stood bravely before the royal family. Her gray eyes held superior pride and courage. “My name is Arya, the daughter of Paya, and leader of the Sheikah. Volga, please accept my humble apology for how you were frightened yesterday. We only wish to free you from the evil surrounding you.”

“Why do you hate my family?” Volga demanded passionately.

His temperament surprised the Sheikah leader and she hesitated before her response. “We Sheikah have fought against the evil of Hyrule since Hylia sent her people to the sky to escape Demise. We served the true royal family of Hyrule, before these two killed Princess Zelda,” Arya explained calmly. “Since his birth, Ganondorf has killed selfishly to satisfy his lust for power. Despite our most tiring efforts, he returned to terrorize Hyrule, just as he is doing now.”

Dora dropped to one knee with one arm around Volga, and reassuringly gripped his shoulder. “I will not deny that my husband and I have committed heinous acts of evil, none of which I regret. Zelda and her ancestors were guilty of equally gross deeds,” she reminded, glaring. “We do not hide from our past as the previous royal family did, and we will openly share that with Volga when the time comes.”

“You cannot prevent the prophecy from being fulfilled,” Arya said simply.

“Open your eyes,” Felious remarked smugly. “Your precious Master Sword just proved you wrong.”

“You are so naïve,” Arya laughed. “It is that sword which will purify his soul.”

“Mother, what are they talking about?” Volga whispered curiously.

“I promise, I will tell you later,” Dora said in a hushed voice, but the Sheikah leader overheard and took advantage.

“Volga, do you ever wonder why you look so different from your current mother and father?” Arya asked.

“It doesn’t matter,” Volga insisted, his small voice filled with emotion. He balled his hands into fists. “This is the only family I’ve ever known, and I love them.”

“The boy has decided his own fate,” Ganondorf said abruptly to interrupt their less than desirable conversation with his deep tone. “I tire of your prattling. You have evaded your death sentence for treason against the royal family for too long. You die immediately.”

The three Sheikah accompanying Arya leaped forward in unison to attack, choosing their opponents wisely. Dora evaded instantly when two more Sheikah dropped out of the ceiling. Volga obediently moved along with his mother as she guided him toward the exit of the research room. An enemy landed beside Dora suddenly with an Eightfold blade aimed at her heart. The Queen of Evil was faster when she slammed the head of the arrow she clutched into the side of her attacker’s throat. She ripped it back and loaded the bloody arrow to fire rapidly at the Sheikah. Each arrow was swallowed by her dark magic before soaring from the bow to end her target’s life.

A second wave, this time consisting of a dozen Sheikah, emerged through invisible walls or fell from the ceiling, causing the outnumbered Gerudo to fall back cautiously to the doorway. Din and Felious stood in front as the first line of defense to the King and Queen of Hyrule. Ganondorf quickly weighed his options and chose utter annihilation. He turned to Dora and asked, “Do you trust me?”

She rolled her eyes at his question, one he repeated several times over the course of their lives, even before their marriage. “Always,” she answered.

He grinned deviously at her reply. “Allow none to escape,” he ordered as the temple began to rumble.

“I will meet you on the bridge,” Dora advised, understanding his goal. The vibrations of the floor caused her to focus on remaining stable, while she unbuckled the scabbard from Volga’s torso. The Sheikah panicked, allowing them precious few moments to act. “Felious, retrieve the Master Sword,” she ordered, tossing him the scabbard just before she grabbed Volga’s hand and fled.

Din swung viciously with her sickle at a few Sheikah that recovered their balance and attempted to claim the Master Sword. They were forced to dodge instead, and avoided being sliced. Felious scooped the tip of the sacred sword into the scabbard without touching blade. He slid the sheath up and secured the weapon just in time to duck under the swing of a Sheikah. The trembling became more violent. Din snatched her husband’s hand and tugged him out the door.

Before the Sheikah could pursue them, Ganondorf released a pent up wave of energy filled with hate and rage that knocked them off their feet. They struggled to defend or attack as that same burst of energy caused the ceiling to crumble.

Dora, Felious, and Din shared responsibility of ensuring Volga’s safety and knocking out Sheikah as they ran. The queen never anticipated the number of Sheikah that remained alive and hidden in the Water Temple. She continuously drew arrows from the quiver bouncing on her lower back. She jumped in the air with a quick twist, aimed, and fired at the Sheikah in pursuit of her family. The arrow harmlessly flew by her adversaries, struck the floor at their feet, and exploded powerful lightning that dazed them.

Dora sprinted to catch up with her family, but a searing, sharp pain in her leg caused her to fall on her side. There was no apparent reason for her injury, leaving her only to assume that Ganondorf was hurt. She fought off her reckless desire to turn back by remembering to trust him, and scrambled to her feet to continue running.

The trembling transitioned to violent shaking. The temple’s walls cracked in deep sporadic incisions spreading in all directions. At first, the disaster began with only a trickle, until the pressure was too great for the crumbling building to handle. Sections of the wall shattered and water gushed in like waterfalls. The royal family neared the top floor, but the water rose swiftly.

Felious was alarmed by the sound of crashing rocks directly above them. The royal family turned to see a portion of the high ceiling tumbled toward them and the Sheikah on their tail. Felious swung his Windcleaver with all his might, unleashing a powerful gale at the debris tumbling toward them. The ferocious wind knocked the chunks of stone into a course that smashed into the Sheikah. He sheathed his sword on his hip and hoisted Volga on his back to effortlessly climb the ladder. The boy held tightly to the Master Sword, sheathed safely in its scabbard, while clinging to his brother.

Dora was the last to climb the decrepit ladder. As she extended her arm to grab the next rung, her shoulder erupted with a fiery, stabbing sensation. Her muscles throbbed and her entire arm threatened to give way to send her plummeting into the deep water. Dora mustered all of her willpower to throw her other arm above, and grasp the final rung, to heave herself to the second floor. More aches and pains became apparent in her torso and legs while she rested on the floor to catch her breath. Another fleeting thought of concern for Ganondorf caused her panic. There was no time to rest. She promised to escape. Before she turned to catch up with her daughter, she kicked the ladder into the rising waters and confirmed no Sheikah followed.

Felious placed Volga on his feet when they exited the tunnel into the cave. Din was next, and lastly Dora. The echoes of the building being demolished were silenced when Felious removed the orb from its place in the pedestal and the door slid closed. Ganondorf was yet to appear, so Dora rushed out of the cave ahead of her children.

She only came to a halt upon reaching the Bridge of Hylia. She leaned on the side of the bridge, frantically scanning the waters surrounding the tilted Hylia Island. The water level was significantly lower and the waves on the surface were choppy and chaotic.

“Mom, where is he?” Din wondered fearfully, standing beside her mom.

Dora refused to answer and silently prayed for Ganondorf’s safety.

Chapter 11

Ganondora Dragmire, the Queen of Hyrule, held her breath anxiously. In a desperate attempt to locate her husband, she expanded the reach of her magic detection to search for the faintest sign of any sorcery in the vicinity. She was aware that her life force did not fade, which should have been a sign that her husband was alive. Dora fretted Ganondorf might have found a way to disconnect their bond of darkness during the night, and declined to mention that slight detail. Her mind was wrought with worry over a future without him, despite having faced similar situations in the past.

“Where’s Daddy?” Volga sniveled out of distress.

The anarchy among the waves quelled until the lake became still, as if it were never disturbed. Dora closed her eyes to fight off tears of mixed emotions as she marched off the bridge, while hope for Ganondorf’s survival plummeted. She hesitated as the air beside her suddenly shifted, a spectacle that was invisible to the naked eye. There was no way to know if the person commanding the magic was friend or foe, so Dora unsheathed her scimitar in preparation of an attack. She concentrated her energy and reached out with her fingers sprawled toward the vortex, which became visible to the others as it devoured her black aura eagerly. The magic she discovered from within was identical to hers. Her heart fluttered to life. Her mouth tightened into a grimace and she clenched her eyes when she strained to haul Ganondorf out of the portal.

He collapsed on the ground, sopping wet and water streaming from his long, orange hair. The stone comprising the bridge became coated with a layer of diluted crimson pooling around his knees. Ganondorf struggled valiantly to stand of his own will, but a bout of coughing knocked him off balance. His armor was broken and torn, specifically in the places Dora felt the injuries during her escape, and blood spurted from the open gashes where he was cut.

Volga gasped and covered his eyes from the horrific sight.

“Dad,” Din yelled, both elated and concerned.

Dora crouched and extended her hands to her king, wide open to offer her unrelenting support. Ganondorf blindly groped for the strength in her arms, and her tenacious spirit of fortitude that he came to rely on. The moment his fingers curled around her forearms he selfishly absorbed the energy she offered until she grew lightheaded. Despite her sudden drop in energy, she clutched Ganondorf and helped him stand with her to their full, imposing height. His hand came to rest on her back, between her shoulders, and he possessively held her to his torso with that one arm. Dora stood only to his chest, which was perfect to lean down slightly and press his lips to her forehead, directly beside her circlet crown. Once again, he was reminded why she was his goddess with inner strength that rivaled any fortress. Her sacrifice and his simple act of affection defined their love.

Ganondorf found the gaze of the others on them, but Dora never minded. She wrapped her arms around his waist all the same, grateful he survived.

“What happened?” Din asked, still in shock at his wounds. “It looks as though they attacked you all at once.”

“Worse,” he answered gravely. “They were coordinated, and attacked in synchronized waves. I chased them through the hidden halls as they tried to escape the collapsing temple.” With a wicked grin, he informed, “Arya is dead. If there are any Sheikah left, they are few, and will be unable to rebuild their clan.”

Dora leaned back to listen to his profound words. There was an indescribable emotion that always overwhelmed her when they managed to evade the claws that often dragged him to the Sacred Realm. She inspected his body, smirked, and said, “You have survived worse, but your wounds need dressed when we arrive home.”

Ganondorf agreed, but he was prepared to address a more significant issue first. Having recovered his stamina, he pointed to the ground at his feet and summoned Volga by glaring at him. Felious withdrew the sheathed Master Sword from Volga’s hands before he could move to accept his punishment. The boy walked forward, with his head down in shame and his bangs hanging over his eyes, to the location Ganondorf indicated. “You disobeyed me, and your mother,” the King of Evil scolded, his voice thick with disappointment. Dora’s eyes filled with anguish for Volga’s reckless actions, but she was relieved he was safe.

“This is my fault, Dad. I just wanted to help. I even brought the sword to take out all the evil people,” Volga answered with reason, but avoided their gazes.

Dora’s heart liquefied instantly and drained into her stomach. “That's a sweet gesture, but the sword is useless against the Sheikah. How did you learn about the Master Sword?”

“I saw the pictures and she talked to me,” he said quietly.

“She?” his mother exclaimed.

“The sword spirit,” Ganondorf grumbled by way of explanation.

“She told me that I needed her to fight evil,” Volga recalled. “Why didn’t it work?”

“The evil the sword refers to is me,” Ganondorf corrected coldly. “Therefore, because you chose to defy our orders, you nearly handed over the tools our enemies need to defeat me.”

Volga struggled valiantly to glue the pieces together to complete a picture. “Arya said you’re evil, and that she wanted to free me from that,” he said aloud, hunting for clues.

Dora guarded her heart with the sturdiest steel before she spoke. “You could have been taken from us, or worse we might have all been killed had the Sheikah stolen the Master Sword. The danger you put us in is reprehensible, but you deserve to know why,” she finished, her tone softening. “Arya was correct. Our title was rightfully earned. We are evil. The Sheikah want you to be the hero that wields the Master Sword to kill us.”

“Kill you?” Volga repeated in shock. “I could never do that! I love you and I just don’t want you to be mad at me.”

Ganondorf was mildly astonished. Dora’s expert nurturing of Volga caused him to be blinded by his love for her and his adoptive father. She was living proof that one could love the most evil villain in history, yet be filled with such compassion. Ganondorf remembered how Volga called him a hero the night before, and that Din once said the same when he saved her life. Was Volga’s perception of good and evil skewed because of Dora? Or was he still too young to understand?

The steel imprisoning Dora’s emotions shattered as she scooped up her little boy to shower him with affection. “I will never hurt you either, Volga. I’m not mad, I was just afraid of losing you.”

There was one problem. Ganondorf gazed at the protective way Dora wrapped Volga in her arms. She loved that boy with all of her heart and defended him as her own flesh and blood. Ganondorf was certain that one day destiny would catch up to them, and Dora’s soul would be crushed by the deed of killing Volga. “Tomorrow, you will begin tutoring Volga in the history of Hyrule, so that he understands exactly what he is part of,” Ganondorf instructed.

Felious returned to the bridge with their horses. Dora mounted her mare and Ganondorf lifted Volga to sit in the saddle with her. “How did you make it all this way carrying that sword?” she wondered, handing him the reins to the steed. “How did you get the sword? It was displayed on a shelf near the ceiling!”

“That was easy! I used the hook shot to pull myself up to it. After that I just had to sneak pass the bokoblins,” Volga laughed, and then rubbed his arm where he was hurt. “I never want to touch the sword after what happened.”

“May you never do anything so reckless again,” Dora reprimanded. Volga snapped the reins and commanded the horse forward, with Ganondorf leading the way. “Now, we should begin your teaching with the root of Hyrule’s legends, the Triforce.”

“Oh, you mean that shiny triangle on the back of Daddy’s hand?” Volga asked excitedly.

“Exactly,” she answered with pride. “The Triforce is an omnipotent relic, left behind by Din, Farore, and Nayru, with the intention to be used for good if Hyrule was in danger. It is a balance of Power, Wisdom, and Courage, and can grant the wish of anyone who touches the complete Triforce. This obviously was alluring to anyone greedy enough to take the risk. Thus, the battle of good versus evil began. When evil crept across the land, threatening the sanctity of Hyrule, a hero wielded the Master Sword to defend Hylia’s people, and the Triforce was used to vanquish that evil. Your father and I are the darkness that constantly rose to capture the Triforce for ourselves, and we were victorious, for the second time actually. With the hero destroyed, the Triforce was left without an owner when Zelda was killed, so Ganondorf claimed the Triforce and conquered Hyrule at last.”

“Mom,” Din said to interrupt, peering back at her with a smile. “Volga’s asleep.”

Dora’s eyes expressed displeasure, but she expected him to be exhausted. She slipped the reins from Volga’s fingers to take control and situated him to rest more comfortably against her torso.

“You forgot to breathe,” Ganondorf mocked. There was no need for him to look back to know she glared fiery daggers at the back of his head.

Dora allowed a few minutes of silence to pass for Volga to fall into a deeper sleep. All of his weight leaned on her and his breathing fell into a gentle rhythm. “Why did the Master Sword harm him?” she asked, agitated.

Ganondorf answered her question with certainty, as if the answer was obvious, when he truthfully contemplated the reason since the incident. “The spirit of the sword recognized the confliction in Volga’s heart and called out to help him purge the evil within. By making the choice to defend us and seek revenge, he strayed further from the hero’s path.”

“Who knew the Master Sword had a voice,” Felious interjected quizzically.

“The spirit was created by Hylia. As such a portion of Zelda’s abilities was to hear the spirit, which was only unveiled when the sealing power of the Triforce was awakened. To be incapable of hearing the sword meant she failed to reach her potential,” Ganondorf explained.

“Will she continue to call out to him?” Dora asked sourly.

“One day,” he responded.

“I will conceal the Master Sword within the castle,” Dora decided with conviction. “We cannot risk the chance that he might try to wield it, if the circumstance arises, and have him realize his destiny. I am proud that Volga was deemed unworthy by the Master Sword. I will continue to fill his heart and soul with darkness so pure the hero will be lost forever.”

Chapter 12

Dora made six trips from the library to the great hall to camouflage the long table with books and tomes from ages long ago. By the end of the first day of study, the table was littered with drawings, research, and journal entries. The scattered pages were written in every language known to Hyrule or Gerudo. Over the years, Dora became proficient in reading all of them, even the drastic changes to Hylian typography from one era to another. She grasped the opportunity to begin teaching Volga to read, but he was most interested in the drawings, especially when they reached paintings of the forest.

“That tree is huge,” Volga yelled with amazement.

“That is the Deku Tree,” Dora explained. “An extremely ancient spirit. His ancestor dates back to the Kokiri, the children of the forest, who became the Koroks in order to survive. They hid in the seclusion of the Forest Haven for a time and secretly began planting new forests. Eventually, the Deku Tree became the guardian of the Master Sword.”

“Is he still around?” the boy wondered.

“No. The Lost Woods and all of the forest spirits were destroyed in a fire, courtesy of your sister,” she responded with an evil smile.

“Oh,” Volga expressed in disappointment. “Maybe one day I can make the forest grow again.”

Dora allowed Volga to have his dream, and continued flipping through the pages of the book about the forests of Hyrule. She explained the mystery of the Lost Woods, and that whoever became lost transformed into a Skull Kid.

Next to catch Volga’s attention were the brawny Gorons that lived on the lava-spewing Death Mountain. His mother explained their diet of rocks, until he shouted, “Volvagia!”

“I never told you about him,” Dora remarked suspiciously, inspecting a drawing of a fiery-haired, wingless dragon, with red scales.

“Daddy did,” Volga teased with a sheepish grin.

She shook her head, but laughed and smiled tenderly. “I am not surprised.” Discussing the dragon was difficult and emotional, but she needed Volga to understand the misery the hero caused her on multiple occasions over the course of history. “Volvagia was my best companion,” she said proudly. “I raised him from a whelp, just like you, and we spent time together almost every day. He was special to me, and not just because his favorite meal was Goron.”

“He ate Gorons?” Volga asked in disbelief, with the expression of biting into a sour fruit.

“Oh, yes! I often snuck him a snack, despite Ganondorf’s orders,” she laughed. “Yet, when using Volvagia as a threat to force the Gorons to surrender, they were resilient. That all changed when the hero came to rescue them,” she added, the corners of her lips falling in sadness.

“A hero? What happened?”

“I was at the castle when Volvagia’s death cries rang out from Death Mountain, and soon after Goron City was repopulated. The Hero of Time killed my sweet baby,” Dora advised mournfully.

Volga easily sensed her sorrow and stood on the chair to give her a hug. “I’m sorry, Mother. Did you name me after him because you love me just as much?”

Dora held her son for a few seconds and he chased away her melancholy. “Yes,” she answered, and then pinched his cheek gently. “I will never let anything happen to you.” The next book she slid in front of him was written in Gerudo, an extremely different style from its Hylian counterpart. “I’ll teach you to read this soon, but you should learn about Gerudo Valley.”

“That’s your home,” Volga exclaimed happily.

“Correct,” she said with a smile.

“What’s that?” he asked, pointing to a drawing of a woman with a snake wrapped around her body.

“That is the Desert Goddess. I taught you about the other three who created Hyrule, Hylia who protected the people, and we touched on Demise, but the Gerudo are the children of the Goddess of the Sand. We are her resilient desert flowers, brilliant and strong. The Gerudo are now at peace with all the races of Hyrule, but that was different when I was young.”

“Why?”

“There was a fierce battle between the Gerudo and Hylians over the love of a woman. The King of Gerudo refused to surrender his queen to the greedy Hylian King. The war caused numerous deaths. The Gerudo Queen was desperate enough to end their fighting that she intervened during a skirmish, but she was killed by the King of Hyrule. The kings blamed each other, of course. The Gerudo lost in every aspect. The King of Hyrule banned all trade with us and tried to erase our existence. When the King of Gerudo passed away, the elders, Koume and Kotake, protected us from Hyrule’s royal family. We only left the desert to steal supplies we needed to survive. Then, Ganondorf was born, and the witches raised him, trained his sorcery, and when he came of age to be king, he tried to take the Triforce. Such a theft would have been the ultimate accomplishment for any thief. The rest is the history of Hyrule, the struggle for the Triforce.”

Volga listened intently to his mother’s story of woe. “I’m glad it is all over now.”

“Yes. Many people were sacrificed for us to be here today. Others may not believe that Ganondorf is a good king, but he does what is necessary,” Dora informed, while Volga flipped through the pages depicting symbols in the temple and sketches ranging from desert plants to Iron Knuckles. She reviewed the history of Arbiter’s Grounds, a prison for murderers and rapists, and the burden it placed on the Gerudo.

“What about this Sage? Na-,” Volga said, and struggled to pronounce her name.

Dora intervened before he was able to finish. “She was a Gerudo traitor, who wanted to kill Ganondorf and surrender the Gerudo to Zelda,” she explained in a bitter tone.

“Who is Zelda anyway?” Volga finally asked, realizing her name was repeatedly mentioned.

The queen inhaled a breath that made her chest rise and then sink as she freed it. A rush of anger heated her to dwell on the torture she suffered at the hands of the princess of Hyrule over the generations. “Zelda is the name often given to the daughter of the King of Hyrule, who inherits the sealing power, and embodies the spirit of Hylia. Before the Triforce was combined, she possessed the Triforce of Wisdom. She also caused much grief in the world, such as the time she surrendered to Zant and allowed the world to be devoured by twilight. Once, the great King Daphnes,” she said sarcastically, “prayed to the goddesses for help to fend off Ganondorf, and their answer was to drown Hyrule. The only outcome was carnage. Needless to say, I personally suffered tremendous heartache at the thoughtless actions of Zelda. By repeatedly sealing Ganondorf, I was forced to wait decades for his return, or shed blood, sweat, and tears to resurrect him, all while being hunted by knights. I am glad I had the pleasure of ending her life,” Dora finished with her hand squeezed into a fist so tight her knuckles lost complexion.

“You did?” Volga questioned nervously.

“Yes,” Dora answered, glaring icicles at Volga. “With immense satisfaction,” she added, and uncurled her fingers to release her tension. Indents remained in her palms where her nails had pressed.

They sat in silence while Volga flipped through the pages of writing he could not read, searching for more pictures in hopes to find a new topic. He reached the end of the Gerudo book and moved on to discover swords and shields through the history of the Knights of Hyrule, since his mother just noted them.

Dora became engrossed by one of the loose pages stuck in the book of Gerudo wisdom. This one was specifically written by Ganondorf himself. She became involved in the penned words, until she realized he wrote this passage about her. The document seemed like a letter just hidden among the menagerie of information.

“Hey, he looks just like me,” Volga blurted out.

Dora’s arms jerked at his outburst and she dropped the book on the floor with a thud. His words registered on a subconscious level that alerted her, causing her to forget the book and focus on Volga.

“Who is that, Mommy?” the boy asked.

The queen was unprepared for the discussion about to happen. Her instinct was to lie, but it was useless. The evidence of the truth was everywhere. “That is the hero of Hyrule.”

“That’s why the Sheikah think I’m him,” he realized.

“Volga,” Dora said, sitting in the chair beside him. She closed her hands around his and locked his gaze to indicate the seriousness of her words. “There is more than that. The reason you were able to wield the Master Sword is that you are the hero reborn,” she said solemnly.

Volga’s sapphire eyes shot open with terror. The information petrified him and he held his breath. His eyes glistened with tears as he recovered from shock. With each following blink his fear shrank until his entire expression filled with unyielding courage. “I won’t. I won’t hurt the people I love because that’s what I’m supposed to do.”

“You can be whoever you want to be,” Dora declared sincerely. “Whether you choose to become a hero, a prince, a knight, or an adventurer, that makes no difference, I love you the way you are and I always will.”

“I love you too,” he said with a cheerful smile.

Chapter 13

“Mind your feet!”

Along the winding path from the front gate to the castle’s double doors were several entrances and passages. The road led to the Observation room, the Guard’s chamber, gatehouses, and even the dining hall. Several gardens were once managed, including the courtyard. After the wedding of Princess Din and Felious the courtyard was renovated into a grand training area, with access to the armory and a shortcut to the Guard’s chamber. The ground was completely worn away to dirt from constant use, and decorated with training dummies filled with straw.

A scimitar clanged against the buckler shield Prince Volga clutched. He thrust back with his shield in an attempt to knock his mother off balance, and then swung his short sword to strike her. “I know, Mom,” he yelled, frustrated.

Dora blocked the short sword and swiped back at him. “Then you better start, because your balance is leaving you vulnerable.” In the beginning of their one-on-one training, she practiced restraint and instructed Volga to use weapons that were a tad heavy to help build his muscle. At eleven years, the age at which a Gerudo began official training with mentors to become skilled thieves and vicious warriors, avoiding the use of sorcery was the only leniency she permitted.

Volga was skilled in combining sword and shield tactics, but that was in his blood, the blood of a knight. Even at Dora’s superior height, he could shield bash to gain the advantage. She was experienced and outsmarted him to end each sparring match by nearly chopping off one of the limbs he left exposed. Her blade skimmed the back of his leg. Volga stumbled and fell on his side, where he proceeded to smack the pommel of his sword on the ground.

“You lost,” his mother advised with a cocky smirk.

“Thanks, I noticed,” he groaned. Dora snatched the shield he held in the air to pull him to his feet.

“You’re covering your weak points better and you’re working with your weapons, but we have much to accomplish before you are a warrior,” she critiqued.

“Come on, Mom,” Volga whined. “I just want to train with Father!”

“Absolutely not,” Dora reacted harshly.

“Why? Aren’t I good enough for him?” Volga yelled.

“That’s exactly why,” she snapped. “When you challenge your father you need to be prepared, because if you aren’t good enough he will kill you!”

Volga watched his hand as he squeezed it into a determined fist. “One day, I will be strong enough to defeat him,” he promised.

“In that I have no doubt. Keep in mind, even I am rarely victorious. In battle, I only keep from losing my life most of the time. When you make me yield, then I will admit you are ready, but not a day sooner,” Dora advised firmly.

As they departed the training ground to clean off the dirt and sweat, and change out of armor, the King of Evil sauntered passed them in the doorway to begin his own rigorous exercises.

Volga hesitated, while his mom continued on. They never glanced at each other, as if they failed to notice the other existed. He stood to the side of the doorway and watched the armored king conjure his warm up round of maroon bokoblins. In his hand appeared a great, double edged sword, with a thick center, and a rounded tip instead of a point.

Volga made sure his mother was gone from sight, and continued to watch Ganondorf make quick work of those simple minions. His speed was unnaturally swift for a man of his size. The sword cut the air with all his power and strength behind each swing. This was not Volga’s first time seeing Ganondorf spar or fight, but it was the first time without his mother’s incessant rambling. Volga imagined himself as Ganondorf’s opponent. If what his mother said was true, then he stood no chance of surviving this beast in battle.

A team of lizalfos were next, a combination of fire, ice, and electric. Despite the elemental disadvantage, Ganondorf obliterated them with just a few well aimed strikes. The third group to try to best their king consisted of three silver moblins with purple stripes. They possessed an obvious size advantage, but that paled in comparison to Ganondorf’s sorcery. Volga was amazed that with just two large orbs of dense magic, which split into several small orbs upon release, the highest ranking moblins were annihilated.

Finally, a lynel. He quickly ended the life of this monster, because when the horse beast charged him, Ganondorf forfeited no ground. Their sizes were nearly equal, so when the lynel’s savage sword crashed down to bludgeon his master, Ganondorf knocked the heavy weapon aside and performed a flurry of attacks on the beast while he was dazed. Its health depleted, the lynel vanished.

Ganondorf grunted irritably, spinning his sword fluidly in his wrist as if it were a stick and not a forged piece of steel. His expression was anger carved into stone. Volga was filled with excitement after those incredible victories, but he wondered if his father was bored. The evil king paced back and forth along the dirt to keep his blood pumping steadily, and then he conjured another round of opponents.

Volga held his breath. Over the years he became familiar with the tale of the legendary hero. While his adventures were valiant, Volga realized that the destination of his journey was to smite evil, which meant causing his mother to suffer in lonesome misery. He could not comprehend such turmoil, but seeing his mother sad was heartbreaking. This was the reason for his bewilderment when he recognized Ganondorf’s new opponent.

The figure formed out of the aura billowing up from the ground, like black smoke without a fire. First, his boots appeared, then his legs, tunic and belt, the sword and shield, and finally his head with his droopy hat. The misty figure of grey shades with red, shimmering eyes remained silent as he unsheathed a silhouette of the Master Sword from his back. Ganondorf grinned maliciously in anticipation.

Volga only needed to watch the pair battle for a few minutes to learn the reason his father chose this particular foe. Ganondorf missed because his opponent managed to parry. The shadow’s ability and skill forced him to evade multiple times. Their attributes may have even been equal. Ganondorf endeavored to dominate this enemy as he did the others, but found the task difficult. This was the challenge he sought to hone his skills.

After several agonizing minutes, Volga rejoiced at watching Ganondorf land the killing blow, but two more of the same dark figures appeared. Volga’s excitement was replaced with apprehension. If Ganondorf struggled with just one, how would he cope with two? Or was this his trial, to see how long he could last against the hero’s shadow before he was defeated or exhausted his stamina? Volga was not satisfied to sit by and watch any longer. He yearned to prove he refused become the next hero, as was supposedly foretold, and to display his improved skills. With new determination and spirit, he rushed in to the training ring and attacked the third dark figure that was conjured when the first was slain. The shadow hero turned and defended, but Volga successfully gained his attention. Only a few moves into the fight and he knew he was in trouble. He gave ground to the onslaught of swings from the dark figure. His shield was all that protected him, and even that vibrated dangerously against his right arm. The dark hero smashed away Volga’s hasty attack with his shield and followed up with a kick to the boy’s chest. Volga landed on his back, forcing a cry from his mouth when the air escaped his lungs, while losing grip of his sword and shield. He scrambled away, trying to regain his balance on wavering legs. Suddenly, Ganondorf appeared out of thin air behind the unsuspecting shadow and impaled the enemy, which dissipated as smoke drifting away in the breeze.

“You have guts, kid,” Ganondorf remarked, watching with eyes that scrutinized while Volga snatched up his weapon.

He scoffed in response. “I’m nothing compared to you. Mom’s right. If I tried to spar with you now, you would only kill me.”

“Your stance was unbalanced, and you hid behind that shield like a coward. What has your mother been teaching you?” the king mocked.

“She taught me everything I know, but I guess recently she has just been nagging me about the same things,” Volga admitted. “I’m not getting better anymore.”

“It was my instruction that you and I not engage in battle directly, but I know there are some hidden skills you have not unlocked. Allow your mother to continue your archery training, and I will guide you in the ways of a sword,” his father offered.

“How?” the prince questioned, full of doubt.

Ganondorf waved his hand to the left, and a bokoblin of a faded dark blue stepped forth from a cloud of purple smoke. “I can judge your progress by watching you battle these minions.”

Volga beamed with joy. “Yes! Now I will finally learn to be a true warrior!”

“You wouldn’t dare imply that my training fails to meet your expectations,” a woman’s voice threatened. Ganondorf and Volga twisted their heads to find Dora leaning against the open doorway with her hand on her hip, a dark frown on her face, and a menacing glare with the power to kill.

“That’s not it at all,” Volga exclaimed, attempting to retract his statement.

“It is futile to teach a pupil who seeks a different mentor,” Ganondorf said wisely.

Dora was silent for only a moment to consider his words. “Volga, you need to clean up for dinner,” she instructed, while staring at her husband with confliction. The prince obeyed, picking up his shield on the way to the door. “I’m proud of you,” she added, ruffling Volga’s hair as he jogged passed.

“Thanks, Mom,” he said sincerely, and then disappeared around the corner into the corridor toward his bed chamber.

With the echoes of her son’s footsteps fading, she returned her suspicious eyes to Ganondorf. “You devised this entire scheme,” she accused.

“You never should have allowed him to spectate,” he shrewdly retorted. Ganondorf tossed his great sword into the air, allowing it to spin twice before magic returned it to his personal armory.

Dora freed a gentle sigh and lowered her eyes to the ground, accepting the truth. “I underestimated his courage. I hoped he would be frightened of you.”

He chuckled cruelly, walking forward to depart the training ground. “You raised him with a level of admiration, not fear.”

She smirked at the irony. As Ganondorf walked by her and into the castle, she curled her fingers around his forearm, allowing him to lead her to the dining hall. “I do only sing the highest praises for you,” she reminded with great pleasure.

“As expected,” Ganondorf replied with superior arrogance.

“Aren’t you afraid that battling your monsters will still awaken a hero’s notion?” Dora wondered curiously.

“My queen, do you suggest that you doubt your manipulation over Volga’s soul?” he questioned, amused.

“I will never escape the fear that one day he may accidentally ignite the hero’s spark by just hearing a simple phrase or performing a simple act, even if I am overly confident in my corruption of his soul,” Dora confessed. “No matter how I feed him darkness, he always strives to find the good, even in you.”

They walked slowly, enjoying the splendor of each other’s company, while Ganondorf mulled over her words in his intricate mind. The silence of the halls and the cool breeze of the settling dusk filled the moment with tranquility, a rarity for the King and Queen of Evil.

“You cannot conquer his courage,” Ganondorf finally said to escape the silence. “That was made obvious today when Volga attacked that shadow. I know you watched the entire time.”

Dora smirked and gazed up to Ganondorf, catching the devious glint in his yellow eyes. “I can hardly deny that watching you train is one of my favorite hobbies, but my first is a merciless sword fight with you,” she laughed warmly from deep in her soul. Her mind returned to the matter at hand, causing her smile to fade. “I was shocked when Volga rushed out to prove himself to you.”

They arrived at the door to the private dining hall for the royal family. Ganondorf opened the door and allowed Dora to lead him inside. He offered her one last mysterious statement before the others arrived to eat. “You will be surprised with the outcome of your effort.”

Chapter 14

Volga’s strides consisted of ambition and determination as he approached the log frame building. The heavy glow of a burning fire escaped the substitute glass windows, and smoke poured out of two chimneys protruding from opposite ends of the slanted roof. A chorus of disarranged voices were muffled behind the wooden walls, and erupted when the tavern’s green door was hurriedly opened and closed. The Cozy Cucco was bustling every night with local residents and travelers from as far as the village of the Rito. The place was renowned for the hospitality and the variety of people that congregated there.

Volga opened the door and stepped in from the bitter night. While Hyrule Castle Town never experienced cold or snow like Hebra Mountain, the low temperature still made being out of doors difficult. The warmth of the two hearths, one to his left and one on his right, was greatly appreciated.

Several heads turned in the direction of the Prince of Hyrule. Not a single person greeted him, but at the same time the roar of gossip hushed upon his unexpected arrival. He sauntered toward the server behind the bar with a confident and malevolent quality inherited from the Gerudo king.

“Prince Volga, we haven’t seen you for a time. What’ll it be? Lon Lon Milk again?” the Rito woman asked, laughing merrily.

Volga lowered the hood of his cloak and combed his fingers through his scruffy hair the color of tall wheat. He carried no weapons and wore no armor outside of his gauntlets, which seemed to be attached to his wrists. “Not this time, Belaney. I’m of age to drink now,” he reminded.

“The prince is finally seventeen?” she responded, feigning surprise. “You must celebrate with a Cozy Cucco specialty, the Fancy Feather,” she insisted.

Volga nodded to agree with her suggestion. While his drink was prepared, he transfixed his gaze on the grain of the counter to listen intently to the rowdy occupants of the tavern. None of them appeared suspicious, but their conversations might have held dark secrets. He determined the tavern's guests were mostly Hylians, a few obvious Zora accents, and three Gorons that hardly fit inside the old building. No information regarding his mission was immediately apparent. The mug placed in front of Volga broke his concentration. He lifted it and then rested his back against the bar to gaze upon the crowd, while ignoring the nervous glances. He tipped back his mug for a mouthful of the contents, the way his father drank brandy, but the burn of the alcohol churned his stomach and stung his eyes. Volga grimaced until the sensation passed. His vision cleared just in time to watch a goddess enter the tavern.

She ducked slightly to avoid the top of the door frame. Her round face was full of wonder, as if she observed people for the first time. Her tan skin and long scarlet hair made her extraordinary compared to the others. Her angled, emerald eyes darted around the room to quickly absorb the details of her surroundings. At the same time, the eyes of all the bystanders wandered to her. Some were entranced, others turned away without interest.

Volga was fond of the forest green dye used for her customary Gerudo garments, decorated with gold emblems, and dangling bands around her wrists. Her pack seemed heavy as she removed it from her back and placed it by the door. He commanded his eyes to lock on the floor as he turned to face the counter, but his sensitive ears heard the whispers of her exotic beauty. Most, no, all Gerudo were desired for their rare physical qualities. The stigma surrounding Gerudo men slowly fell into history, and ambitious women sought them out as the perfect husband, but most of them were already married to their work as a member of the Yiga.

A flowery scent teased Volga's nose out of nowhere. He scraped his index finger along his nostrils and searched for the source of the aroma. He was petrified to find the gorgeous Gerudo stood directly beside him.

"We don't see too many Gerudo here, especially vai," Belaney said to greet her new customer.

"Nor do we see many voe where I come from," she quipped in response.

The Rito tender laughed. "It's nice to see a woman with such wit. What can I get for you?"

"I have come here to taste the legendary Lon Lon Milk," she announced. "Ever since the ranch was rebuilt and the cows began producing, all the young vai at home dream of traveling to taste it, and no place sells it fresher than the Cozy Cucco. The tavern happens to be on my list of famous locations to visit anyway."

Volga listened to her more intently than he thought wise. Her voice was deep, like his mother's, but her manner and inflections were serene and enjoyable. Her accent was elegant, and not gruff like some Gerudo guards. He was consumed with questions, tormented with figuring out how she absolutely captivated him just by entering the room.

"Sounds like a noble pursuit. One milk coming right up," Belaney responded. She retrieved a glass, polished to spotless perfection, from under the bar and a bottle of milk from the ice box. The silky, white milk flowed seamlessly into the glass. The tender corked the bottle when she finished pouring and advised, "Ten rupees."

Volga's eyes darted to the counter when three blue rupees were roughly placed on the counter with a bang.

"Allow me," the suave voice of a man interjected. The prince discretely leaned forward and glared at a Hylian man with straight black hair. He wore a long, open coat, short boots, and a royal blue tunic. Volga despised the way he stared at the Gerudo. "What's your name?" the man asked her.

"Lavuni. And you?" she responded with practiced etiquette.

"Tomis," he answered, effortlessly maintaining his smooth tone. "Are you staying in the market for the night?"

Volga picked up his drink and moved to a nearby table to sit alone. There was no point in being involved when he had an important mission. The Yiga reported rumors to Felious, which were then relayed to Ganondorf, of a plot to assassinate the King or Queen of Hyrule. The information was unspecific, so Volga was out and about on his regular trip to the Cozy Cucco for reconnaissance.

The whispers about Lavuni quelled over a few minutes. His impeccable hearing reached even those in the farthest corners, but he was repeatedly distracted by the exchange between her and Tomis.

"I heard there will be a big celebration tomorrow," he said, appealing to her curious nature.

Celebration? Volga's family was not in preparation to entertain, nor was it customary for them to celebrate for any reason. Did Tomis know something about the supposed assassination?

"Is that so? We have parties in Gerudo Town, but they must seem small to what you can do here. Are there parades? And music?" she wondered with excitement.

"There is bound to be a grand parade with dozens of performers. No one will want to hold anything back for this. In fact, I'm going to start my festivities right now," he exclaimed, and placed four more blue rupees on the counter. "Your finest ale for me and her," he demanded loudly, attempting to draw more attention.

"Take it easy," Belaney cautioned, pouring more ale for him and a fresh glass for Lavuni.

"This does sound exciting,” the Gerudo said, admiring Tomis’s enthusiasm.

“It’s a good thing I found you,” he said, slipping an arm around her waist. She politely stepped away, while he said, “You’ll need to stick with a strong voe, like me, so you don’t get hurt.”

Lavuni laughed nervously.

Volga tuned them out, reminding himself their discussion was none of his business. The mention of the surprise festival was unsettling. Could he refer to celebrating the king or queen’s death? Or was he being overly suspicious? Volga sipped the drink, reminiscing on those times his father allowed him to try the bitter brandy, and hoped he might learn to enjoy the taste. He drank moderately to avoid being inebriated if he heard useful information.

“I did hear someone talking about killing the king tonight. I thought it was a joke.”

Volga heard the male Hylian whisper, barely audible under the roar of other voices.

“Shush, the prince will hear you,” said a woman sitting with him.

“Oh, yeah.”

“Do you think anyone told him?”

“You mean about what she did to his parents?”

Volga glanced at them inconspicuously. What were they talking about?

“All I know is it’s supposed to happen tonight.”

Any doubt was erased. Tomis spoke of celebrating the death of the King of Evil.

Volga decided to sit and finish his drink, which seemed more like a cold resistant elixir with how warm he felt. He chose to avoid appearing hasty, so he acted casual, but he needed to warn Ganondorf in a hurry.

“I’ve asked you not to touch me!”

The lovely voice of Lavuni penetrated his racing thoughts. He put aside his urgent need to go to the castle and listened to her pleas.

“Why not?” Tomis asked with a menacing chuckle. “We all know you’re actually on a hunt for a voe to marry. You don’t need to look anymore. Your perfect voe is right here,” he said, and laid his hand along her thigh.

“You do not act the way I was taught a perfect voe should,” she countered, pushing his hand away.

“Yes, I am,” he insisted, frustrated by her defiance. “And you will be part of my celebration tonight,” he hissed, snatching up her wrist.

Volga rose calmly from his chair to return his empty mug to the counter, and then acted as if he intended to leave the Cozy Cucco. Lavuni was obviously innocent and naïve, not trained as a guard or warrior, just a typical Gerudo with dreams of a happy future. Witnessing the Hylian, about half her size, try to give her orders, was ridiculous, but she was nervous and afraid.

“You are really upset—Oh my goddess!” she shrieked.

Volga often cursed the fact he was left handed, but for once he was thankful. He used all the strength of his main hand to smash a left hook into Tomis’s jaw. Volga turned to leave with hopes Tomis would easily learn his lesson, and not stand back up in search of trouble.

“You think you can just punch a guy and walk away?” Tomis shouted, already back on his feet. He lunged at Volga with a clenched fist soaring through the air. The Hylian prince spun back, thrust his arm up to catch his opponent at the elbow, and halted his punch. The advantage of being proficient with his left side shined once more. This time he struck the disgusting Hylian man in his mouth with a firm right fist, loosening teeth. While he was stunned, Volga followed through with a spin kick that brought the heel of his boot to his opponent's torso. The force of the kick sent Tomis reeling and he collapsed on his side.

Before Tomis could recover, Volga spun around and exited the tavern, yanking his hood back over his head to keep the cold breeze off his face.

"Wait!"

Volga stopped, but only because it was Lavuni that called to him. He twisted only enough to peer back at her over his shoulder.

She jogged to his side, causing him to tilt his head up to see her kind face. She placed her hand on his shoulder and said, "At least allow me to show my gratitude. You acted courageously."

Volga smiled modestly. "I couldn't just stand by and let him harass you when you are such a nice lady, but I'm in a hurry."

"Oh," she said, disappointed. Her face lit up again suddenly as she suggested, "Well, let me come with you."

He laughed with unintended cruelty. "It's dangerous. I cannot put you in harm's way," he said, his voice kinder, opposite the tone of his laugh. He noticed she carried her pack, indicating she had no intention of returning to the Cozy Cucco.

"And it is dangerous to go alone," she countered with wisdom. "Don't count me out just because I didn't stand up to that voe back there."

Volga fully faced Lavuni and smirked knowingly. "You played along to wait for someone to come to your rescue. I'm impressed. Do you even know who I am?" he questioned intensely.

"Does it matter? You're a hero to me," she pointed out.

"I'm Prince Volga, the son of the King and Queen of Evil,” he declared proudly. “And right now I need to be their hero."

Chapter 15

The clear night sky was filled with twinkling diamonds. The pure white of the full moon coated Hyrule Castle with a majestic glow. The moonlight brightened the rooms where it bled inside windows, and by contrast blackened the shadows. Ganondora and Ganondorf stood on the balcony extended from the throne room, their fingers affectionately intertwined. They gazed upon their sacred kingdom, relishing in the grandeur of what rightfully belonged to them.

“Sing for me,” Ganondorf requested. The chill in the air created small bumps on Dora's skin, and she involuntarily shivered. He wrapped the arm she imprisoned with her hand around her with his forearm on her chest. As always, she complied without complaint. He found pleasure in the way her chest rose and fell when she breathed deeply to sing. He savored her aroma, not only of the oils and lotions used in her baths, but that which seeped from her skin by the end of a day. He delighted in the tone of her voice, especially with the knowledge only he and two other people were privileged to hear her sing. Despite possessing the voice of a goddess, she only shared that gift with a select few special individuals. Ganondorf adored her songs so strongly that he was glum at their end.

Dora turned around to face him, and with a gentle kiss on his lips, she said, “It is time to retire, my love.”

“Run along, my queen. I’ll be there in a few minutes,” he advised.

She grinned, a deviously alluring glint in her eyes. “I will be waiting,” she cooed. Her slender fingers trailed down his neck and shoulder, along the full length of his muscular arm, and reluctantly separated from his fingertips as she walked away. Ganondorf turned just slightly to watch her swaying back side as she exited the balcony and departed the throne room.

“Speak quickly,” Ganondorf demanded impatiently, twisting back to face the two Yiga members that appeared and knelt before him. “I have business to attend,” he added smugly.

“Yes, your majesty,” the woman acknowledged curtly. “There are no additional signs, not even the slightest indication, that the Sheikah are reassembling,” she reported.

“Then you have overlooked some vital clue,” Ganondorf remarked coldly.

“Impossible,” she retorted, failing to control her insulted tone. “The Sheikah are eliminated. You need to accept that,” she insisted disrespectfully.

Ganondorf crossed his arms firmly over his chest and stood with his feet shoulder width apart. His silence was misleading, and left the Yiga terrified when a large orb of magic formed from streams of energy exuding from the king’s body. “You are a fool,” he said darkly, a calm anger in his tone, “to believe that you could deceive me. I was aware of your betrayal before I assigned you the task of searching out the Sheikah. Now, allow me to teach you what happens to traitors!”

The Yiga scrambled to her feet as the full orb over Ganondorf’s head shrank into one concentrated ball no larger than the apple he ate for breakfast. The black magic darted straight into her chest, knocking her to the end of the balcony on her back. She appeared unharmed as she rose to her feet with the help of the railing, until she began clawing at her throat. Her breathing became desperate gasps for air as she collapsed to her knees. She dragged herself across the balcony to Ganondorf’s feet. Groans of torment and guttural noises that were her pleas for mercy escaped her lips. He watched her with a callous gaze and spoke to the other Yiga in his company. “Do you have any useful information?” the King of Evil questioned, obviously challenging his loyalty.

The man stuttered, but he spoke honestly. “T-the f-forest has b-begun to flourish.”

Ganondorf glared at his victim. “You beg your king for your life, yet you have withheld information that incriminates the Sheikah, that proves beyond a doubt that they have been actively working to awaken the hero that can slay me!” The rage and volume of his voice increased, and with it so did the intensity of the magic infecting the insolent woman. A violet aura engulfed her, originating from the dark sorcery consuming her soul. She emitted a shrill shriek of horror, and then she toppled over, her life extinguished. The king shifted his glare back to the Yiga remaining alive and warned, “This shall serve as a reminder to any who choose to defy my reign. Take a team and scour the forest, burn it to the ground again if necessary. I will not allow the Sheikah to endanger what is mine.”

“I understand, your majesty,” the Yiga said, and then used his clan’s hidden skill to disappear.

The King of Hyrule stood motionless while he considered the recent events. His concern for his family, although unusual, was a foremost priority for him.

An explosion above shocked Ganondorf, but he immediately rushed forward to avoid the falling debris. The balcony held fast to the castle wall. He found part of the wall to his upper right was destroyed, and by a powerful force. Ganondorf darted around the rubble, into the throne room, following the sounds of men brawling. One of them he already recognized as Volga. Could that boy have just saved his life?

Ganondorf discovered a dead body on the floor and over it stood Volga with a short sword in his left hand dripping with blood. A Gerudo vai the king did not recognize also stood by, but Ganondorf ignored her for the device lying on the floor. He swiftly approached the item, each step filled with more lethal fury than the last, and then carelessly lifted it from the floor.

“Father, are you all right?” Volga asked and sheathed his weapon.

“Fine,” he responded angrily and distracted, while he inspected the weapon. One piece was a tube, the end still hot to the touch. He recognized a handle, and a button positioned for him to press with his thumb. To determine the origin of the weapon, he held the button in and it began to charge with a familiar whirring sound. Before the device could fire, he pointed the hole out the throne room balcony, and a blue beam shot harmlessly into the night. “This weapon uses the technology of the Guardians,” Ganondorf realized. Felious and Din burst into the throne room, undoubtedly awakened by the crash. Before they could ask what happened, another boom shook the castle, and Ganondorf immediately knew the other target. “Ganondora,” he whispered in dismay, and teleported to the master chamber.

Chapter 16

The master chamber was intact at first glance when Ganondorf appeared, until he instinctively checked toward the adjacent room. The queen's vanity stood just inside the doorway, where she would sit and obsessively brush her hair to perfection, in preparation of his arrival to satiate his appetite for her fiery passion. Finding the doorway and wall demolished, her wellbeing became the primary objective, while the knowledge of a second assassin still lingered.

"Dora!" he shouted, fighting the panic that tightened his chest and crept up his throat. Rocks were strewn in every direction, the wooden vanity was splintered, and the mirror smashed with glass scattered across the floor. Dora's limbs peeked out from underneath the mess of stone. Towering over the pile was a woman in a Yiga uniform. She pointed a weapon, identical to the one used by the man, prepared to fire and guarantee the Queen of Evil's death.

Ganondorf processed the sight in just a few panicked breaths, when suddenly his muscles ached all at once, his head throbbed and his vision blurred. Sharp pains seared through his leg and arm as if his bones shattered for no reason at all. This was certainly the pain Dora endured. She had tried with all her might to prevent him from sharing in it, but her strength faded fast. His mind ran rampant as the woman noticed him standing there, and her murderous expression became shock. She realized their mission, to eliminate the most powerful family member first, was a failure. There was only one punishment for the heinous crime she committed, and she saw it decreed in the King of Evil's eyes.

"Where is Mother?" Volga shouted as he sprinted into the room, but he comprehended the situation as soon as he stopped at his father's side. The hate escaping the evil king in waves forced Volga to step away or else be consumed. He caught his breath after sprinting straight there from the throne room.

"Mom," Din shrieked, entering the room with Felious, directly behind her little brother.

"Coward," Ganondorf bellowed, startling the Yiga traitor. "You will suffer the only fate suitable for those who harm my wife," he growled, his voice dropping to an inhuman octave as he called upon the might of the Triforce that empowered him. The sacred triangles radiated on the back of his hand, adding light to the room. A red and black aura that embodied Ganondorf's hate swirled around him, growing larger, into a menacing sight not witnessed since the Calamity. The assassin searched for a way to flee, but the room behind her was not exposed to the elements. Four tendrils of chaotic energy impaled the petrified woman. The vicious magic secured her to the wall by boring holes through her shoulders and thighs, causing her to involuntarily scream. Din and Volga rushed ahead to unbury their mother, while Ganondorf marched toward his victim, envisioning a thousand deaths. He paused at the doorway to determine the condition of his wife. She subconsciously absorbed all the energy he offered, while he relied on the Triforce to sustain him and block out her injuries.

The queen's head was revealed first, bloody from scratches all along the left side of her face. The unique amber gem of her crown was cracked and the chain fractured in multiple places, allowing it to fall away from her forehead. The arm and leg Ganondorf detected earlier were clearly broken by their disfigured shape. Scrapes and bruises covered large portions of her body, the rest hidden beneath a silky black robe. He knew the damage might have been worse if she had failed to use her barrier and deflect most of the blast before she was knocked out.

The gruesome scene awoke the beast slumbering within Ganondorf, intensifying the aura circling him. He narrowed his eyes on the traitor pinned to the wall. Blood spurted from her current wounds as she struggled to flee, but she was completely under his control and became immobilized by fear as he stepped closer. The loathing and evil tainted the air she breathed to live and her lungs only filled with death. This dark magic caused her organs to decay and internal functions to cease.

Ganondorf raised his main arm to the side and the hilt of a weapon appeared in the palm of his hand. When he closed his fingers around it, a large, blue shimmering blade appeared, forming a Guardian sword. The weapon dangled toward the floor as he stared at his victim with an ugly scowl. "You will either tell me why you have betrayed me, or you can linger on the painful verge of death, just on the cusp of being freed from this eternal agony," he demanded in a voice of terrifying authority that filled the room.

"End the reign of evil," she managed hoarsely.

"Playing hero?" the king mocked. "Now you will be displayed to the fools of this kingdom as a reminder of the penalty that awaits them for treason against the royal family of Hyrule!" The beast craved crimson death, and Ganondorf's desire for vengeance was eager to deliver. He thrust the sword straight forward and impaled the center of the criminal's abdomen, delighting in the groan of misery she emitted. He shoved the Guardian sword completely through to the hilt, and then twisted it in a half circle so the blade faced up. The sensation of the hot blood gushing from the wound and flowing over his hand was orgasmic, and watching the suffering in her wide brown eyes was sadistically satisfying. He tore the sword straight up and out of her torso, through her skull, splitting her torso in half. The two identical sides flopped over, the body crumbled, spilling her organs over his boots and filling the room with a horrid stench.

Ganondorf dropped the sword, the blade vanishing the moment the hilt left his fingers. The device landed harshly on the floor and the clatter echoed in the suddenly silent room. His dire thirst for revenge was quenched with the traitor's death, allowing him to quell the roars of the beast screaming for release in the back of his mind. He turned to face his family. Din held Dora's hand tenderly, watching her face intently to wait for her eyes to open.

"This is my fault," Volga whimpered, fighting his anguish.

"No, Volga. This is not your fault, or mine, or Father's. The ones to blame have paid the price for this atrocity," Din said to console her little brother.

"That's not it," he cried out, tears escaping his eyes as he punched the floor with his guarded knuckles. "I ran back here after I heard the king would die tonight. I never considered that Mother would be targeted as well!"

"Pull yourself together," Felious remarked, withholding his emotions. "Had you taken different action the damage would have been irreversible. Ganondorf is unharmed and Dora will mend in time."

Din tried once more to calm her brother. "I know it looks bleak, Volga, but Mom is a fighter. She will be back on her feet in no time."

In the following silence, Ganondorf contemplated the emotion weighing heavily in his chest and clouding his usually meticulous mind. He never experienced such guilt. When the time came to prove his loyalty, he was powerless. He failed to protect the only person in all of Hyrule to ever stand at his side with unwavering devotion, yet time and again she sacrificed herself to defend him. Swallowing that assessment was difficult, but he found his dominance and gave Felious a command. "Strip these traitors of everything, shove their bodies on pikes, and display them in the center of the market. Make sure the town knows what took place here, and that death is the only outcome."

Felious acknowledged the king's order and moved right away to act. Din stood up to help with the messy corpse. Volga only stepped back at seeing his father approach Dora. Ganondorf knelt beside her and slid his arm under her shoulders, with the other arm behind her knees to support her legs. He tilted her toward him first so her head rested below his shoulder, and then cradled her against his torso when he stood. Her crown rattled as it tumbled to the floor. Ganondorf forced the thought of his continued existence to the forefront of his mind, because it was the only promise he had that his queen would survive. He moved forward, passed Volga, and darkly said, "I do not require your company.”

The prince was reluctant to leave his mother's side, but he understood. He followed Din and Felious as they dragged the mutilated corpse out of the chamber, and closed the door.

Ganondorf gradually walked toward the bed he shared with his wife, but his eyes were transfixed on her face and memorized her peaceful expression. If only he could capture her in that instant forever, where she could be without worry or stress, and not be concerned with heroes or princesses, he would never need to see her distressed again. He leaned down to rest her head on the pillow and laid her gently on the bed. He kissed her forehead on the skin her crown usually concealed, and then crawled from the other side to lie with her. A steady stream of energy passed from Ganondorf to her to aid the healing process while she slept. As he closed his eyes and enveloped her hand with his fingers, he hoped he would see her golden speckled eyes shine in the morning sun when he awoke.

Chapter 17

"I am relieved to see you doing well," Volga said by way of greeting his mother.

“As am I,” Dora responded, finishing the last of her basic exercises with Ganondorf to aid her rehabilitation. She sheathed her scimitar and exited the ring, making room for Volga to begin his training. "The only piece that was irreparable is my crown, and I have yet to find a suitable replacement." Her bruises and scratches were faded in only a few days, but bones mended fully after a couple weeks. This rapid recovery was a testament to her powerful healing abilities. At times she found a muscle that was still sore, but the worst was over. On the other hand, she dealt with more severe problems. After the incident, Ganondorf agreed to spar with Volga directly, but only after much pleading. Volga claimed it was only to grow stronger to protect her if the need surfaced, but Ganondorf claimed the boy was bored. Dora acquiesced, but refused to miss any match. Whether she spied from another floor through a window or stood by the ring as a spectator, she always watched for signs that Volga was slipping away from her. Instead, what she found was mounting frustration. Ganondorf always walked away with satisfaction in knowing the hero intended to slay the evil was useless.

Volga faced Ganondorf respectfully, his sword and shield prepared for another tough battle. His mother protested their one-on-one training at the start, but Ganondorf convinced her as only he could. Volga had mastered the monsters and shadow versions of the hero, which over time felt like he just fought a mirror of himself. Nothing was a match for him anymore. The King of Evil was his final obstacle.

Yet he was impossible to defeat.

After bearing witness to the torture the Yiga endured at Ganondorf's hand as a result of attempting to murder the queen, Volga found his father's power unsettling. Deep beneath his cognizant thoughts, he believed that fear was the root of his failure. He possessed no desire to kill Ganondorf, the man who raised him from an infant and taught him everything. His only desire was to prove he was better, but Ganondorf was determined to prove he never would be. In a way, the concept was malicious, but felt right.

The battle always ended the same. Volga slammed against the ground on his side and rolled with the blow to pop back onto his feet. He found Ganondorf's weapon flying toward him, and he just barely deflected the crushing attack. Volga only barely kept up pace with his father, just barely saving his neck instead of landing any successful attacks. The further behind he fell, the more aggravated he became. "Why can I not defeat you? Why do I continue to fail?" Volga irritably blurted out, ending their match.

Dora knew the answer instantly, but she would not be the one to remind Volga of the sword that seals the darkness. "Just keep trying," she said to encourage him. "You have come so far and your skills are refined. One day you will win."

Volga thrust his sword into the scabbard on his back and marched out of the training area without a word to his parents. He walked aimlessly through the castle and combed over every detail of the fight. Even when he managed to draw blood, the King of Evil was never fazed.

A mysterious force invaded Volga’s senses to clear his contemplative thoughts, leaving his mind a blank slate, and guided his feet to an unknown location. He suddenly centered on finding the source of this vaguely familiar energy to learn why it called to him. His legs carried him deliberately through areas of the castle he had not explored since he was a child. The prince passed through the kitchen and the scullery to make his way down the dilapidated stairs to the dungeons. He once played there with his sister, pretending they were chased by monsters. Unbidden, Volga began to wonder if his father was the real monster. He closed his eyes and shook his head to will away the abominable thought. Ganondorf repeatedly protected him, but then, at what cost?

A dull, blue light, pulsing like a heartbeat, seeped between the cracks in a perfectly solid stone wall. "Master," a young woman's voice called.

Alarmed that a woman might be trapped behind that wall, Volga called out, "Hold on, I’ll save you!" He forced his fingers between the cracks in the wall and yanked out stone blocks until the entire wall collapsed. All that he found was a sword with a blue hilt and a gold scabbard. The light originated from the blade and faded as he stepped closer. "That's right. This is the Master Sword. Mother must have placed you here after I was hurt all those years ago. I forgot all about that."

"I have not forgotten you Master Link," said the same voice.

"Master Link? Wait, is the sword talking to me?"

"Yes. I told you we would meet again in another life. However, these circumstances were not in my initial calculations."

"Who are you? How are you talking to me through the sword?" Volga wondered, crouching beside the faintly glowing blade.

"My designated name by the goddess Hylia is Fi, which is also how you addressed me on our adventure. I am a spirit that possesses the blade you now call the Master Sword. I’m thankful you saved me from this prison, Master Link," she said, her voice void of emotion despite her proclamation of gratitude.

"You have mistaken me with someone else. I am not the hero they call Link in the legends. My name is Volga, the adopted son of the King and Queen of Hyrule," he corrected firmly.

"Hylia warned me that you would be resistant to the truth," Fi said. "Are you aware of the events that led to your adoption?"

"No, and I’ve only recently begun to wonder about the truth. Do you know?" he asked cautiously.

"I am no witness, but the goddess told me, and I believe the appropriate reaction to the tale is sadness. Would you like me to proceed?" she requested stiffly.

"Yes. Tell me," Volga insisted.

"Your birth parents were executed by Ganondora at the request of Ganondorf. You would have also been murdered, if not for a divine prank that convinced Ganondora to adopt you as her own son. Not even Hylia knows how she convinced Ganondorf to agree," Fi explained.

Volga lost strength in his legs when he heard the news and dropped on his rear end in the dirt of the dungeon. His limbs felt numb, but only because his mind staggered to grasp reality as he comprehended the repercussions of what Fi told him.

"Master Volga, you are experiencing shock. You must take deep breaths," the sword spirit instructed.

He stared at the sword, eyes filled with heartache. "I wish I could deny it, but I have no reason to doubt what you say is true."

"Hylia has requested I reach out and offer to be the tool to help you best Ganondorf in your training. She knows how you struggle," Fi said, moving on to a different subject.

"If I am your master, then why did you deny me when I was a boy?" Volga asked crossly.

"I have come to find that I must regret the action I made in rejecting you, but it has more to do with the power and use of this sword," Fi explained calmly. "This sword serves only the righteous, and is used to slay evil. You wielded the sword to harm those that are deemed good by Hylia, and to protect those that are evil. Your adoptive parents, whom I can see you love, have tainted you with darkness and manipulated you to obscure the light in your heart, but I can feel that you only want to do what is right. If you grasp the hilt now, you will not be harmed. I swear."

Volga meditated in the pitch black silence for upwards of ten minutes. The love for his mother was prominent in his heart, but there was doubt in his mind between right and wrong, or good and evil. Why did she bother saving him if they were just afraid of what he might become? Volga debated if Ganondorf cared about him at all, or was it all for Dora's sake that he protected him? Fi's words echoed constantly in his head: manipulated and tainted by darkness. Volga’s desires did not change, there was no reason to kill Ganondorf, but he was absolutely resolved to defeat him, either for answers or vengeance.

The prince leaned forward to pick up the scabbard first in his right hand, and then shifted onto his knees to close the distance to the Master Sword. His hand hovered over the hilt in deliberation for half a minute before he held his breath and recklessly plucked it from the ground. The breath he held was released in a tremendous sigh of relief, until his breath was stolen.

A surge of energy coursed through his veins that was entirely different from what he experienced his entire life. This was warm, vibrant, and holy, and he welcomed these sensations straight into his heart. His soul overflowed with elation to be free of the darkness. “Mother said this was the only weapon capable of winning in a fight with my father. Now I know why,” he declared. “I will use this in battle tomorrow.”

“No,” Fi chimed in suddenly, but with a neutral tone. “The sword’s power will be detected. My analysis suggests the chances of victory will increase by seventy-eight percent if we act immediately.”

“I will take your word for it,” Volga said, his voice empty of any jest. He ran out of the dungeons with determination in each valiant step. “Let’s go challenge Father.”

Chapter 18

“The task you requested is complete, your majesty,” an elderly Hylian man said graciously, bowing at his waist to the King of Hyrule.

Ganondorf arrived in the great hall in a hurry after interrupting his walk to the royal stables with Dora. He had glimpsed the escorted man through a window on their way through the castle. There was no excuse provided, he simply advised Dora to go ahead and prepare her horse for their afternoon ride.

The king accepted the royal blue coffer the man offered, and eagerly opened the lid to inspect the quality of the item inside. When Ganondorf offered no comments, the Hylian said, “I hope that you and your queen are pleased with the craftsmanship.”

Ganondorf refused to comment. He snapped the coffer shut and stated, “The rupees I provided covered the labor and materials.”

“More than enough, your majesty,” he answered, even though there was no question. “Is there a special occasion?”

Before Ganondorf could crudely berate the artisan for being intrusive, he noticed Volga running up the corridor with a weapon in hand. Ganondorf placed the box on the long table down the center of the room and turned to face the prince. The visitor dismissed himself, preferring not to be involved in any type of family feud.

“I want a rematch,” Volga demanded, coming to a halt when he entered the great hall.

Ganondorf folded his arms over his chest, peering down at the boy with a forbidding expression. The blade he clutched by the hilt emitted a pure blue glow of heroic energy. “I told your mother that the Master Sword could not be hidden forever,” he remarked angrily.

“Father, mother, that’s all a lie to you, isn’t it? You can’t stand the sight of me! She killed my real parents, and for what?” Volga yelled with contempt.

“I ordered the death of you and your blood parents after the Sheikah pleaded to have you turned over to them,” Ganondorf corrected assertively. “I could not allow anyone with the soul of the hero to wander free, waiting to fulfill his destiny. When Dora came home carrying you as only an infant, she decided to adopt you, and promised to fill you with such darkness that the hero’s soul would never shine. Seeing you standing here now, holding that sword, not even you can deny that you’ve chosen your preordained destiny.” Volga remained silent, while he turned over the sword to imagine how he must appear. “Dora does love you,” the king added, “but if you choose to raise that sword against me she will not hesitate to carry out your execution.”

Volga shifted his eyes from the sword to Ganondorf and grasped the hilt with determination. “You sound as if this was your predicted outcome all along. If you knew it would come to this, why did you bother protecting me?” he asked, trying to solve the riddles that plagued his mind.

“Do not pretend this was all about you. I protected you to prevent the Sheikah from turning you into Hyrule’s weapon, and for my wife,” Ganondorf advised cockily.

“You disgust me,” Volga shouted.

“Yet, I sense your confliction,” the King of Evil continued, uncrossing his arms. “If you are reluctant to swing that sword with the intention to kill, you will never defeat me in battle. You have requested a rematch though, and who am I to deny you?”

“Let me cut your arrogance down to size, old man!”

Ganondorf conjured the Lightscale trident quickly to his main hand and defended Volga’s vicious strike. The evil repelling power of the sword infected him, having stopped it mere inches from scratching his face. As opposed to their battle thirty minutes prior, Ganondorf was the one in retreat. He swung with all his might and never missed an attempt to take Volga’s life, but the sword drained his power, and the Hylian prince was expertly trained in combat. Only minutes passed before Ganondorf felt the sting of the blade cut through his arm like a rusty serrated knife. The evil king stumbled back to recuperate, seething at the pain screaming through his veins. This was the familiar suffering inflicted by the power of the Master Sword, and he knew Dora would identify that immediately.

“At last,” Volga cheered, celebrating his small accomplishment.

Enraged, Ganondorf lashed out with his trident, catching Volga in his leg as he jumped back to dodge. The boy grimaced when he landed on the foot of the wounded leg, but never hesitated. He was motivated and used his new unrelenting courage to return to offense. Ganondorf was forced back by each successful attack that delivered wounds made lethal by the blade of evil’s bane. Desperate for a moment to regain his composure, he teleported to the end of the room and slung a solid red orb toward his opponent.

Volga hastily deflected the energy with the Master Sword. He grinned and announced, “Finally, I can defend against your magic. With this sword I will make you yield to me!”

“Once again you have chosen a tool without fully understanding its purpose, boy,” Ganondorf advised confidently. “You are just one more witless hero eager to be sacrificed to the King of Evil!” They rushed at each other with their weapons poised, only to clang together sourly. Volga was wiser than to compete in a test of physical strength with Ganondorf, so he retreated at the first safe opportunity, and came back swinging.

The king readied another calculated attack, until Volga’s eyes suddenly widened. Ganondorf paused when the boy turned around, and he saw an arrow pierced his back. Volga sank to his knees. The fight was officially ended. Ganondorf surrendered to the pure energy of the Master Sword, still coursing through his veins, that cut off his flow of darkness and hate. The severe agony of his wounds became prominent. He grimaced and leaned on the trident for support as he collapsed to one knee, breathing heavily.

Chapter 19

Dora was still baffled when she reached the stable. There was nothing different about Ganondorf being cryptic, but he was unusually odd about suddenly abandoning their walk. Her thoughts were distracted by concern over Volga’s recent aggression, so she chose not to dwell on Ganondorf acting slightly out of the ordinary. His disappearance was a tad suspicious though, considering that day was their anniversary.

The stable hands offered to assist Dora with preparing her horse for riding, but she instructed them to ready the king’s stallion instead. To pass the time before her husband arrived, she picked up a brush and smoothed over her mare’s fur, starting with her neck and shoulders. After combing through her mane, Dora began fastening the bridle over her steed’s head. Her thoughts wandered between worrying for Volga and cursing Ganondorf. She hoped that the task her husband needed to attend so urgently was related to a surprise he concocted for her. Every now and then he went out of his way to make her smile. She hoped this was one of those times.

A faint throbbing prodded the center of Dora’s forehead. She reached to touch the spot with her fingertips and expected to only find her crown. Adjusting to being without the sentimental accessory was difficult, but she knew it was only temporary. Dora rubbed the center of her forehead, but the pain only spread. The sensation was strong and sudden for just a typical headache.

The Queen of Evil suddenly cried out, causing the stable hands to come running. Dora clutched her hand over her bicep and clenched her eyes shut. She leaned back on the side of the horse's stall to avoid falling over. The pain was frighteningly familiar, but she refused to believe her worst nightmare was coming to fruition. Ganondorf was undeniably in agony, and she needed to reach him immediately. “Get out of my way,” she snarled at the servants surrounding her, mumbling their offer for assistance. The queen shoved passed them with her shoulders and willed herself to walk forward, despite the blinding pain stabbing her skull.

There was no denying the truth. This was the sacred magic of the Master Sword ruthlessly assaulting Ganondorf. Tears met her eyes with a vengeful sting. She reached over her shoulder to grab her bow and slid one arrow out of the quiver on her lower back. Regardless of who wielded the cursed blade, she needed to be prepared to defend her king, and carry out her promise if necessary. Dora distracted her mind from the pain by reminding herself that Volga loved, respected, and looked up to his father. Volga had rejected the way of the hero when he was but a boy. She could not fathom any reason why he would suddenly turn his back on his family and take up the Master Sword to strike Ganondorf down. She yearned to believe it was impossible.

Dora dug deep for the strength to move her treacherous legs forward, one step at a time. The corridors and stairs seemed to go on forever. A flare of pain burned along her calf, causing her to stumble and fall on her side. She refused to surrender with her destination just out of reach.

The shouts of two men echoed off the walls, and down the corridor. Dora recognized one as Ganondorf, and the other was Volga. As she crawled closer, and the great hall came into sight through the doorway, she found them locked in fierce combat. “No,” Dora whimpered, her chest and throat tight. “I never wanted this,” she cried, hoping the Desert Goddess heard her desperate words. “Goddess of the Sand, grant me the willpower I need. I’m begging you. I love that boy. I love him with all my heart. Please take care of him for me, because I have failed.”

With all the agony her body endured, she was incapable of withholding her tears, so they tumbled down her cheeks freely as she used the wall to stand defiantly to her feet. Dora leaned on the wall when she pulled the arrow back in the bow string, and then aimed at Volga. Her fingers betrayed her, and did not release the arrow on her first opportunity. There was no turning back. Volga was in the act of doing exactly what he promised he would never do. Dora had sworn seventeen years ago to kill Volga if he ever walked the path of the hero and became a threat. Ganondorf’s life was in serious danger. She was given no choice. Dora inhaled a deep breath, bidding the tears to pause until the deed was complete. She commanded as much dark energy as she could conjure to engulf her arrow before it was released. The sorcery allowed her to control the arrow, which became lodged between Volga’s shoulder blades and straight into his heart. Dora’s son suddenly froze in place, and then managed to turn around to see who shot him. His adorable blue eyes expressed disbelief initially, then betrayal, and finally lost all emotion as he dropped to his knees.

“Volga!” Dora screamed, tossing her bow aside to scramble toward her son. As his lifeless body tumbled over, she wrapped her arms around his torso and held him close. The hilt of the Master Sword rattled when it rolled out of Volga’s limp fingers and hit the stone floor. “You foolish boy,” she wept, holding his head to her shoulder and embracing him as she did when he was a toddler. “I warned you!” she shouted angrily. “Why did you do it?” she begged of his corpse. Her sobs became so miserable that she could barely breathe. “Why?” she yelled, wishing that his story could have ended another way.

“Dora,” Ganondorf started gruffly, until her twinkling yellow eyes snapped up and found him. In her grief stricken state, the queen had entirely forgotten he was there. His presence aided Dora in understanding that no matter what she did now, her son was dead. She carefully placed Volga’s head on the stone floor and kissed his cheek one last time. “I never wanted this, but I told you, no matter what choice you made, I would always love you and I do,” she whispered, her voice strained. “Goodbye, my son.” Dora stood up, dizzy and disoriented from the laborious crying and the energy still emanating from the Master Sword. Ashamed of her bleeding heart mourning the boy that became the hero of legend, she turned from Ganondorf and escaped to find solace in isolation.

Chapter 20

A woman’s muffled sobs were heard beyond the closed door of the queen’s private chamber. The room was modest, no grand balcony or bed, just a quiet place to be alone and escape the hassle of everyday life.

Ganondorf took a cleansing breath before he twisted the knob and pushed open the door. The setting sun cast a rich orange glow on the stone walls of Dora’s chamber. Her fiery hair was unraveled from the braid she started the day in, and hung freely to the floor over the edge of the table where she rested her head. Her crying was mild compared to hours before, but filled with equal melancholy. Ganondorf knew from the beginning that she would become attached, only to one day deliver Volga’s death. The intention of his visit was not to ridicule his queen for her emotions. He stole a chair away from the table and sat beside his wife. “Dora,” he called to her, failing at his attempt to speak softly.

She calmly lifted her head and wiped her cheeks clean with her fingers. The white of her eyes was pink, and her eyelids puffy. “I must be a miserable sight. Every time I begin to make peace with losing Volga, I fill with anger at myself for being weak enough to care that the hero is dead,” she explained bitterly.

Ganondorf glanced at Dora’s face, torn between calling her weak or comforting her. He placed a blue coffer on the table and said, “Lavuni arrived this afternoon.”

Dora gasped in surprise, mostly because she entirely forgot about their plan to officially meet Lavuni over dinner that day. At the same time, she cared little for the heartache that Volga’s death might have caused the Gerudo. “What did you tell her?”

“The truth. All the evidence was cleaned before she arrived,” Ganondorf continued, “but she was upset. She started screaming insults about us and called you less than desirable names. I reminded her of her place,” he finished maliciously.

“Did you kill her?” Dora wondered.

“No,” he answered right away, as if he predicted her question. “Do you think I should have?”

Her lips quivered with a smile. “I trust your judgment. I always do. I should start listening to your wisdom more often.”

“You're corruption of Volga was flawless," he said to reassure Dora. "He engaged in battle with me, not to rid the world of a villain, but to defeat me for selfish reasons,” Ganondorf explained, but she watched him with a gaze of bewilderment. “When you carried Din, do you remember how concerned you were about having a son?”

“Yes, because you said one day he would challenge you and he would die,” Dora answered.

“Volga challenged me. Whether he was aware or not, that battle was to the death,” he said somberly. “Without your intervention, I would have been sealed in the Sacred Realm,” he admitted in the privacy of her room.

Dora saddened to think about Volga’s death again, but she managed a weak laugh when she asked, “Is this your way of thanking me?”

Ganondorf cleared his throat and reached under the table to caress Dora’s slender hand that hung from her thigh. “I am only reminding you that what you did was necessary, it was your duty, and no warrior could have carried out that order as perfectly as you. No other woman is capable of that remarkably headstrong devotion.”

The queen smiled at his tactful gibe that helped whisk away her sorrow. “I never questioned what I needed to do or what was expected of me. I love you, and no matter how much I love Volga, or even Din, no matter who it is, I would see them dead before I lose you again,” Dora promised earnestly. Her passionate confession of loyalty brought a grin to Ganondorf’s face in spite of his evil heart. The way his eyes glinted with traces of the demon mesmerized her. She studied his features, from his bloodthirsty smile and sturdy chin, to his high cheekbones and orange flowing hair decorated with his golden crown. In that moment, she remembered he was her entire world.

Ganondorf pushed the blue coffer closer to her with his free hand, drawing her eyes away from his face. “This is a gift for you, to celebrate our anniversary,” he declared awkwardly.

Dora’s lips trembled, laughing and choking at the same time. “Is this what you went back to the great hall for?” she asked, recalling his abnormal behavior earlier. His response was a nod, but she barely waited for that before opening the lid. Directly on top was a neatly folded parchment. She raised her eyebrow suspiciously as she opened the letter, ignoring the contents in the ornate box for the moment.

Ganondorf watched her adorable expressions as she cycled through all of them during the letter.

“Ganondora. I hear the name spoken with disdain by my mentors, even my betrothed, Nabooru. They speak constantly of her reckless rage and ignorance. They say that she is tenacious and refuses to cooperate with her instructors. I have even heard it whispered that she is the bane of the Gerudo. I took it upon myself to learn if these rumors were true. I created a situation where I could interact with this girl that the elders despise. When the confrontation occurred, she treated me as if I were just another Gerudo. In her eyes, being born king did not make me better than her. I spent a couple hours talking to her, at first just confirming some information. We exchanged our knowledge of being born on the same night. I learned she preferred to go by Dora because in her early years she was told her name was blasphemous. I disagree, but I respected her wish. She listened to me gripe about my studies for a bit, but then I requested she tell me about her daily life. After she whined about the desert living conditions, she told me of her training. Her story was quite the opposite of what I had heard. Her mother trained her from the day she was old enough to hold a sword, and her absent father was part of the Sheikah clan. She professed to excel at her warrior training. She admitted that she thought her tutors only held her back from her potential because they were afraid. They forced her to patrol at night to keep her tired. When I inquired as to why, she said it was because of Nabooru. I was hardly shocked. I am convinced she started the rumors and manipulated the other Gerudo to see Dora in a false light. Before I agreed with Dora's claims, I needed to test her skills for myself. I told her of my future plans to reorganize the Gerudo into a united force and conquer Hyrule by obtaining the Triforce. Suddenly, her demeanor toward me changed. She was excited about my goal and swore to help me achieve it by any means possible. This intrigued me, because I never imagined anyone to be thrilled about overthrowing the kingdom by force. Having gained her trust, I admitted that I was tired of being stuck within doors all day, and just wanted to train with the other Gerudo. Without hesitation, her face illuminated with a gorgeously evil grin and she challenged me to a duel. I dragged that fight out as long as I could to learn about her on an entirely new level, a way no one else ever bothered to try. I am infatuated. Dora, no, Ganondora has utterly captivated me. Her emotions fascinate me. All I can think about is her. She is passionate, ambitious, and even reckless and tenacious like the rumors said, but it is all combined perfectly in a body and soul of divine beauty. They are wrong about her. This stubborn woman is full of such pride, I believe she is the definition of what it means to be a Gerudo.

“There is one more detail, which I will reveal to her after I’ve made her my wife, though that may be a few years. Just as I am the reincarnation of Demise, Dora is the one the Desert Goddess chose to receive her essence, to continue on the responsibility of protecting the Demon King, of protecting me. I will make this all possible, even if Koume and Kotake try to deny me. I will expose Nabooru for the traitor she is, and Dora will be mine forever. I swear.”

All of the sensations of emotions passing through the queen all at once made speech impossible for her. This was the journal entry she discovered in the book of Gerudo history, while teaching Volga, that she forgot about altogether. "You wrote this," Dora stated when she could force her tongue to form words.

"Absolutely," he replied. "When we parted after our first battle, I returned to my room and unleashed my tangle of thoughts on paper. This is the original parchment from when I was a boy. I'm not as sentimental as I was back then," he reminded.

Dora beamed, her jaw tight with tears of happiness. "I can hardly believe the way you continue to steal my heart." She skimmed the written words again, and then placed the parchment directly in front of her on the table. She leaned over to peer inside the coffer and was instantly on her feet with the small chest in her hands. "Ganondorf, my crown! It's fixed," she exclaimed excitedly. "How did you accomplish this?"

"A jeweler from the town returned it this morning after fixing the chain that was severely damaged by the rocks," he said, while she methodically removed the circlet crown from the coffer. "I was able to repair the original gem with some effort, since it was crafted with my sorcery, after all. These crowns were made from the same enchanted amber stone. Koume and Kotake gave me mine, and I created yours."

Dora inspected the chains and traced her fingers over the smooth surface of the gem. "It's perfect, as if it was never broken," she whispered in disbelief. "I was convinced I would need to choose a new one."

Ganondorf removed the crown from her fingers and she tilted her head down to make it easier for him to secure the clasp. He curled his hands around her shoulders and then greedily embraced her. "This crown is as distinct as you are faithful," he declared as she rested her head on his chest. "With it, you are recognized as the Queen of Evil, and that will never change. You proved that today, you have proven that in the past, and that truth will withstand the test of time."