As soon as Ganondorf and Link walked outside they were engulfed in rain. Their visibility was zero, but that did not matter, they knew where they were going. There walked onto the courtyard and Ganondorf and Link turned back to the castle. With a smile, Link asked, “Why don’t you destroy the castle? Impa, the king, and others are in there. We can take out people who could be problems in our plans right now-‘kill two birds with one stone’ as the saying goes. Besides, Impa is a sage and we have to kill her.”

Ganondorf smiled back at Link and sheathed his sword. He brought his hands together and pulled them apart slowly. In his hands a ball of energy formed. He pulled apart his hands until he powered the energy bolt as powerful as he could. Then, he threw the massive weapon at the castle. On impact the bolt of energy caused an explosion. Fire and the force from the attack destroyed the entire front half of the castle. Ganondorf sent attack after attack until the two beings of darkness could no longer see any of the castle remaining. They both laughed for a second until Link broke their sounds of triumph, “Ganondorf, I know where every sage is. The closest one to here is Rauru. He resides in the Temple of Time.”

He placed a hand on Link’s shoulder and said, “Good job my brother. You are the other half to this friendship, and you are fulfilling your part nicely.”

They began making their way to the Temple of Time, but came across the group of knights. Link looked at Ganondorf and said, “I’ll take care of them.”

If Link had not said that Ganondorf would have offered it to him. He wanted Link to destroy everything in his past. He also wanted to see the looks on Link’s friends’ faces when they witnessed their final seconds before Link ended their lives.

Link walked up to the group of knights whose faces brightened up a bit at the sight of their superior. One of his best men, Rustan, called out, “Sir Link, we need help. The enemy is outnumbering us. We need a way out of here.”

Link cared nothing of what he said. He pulled his sword out and held it firmly in his hands. Rustan watched as Link walked up to him and raised his sword over his head. He couldn’t believe it, Link was about to kill him. Rustan could not find any words to say except, “Why?”

Link pulled his sword down and cleaved his friends head off. Blood splashed up onto his tunic and it covered his entire sword. The other knights stopped what they doing and stared in disbelief. Their leader had just killed the second-in-command...his friend. They watched as Link looked up at them with blood-thirsty eyes. They knew what he wanted, but they couldn’t understand why. He was their leader, and a hero of Hyrule. How could he be killing his own comrades and people? Link ran at his group of bewildered knights and began attacking them. One be one the knights fell, unable to take on their senior officer. He was too powerful for them. All that was left was one knight who was now cowering in fear at Link’s feet. Link had disgust on his face. This man wasn’t even going to look Link in the face as he killed him. Link grabbed the guy by the scruff of his shirt and jerked him to his feet. The knight had tears in his eyes, and that fueled Link’s rage further. With his hand still clutching the guy, Link said, “You are pathetic. You are not even going to die honorably. You are a disgrace to your men.”

Link pushed him back and prepared to kill him.

“Sir Link, why are you killing your own men?”

Link looked at the creatures that surrounded him and replied, “I have done nothing of the sort. My creatures only meet my sword if they are insolent. But I have not touched one today.”

“No, I’m talking about us...your knights.”

Link had no idea what he was talking about. Ganondorf watched Link very closely, making sure that Link knew nothing of his past.

“I don’t know what you are talking about. If you and those other knights were mine, then I’m getting rid of you right now. You are of no use to me and besides, I would never let some coward like you be part of my ranks.”

Link lifted his sword and slashed at the knight’s neck. The sword sliced cleanly through his flesh; so clean that his head slid off of his shoulders somewhat smoothly. Link watched the head with the look of horror fall to his feet. The body of the knight fell accordingly to the ground. He pulled his foot back and kicked the knight’s head into the crowd of creatures. They savagely fought for the trophy while Link turned back to Ganondorf. He walked up to him and asked, “What was that knight talking about? Did I own that group of knights?”

He quickly came back with a response that sounded just somewhat suspicious to Link, “No, he was merely trying to perhaps stop you from taking his poor soul. He was lying and that is all, my brother.”

Link accepted what he said as truth because he trusted Ganondorf. Link turned his head and spied the Temple of Time that towered over the small market shacks that were in Hyrule market. Link pointed his finger and said, “There Ganondorf, we go there now. Rauru is in there and he will be the easiest to kill, but I want to be the one who kills him.” Ganondorf nodded his head and followed Link to their next objective.

Rauru was in his chambers quietly waiting for Link and Ganondorf to arrive. He had sensed everything that had transpired just minutes ago. He shook his head as Link agreed to join Ganondorf. He silently scolded Link for his decision. He felt how much pain Link felt after his losses, but joining Ganondorf? That was ignorance on Link’s part. He had two decisions: live a lonely, trite and torturous life protecting Hyrule, or join Ganondorf and destroy everything that he had worked so hard to obtain. The years of toiling through trial after trial to restore Hyrule to its once thriving and prospering state was quickly wiped away by Link’s poor decision. True, Link lost his wife and a child, but one man’s loss should not become an entire kingdom’s loss. Now, the worst possible decision that Link could make would now kill every person and every friend that was in Hyrule.

Rauru heard the doors to the temple open rather roughly. The doors crashed into the wall of the entrance as they swung open, sending a loud echo through the entire temple.

“Where are you Rauru?!” said Link with the need for blood in his cry.

Rauru stood from his seat and walked out of his room to meet Link. Link watched Rauru walk through the side door that branched off into a private chamber. Rauru looked into Link’s eyes-they were inhuman. One look into his eyes and you would say that he possessed no humanity, just like Ganondorf. Rauru had to look past that. There had to be a way to return Link to his original mentality. If there wasn’t, Goddesses save us all.

“Well, well, well. The all knowing Rauru. How does it feel to know that in a moment you are about to die a most painful death?”

Rauru showed no emotion on his face. He wasn’t going to give Link any pleasure. He didn’t deserve any.

“Link, your memory of your true life has been stolen from you, so it would be no use of me trying to ask you to remember anything. Instead, I am only going to ask one thing of you.”

Link looked at Ganondorf, waiting to see what he thought of this. Ganondorf quickly told Link, “Kill him now my brother. He is only trying to confuse you and make you forget your true destiny. Which is to rule over the world. Kill him now,” he repeated.

Link obeyed his ‘brother’s’ command. He ran up to Rauru and drew his sword. Before Link sit his throat, Rauru said, “Link, ask yourself as you are killing your friends ‘why am are you doing it?’”

Link pulled the sword across his throat and Rauru’s neck opened up, expelling blood onto himself, the floor, and Link. Link’s already blood soaked tunic absorbed Rauru’s blood, amazingly still having enough room for his secretions. Rauru covered his throat with his hands, trying in a futile attempt to stop the bleeding. The hot blood poured over his hands still, like a dam slowly bursting. He fell to his knees and began gasping for air. Blood was filling his lungs, suffocating him. His lungs burned from the deprivation of oxygen. In one last breath Rauru dropped to the ground, now lifeless.

Link found something about what Rauru said not right. Why would he want me to ask myself why I would be killing my friends? I have no friends...except for Ganondorf. He is not a friend though, he is my brother. Ganondorf sensed that Link’s mind wasn’t on the present. He walked up to him and put his hand on his shoulder. Link’s concentration was broken as he realized what Ganondorf did.

“What is the matter brother? Are you actually mourning for his death?”

Link took offense to what he asked. He quickly shot back, “What?! Of course not. He was an enemy of ours, why would you even think that? I trust you yet you do not trust me?”

“I trust you Link, I just want to be sure that your concentration is on what it should be on.”

Link turned his body to leave and ended their conversation with, “Lets get out of here. We still have other sages to exterminate, brother.”

His last word had an almost sarcastic tone to it. Ganondorf didn’t want to argue with Link and agreed on his decision. A small fight between them would probably result in a battle. Ganondorf knew that if at least one of them did not have control over their feelings then this friendship would not last long. When he was converted, he turned into the complete opposite of what he originally was. He was at first nearly pure good, so when he changed over to the dark side he became pure evil. Ganondorf didn’t want to admit it, but he sensed power in Link he had never felt. Since Link had no conscious, no limits, his full potential could be released. He was the most powerful warrior in all of the world. Ganondorf would not let anything lead to a brawl between the two of them because he was sure that he would not live through it.

Link and Ganondorf traveled to the next closest sage. Link led Ganondorf through Kakariko Village and up through Death Valley. They ascended the dirt trail until they stood at the entrance to the Goron’s dwelling. They walked inside and were greeted with shrieks of terror. A smile crept across his face as he and Ganondorf drew their swords and began their killing spree of the Gorons. All too quickly their death march was nearly over. They made their way slowly down to the lower level of the Goron’s residence. The only two left of the Gorons was Darunia and his son Link, whom he named after Link. Darunia heard the commotion and was already outside of his room. He looked at the steps that led to the higher level and gazed upon a truly terrifying sight: Ganondorf and Link side by side with no obvious quarrel between the two. Link didn’t seem to mind having Ganondorf in his presence. With a powerful voice, “Why is Ganondorf here Link and what...”

His words were caught short as he looked up and saw a massacre. All of his people ha been killed. Their blood was strewn all throughout the cave. He looked at Link and didn’t notice at first, but he was smiling. How could he be smiling after what he just had to walk through? Then it hit him, hard. Link and Ganondorf were the ones that did this.

“My brother, you didn’t, did you?”

“Brother? I am no brother to you. You are the reason my brother was locked away into the Dark Realm. Now, you will pay!”

Link lunged at Darunia, sword pointed at his chest. Darunia turned his back to Link. His back was very strong, able to repel the lave that sometimes erupted out of the volcano. His sword made contact with his hide and barely penetrated the surface, though it did cause Darunia some discomfort. Darunia threw Link off of his back and sent link flying a couple of feet.

“Link, what are you doing? How can you call Ganondorf your brother? He nearly destroyed Hyrule. He almost killed Zelda, your wife, and he almost killed you. How can you be on his side?”

“His side? There is only one side: our side. And if you are not on our side then you are our enemy.”

Link attacked Darunia again. This time, when Darunia turned his back to Link, he dropped to his knees and slashed at Darunia’s feet. Blood spurted out from the wound and Darunia dropped to the ground. Link jumped up and brought his sword down into Darunia’s chest. Darunia said in his last breath, “Link, may your friends forgive you.”

Dead is what Darunia was now. Link took his sword out of Darunia’s body. His dark brown blood dripping from it struck a chord in Link. Something didn’t seem right, again. Why did I kill him? The answer was simple, Because he is part of a group of sages that locked Ganondorf away. The answer sounded too simple. Although Link was ruthless, he didn’t see any real reason he should kill them. They had committed a crime against Ganondorf, but death seemed too much. The two of them could easily banish all of the sages to the Dark Realm, just like they did to his brother. Link didn’t know why this appeared wrong, but he was not going to second-guess his brother. Brother...that’s what Darunia called him. Why would he call me his brother? He knew I was going to kill him. Why not curse me? As much as he didn’t like to, Rauru came to his now active mind. He said to ask myself why I was killing my friends. These are not my friends. Maybe he was trying to confuse me because this makes no sense. He cleared his mind and looked up at the entrance to Darunia’s room and saw little Link standing there. He was shaking and crying; he obviously saw what he did to his father.

“Why did you kill my daddy Link?”

Link saw the disbelief in his eyes. It was like he was experiencing a nightmare. Maybe this was a nightmare. The look on the kid’s face was worrying Link. He should’ve known what he was going to do to his father. They were enemies, so why did the kid look like Link just killed a...friend?

“Because,” Link said with indifference, “he was my enemy and I had to destroy him.”

Link turned to leave when Ganondorf approached the child. He held his hand up and said to Ganondorf, “No, leave him.”

“What? Are you getting soft? He must die.”

Link screamed, “Leave him!”

Ganondorf jumped somewhat at how Link reacted. He sensed pure rage in his voice and he pressed the issue no more. Ganondorf sheathed his sword and the two evil warriors left the young Goron to weep for his dead father.

Ganondorf did not look at Link the whole time they were walking to their next destination. Their next destination was Zora’s Domain. There was the princess-Princess Ruto. She was the same age as Link when they first met. She was trapped inside of Jabu-Jabu. Link managed to rescue the feisty princess and defeat the creature that lived inside of the huge fish so that he could obtain the spiritual stone. Ruto gave him the stone on one condition-that he marry her. The stone was an engagement gift from Ruto to Link. He had no intention nor gave any thought to marrying a fish. He was not attracted to her at all. To Link’s relief, the both of them later found out that she was a sage. She had to dedicate herself full time to protecting Hyrule, so she broke off the engagement. Link occasionally visited with her, but every time she saw him she insisted on flirting with him. Link never took the flirtations seriously and didn’t let them bother him. He did not, however, let the flirtations get too out of hand. When he felt like she was getting to personal or too close to doing something he would always have ‘somewhere to go’. He by no means disliked her for it. He knew that she just didn’t have her sexual urges in check like Link did. But, of course, Link did not have any memory of those meetings.

They both walked through the entrance to Zora’s Domain, past the small river and through the waterfall that blocked the entrance to their lair. The two of then were greeted with screams from the Zoras. They began to slaughter the Zoras one by one. Their swords cleanly sliced through the Zoras’ soft flesh. All too suddenly their massacre was over, and the only Zoras left were the king, Zoras who were at Zora’s Lake, and Ruto. Link and Ganondorf ascended the stairs and met the king’s gaze. He was awestruck by what he saw. Trying not to sound too intimidated by Ganondorf, King Zora asked, “What is the meaning of this? Ganondorf is banished from here Link. Why have you brought him here?”

Link and Ganondorf stopped at the foot of the king and with a casual voice, Link asked, “Well, you majesty, you can tell us where to find Princess Ruto or you will meet you death very painfully.”

The king saw Link lay his hand on the hilt of his sword, obviously not joking. The king did not falter any-he was not going to tell Link where she was even if it meant his life. There was something not right; Link was with Ganondorf and there seemed to be no conflict between them. He had an idea that this person was merely posing as Link, but if it was really Link, he still would not give away her location.

“Link, why is Ganondorf out of the Dark Realm? Why are you not trying to put him back?”

Link ignored what he had asked and returned his question with a question of his own, “Are you going to tell me where she is?”

The king held his head high and said through pursed lips, “No, why should I?”

“Well, because I am killing all of the sages and this would go a whole lot easier if I knew where the sages were. Now...if you please.”

Still not moving, the king replied, “No, I will not disclose the location of my daughter to you. There is obviously something wrong with you Link. Why would you want to hurt your friends-the sages? Is Ganondorf-”

Ganondorf didn’t want the king to attempt in any way to get Link to remember anything about his past. Before the king could continue, Ganondorf lunged at the king and stabbed him in the chest. The king was too shocked at the moment to have ample time to react to his wound. He stared down at his open chest and watched his green blood freely flow out of his body. The green blood oozed and dripped into the water and slowly the shade of green faded into the water. The king fell over forwards and went face first into the water. The huge king splashed water onto the dark warriors who hadn’t stepped back in time to avoid it. They watched the king’s body twitch for a moment or two and then slowly become stiff and lifeless. Link got nothing out of the king, but at least he did know of a couple of places she could be. He turned to Ganondorf and said, “My brother, we can still find our princess. I have a feeling that she might be nearer than we think. There is a small lake just through that passage,” Link pointed, “and I bet she might just be there.”

“Alright then, lets go.”

With no more dialogue Link led the two of them to lake. With them being in the rain for several minutes, they were not dazed by the down pour that attacked them as soon as they stepped out from the passage. They each noticed a couple of Zoras running and swimming around at first. Quickly studying each to see if they were by chance the princess turned up nothing. Link grabbed his sword, as did Ganondorf, and began walking through the lake.

The entire lake was above the ground a good foot. The deepest part, the actual lake, was on the other side of a huge boulder that lay in the middle of the area. Ruto was diving in the lake, getting new water on her rubbery skin. She glided effortlessly through the water, stopping only to peer up at the lightning bolts that lit the sky. She was part fish and enjoyed the water, but what amazed her more was the above world. She ventured through the land experiencing different environments. But, since she was part fish, she could not stay out for long or her skin would dry and would kill her.

She pushed herself to the surface and took a breath of air through her land lungs as she broke the water’s surface. Ruto looked around at all of the other Zoras that were swimming around. She enjoyed the thought of her protecting over her people. Princess Ruto always took pleasure in having power. Now that she was a sage, she was obligated to serve over the Zoras and keep them safe. She was also the princess and therefore was given respect and also demanded their respect, being the still feisty girl she once was. What broke her scene of tranquility was Link. She waved to him and called out, “Link, what are you doing here right now? It’s raining and storming. Shouldn’t you be at home with Zelda and your baby?”

He kept walking, giving no thought to her question. Then, Ganondorf walked slowly into view. She went under the water for a second, but rose out of the water again. Link is here, he will protect me from Ganondorf. Her pitiful and naïve thought lost all hope when she called out to Link, “Link, there’s Ganondorf. Stop him.”

Link did not seem to be affected by what she just shouted out. Ruto began to worry as Link kept his gaze on her as he drew his sword.

What is wrong with Link? Why is he not attacking Ganondorf? It looks like he is coming my way. What could he want with me?

She watched as Link drew his sword and raised it above his head. Ruto knew what he was doing. She saw him once charge his sword with magic. The end result of the charge was him throwing the energy at his target, killing it. Princess Ruto began swimming to the other side of the lake to get away from Link’s inevitable attack. Link loaded his sword with as much energy as it could hold, and then he shot the powerful energy Ruto’s way. Although she tried diligently, she was still struck by the energy. When it touched her skin she was knock out of the water and over by Jabu Jabu’s waiting area. Link walked over to Ruto, who was still doubling over in pain. Her back was in pain from the attack. It felt like it was on fire, but turned slowly into a numb feeling.

Link was now standing over Princess Ruto. She turned her head up and gaped in fear. Looking into Link’s eyes were like looking into something empty and cold. She couldn’t help but shudder. Link reached down and jerked Ruto to her feet. The princess gave a yelp as he performed this rough act. He pushed her up against the wall and said, “Say goodbye to your worthless life, princess.”

His last remark was too impossible to be real. She had to be having a nightmare, or something. Seeing Link with Ganondorf and him about to thrust his sword into her abdomen couldn’t be real. However real or unreal it was, Link’s sword went cleanly through Ruto’s stomach. His sword went all the way through her and into the wooden post that encompassed Jabu’s waiting area. Her green blood slowly seep out of her, all over herself and into the water. Link let go of his sword and watched with delight as Ruto’s suffering increased from simply wincing at the cut, to pure agony. Just then, a lightning bolt drove itself through the sky. As if the lightning bolt hit him, an idea sprang to his thoughts. Link turned to Ganondorf and nodded his head. Ganondorf caught wind of what he had in mind for Ruto. The both of them stepped back a couple of steps, far enough away so that they would not be affected by what Ganondorf was going to do.

He sheathed his sword and raised his arms up into the sky. Everyone looked up as the sky began to darken even more just above Ganondorf. Sparks and loud rumbles resonated through the air. Ruto finally looked up and watched in horror as the sky opened up. From the hole in the sky came a lightning bolt. Time slowed to nearly a standstill. Ruto knew it was coming and even saw it, but she still could not believe it. Link, of all people, was the one who asked for this on her. Why would he do this to me? I know he doesn’t hate me. There must be something wrong with him. But, that doesn’t matter anymore, I will be joining the goddesses soon. Ruto looked back down at Link, who found her gaze, and asked in her last breath, “Why?”

Before Link could really understand what she asked, the lightning bolt struck her. Pure electricity pulsed through her body. Being part fish, having a lightning bolt strike her was the most painful way for her to die. Her naturally moist skin amplified the electrocution of herself. In her last seconds of life, she could feel her insides melt. She felt every cell in her body dissolve. It was the most agonizing feeling, to actually feel yourself liquefy as you died. Soon, the lightning bolt ran out of energy and dissipated. All that was left now was a burnt, brown corpse. The princess’s body was so badly burnt that you could no longer identify the body. No one would have known that the smoking heap pinned to the wood was a living creature.

Link reached forward and put his hand on the handle of his sword. He felt the heat radiate from the handle even before he touched it. He wrapped his hand around it and pulled it out of Ruto’s unrecognizable body. The overcooked carcass fell into the water, and upon the water touching her crisped skin was a loud sizzle. A small amount of steam rose from her spot in the water. Link felt nothing but triumph. He killed another sage, one which could impede his and Ganondorf’s future plans for the domination of Hyrule. However, Ruto’s last word rang through his head why? He didn’t want to think about that. But, he did it anyway. I’m so confused. Why is she so surprised that I was going to kill her? Rauru has obstructed my line of thinking. Why would he go to the trouble of telling me a lie if I know it is a lie? What would he have to gain from making me think about a fabrication? This is all so confusing. Link thought about this no more. He turned away from the appalling sight and left Zora’s Domain.

Through all of this, Ganondorf was strangely quiet. He had just turned his greatest foe to his side. His worst enemy was now his most treasured ally. He was powerful, ruthless, and incoherent to any form of love, kindness, or compassion-everything he possessed was what Ganondorf wanted in a comrade. Yet, Ganondorf found himself...anxious around Link. Sure, he was his ‘brother’, but with Link being more evil than himself, what if Link decided that he no longer needed him? What if Link had any suspicion as to what was happening? Would the false memories he implanted into Link serve as insurance, or were they expendable? Ganondorf knew Link was powerful, and didn’t question his ability to create destruction. He doubted whether he would actually survive an attack from this limitless, no-boundary Link. It ran through his head continuously, and he feared a retaliation from Link every time he moved. To be honest, Ganondorf held a slight fear that he would not be around for long. He wondered if he should have just killed Link back at the castle. He knew he couldn’t change anything now, and he sure as hell wasn’t going try and take out Link-he would most likely sense the oncoming attack and then kill Ganondorf before he had a chance to even realize that he was killed.

The two sages left were Nabooru and Saria. Nabooru was the sage Ganondorf was going to kill personally. She betrayed him and even had the nerve to steal from him. She persuaded the Gerudos that what Ganondorf was doing was wrong. Depending on his mood when he arrived at Gerudo Valley, it was possible that he was going to destroy the entire Gerudo clan. They were of no use to him now because they would not follow him any longer. Under the dark sky they walked across Hyrule field, the lightning bolts occasionally illuminating their path. Ganondorf finally broke the silence and asked Link, “My brother, there is something bothering you...I sense it.”

Link kept his eyes straight ahead. His hair matted against his forehead, barely covering his eyes. He brought his hand up and brushed the hair out of his face. Through his tightly clenched jaw, he said, “Nothing is bothering me brother.”

“Are you having second thoughts about the sages?”

“No!” he quickly shot back, “are you questioning my integrity?”

“Of course not,” he said slowly, angry with himself that he had upset Link.

“Now, if you please. I am concentrating on out visit to the Gerudos. If you were wise you would prepare yourself. They’re not exactly going to welcome us with open arms. Me, personally, I’m not walking into a fight with no preparation.”

Oh no, thought Ganondorf, Link and the Gerudos became friends. When he does walk in they are going to welcome him with open arms. Damn!

Again, Ganondorf noticed a flaw with wiping Link’s memory clean: he could not change everyone else’s memory to match his. This was not working to his advantage anymore. Ganondorf would have to rely on luck and definitely not trust. He would not let his guard down around Link anymore. At any moment he could realize that something is wrong and that he would be the reason. He knew now that he should have killed Link back at the castle, now he was going to have to play this by ear. He prayed it would not come to him having to destroy Link, but if he became conscious of Ganondorf’s actions back at the castle then he would do it without a second thought.

There was silence for a couple of moments, and then Link finally broke it.

“Why did Ruto say I had a wife and a child?”

Ganondorf could not find anything to say at the moment. Link turned his head rigidly and looked at him from underneath his eyebrows.

“I have a wedding ring on. I have no memory of marrying anybody. Is there something you are keeping from me?”

Of all of Ganondorf’s faults he forgot to erase one simple thing from Link’s memory, that he was married. He assumed that erasing everything dealing with Zelda would take care of the marriage. He also didn’t have enough time to take his wedding band away from him.

“You said you trust me, so why are you doubting me? You are obviously not a man of your word. I do not wish to fight with you my brother. But, you are testing my limits. I have no reason and nothing to gain from keeping anything from you.”

Ganondorf stopped in the middle of walking. Link stopped and turned to face Ganondorf.

“Right here, right now, you pledge your trust or we part ways now.”

He knew Link would stay with him, he would never leave him. He just wanted to give Link a big show expressing how trusting he is. Link, naturally, bought it.

“I trust you my brother. It’s just that things aren’t adding up. Something doesn’t seem right.”

Ganondorf put and hand on his shoulder and said, “I know, the sages have confused you. You just need to ignore what they have said. They are telling you exactly what you need to hear in order to cause unrest and mistrust in this camaraderie. They are attempting at splitting us apart and possibly have us engage in a duel-to-the-death. If you allow yourself to be drawn in to these lies, as you have already begun, then our brotherhood is already destroyed.”

What Ganondorf just said gave Link some comfort. He was right, he was believing and considering obvious lies by the sages. Everything they have said were too accurate. It was too precise to be truth. They must have planned this.

“I am sorry my brother. I don’t know why I believed them in the first place. I do, I pledge my trust to you. I am a man of my word, and my word is my bond.”

They clasped their hands together, smiling at the renewal of their friendship.

“Now, lets get back to fulfilling our destiny.”


It was so noisy, making it very difficult to sleep. The lightning bolts that lit up the sky shone right into her room. The light blinded her, but only for a moment. Usually she wasn’t afraid of storms, but this particular one seemed more powerful than usual. She sat up, giving up on trying to go to sleep right now. When she jumped off of her bed, she felt her feet submerge in water. Looking down left her in shock. The rain from outside had flooded the forest so badly that it seeped inside of her house. The water was at least a couple of inches off of the floor. The bottom of her nightgown began to soak some of the water up. She pulled at it and tied the bottom of her gown so that it stopped at her knees instead of her ankles. This was too weird, the flood had never gotten this terrible. She had lived in the forest for a very long time, despite what her outward appearance revealed.

Saria was the second oldest in the forest, only ten years younger than Mido. She had been around and had experienced many storms. Only once had it actually flooded, but never to the point of water flowing into people’s houses. Saria didn’t know what to think about it, but had this strange feeling that something was out of the ordinary.

A knock came to Saria’s door. Hearing thunder bolts didn’t seem to scare her, but the loud thumping at her door did. Her voice was strangely weak, but it was audible enough for the person outside to hear. The Kokiri opened the door and it was Mido. He was drenched from the heavy downpour. Saria saw the look of anguish on his face, she knew there was something wrong.

“Saria, as you can see the forest is flooding. I don’t see this stopping anytime soon. A couple of Kokiris have already insisted that we get to higher ground. I myself think that getting out of here is wise. What do you think?”

Very rarely had Mido ever asked for Saria’s thoughts on a subject such as safety, but this time seemed different. Mido seemed fearful for some reason. It must be because of never experiencing a really bad storm like this. She had not experienced this either, so his judgment was as good as hers. However, since he had asked for it, she gave it to him.

“Well, the only place I can think of that would be high enough away from the water, should it rise any more, would be the Lost Woods.”

Mido frowned instantly at what she just suggested. Saria knew he disliked the Lost Woods, and she didn’t blame him. There were too many legends and ‘spooky’ stories going around. A very popular story was: if you were to enter into the Lost Woods and get lost, you would turn into a wolfos. It was a very childish story, but it convinced many Kokiris to stay out of the Lost Woods. Saria found out very long ago that the stories were false. One night she had fallen asleep in the Sacred Meadow. It was dark when she awoke and she had somehow lost her way through the tunnels. She decided to stay put, because she didn’t want to go too deep into the forest and not be able to get out, or someone not able to find her. Saria huddled in a corner and fell asleep, uneasily. The next morning she awoke to find that she was not a wolfos and that she was back in her bed, safe. Link was the one who had found her. After not seeing her for the entire day and the whole night, Link took the liberty of going into the Lost Woods and finding her. He was just six years old at the time. Having almost no knowledge of the forest and acting totally on his own, Link had somehow managed to find Saria. That experience had strengthened their friendship even more. She told him many times after that how thankful she was.

“Saria, I don’t know if it is a good idea to go into there. What about the legends?”

“Mido, may I be blunt?”

Mido was the top in command, so to say. Every Kokiri showed him respect and never talked frankly around him-they thought it disrespectful. He of course nodded and Saria finished.

“These stories that are told are nothing more than made up ghost stories. I have been in the forest after dark before and I have even been lost in there. Nothing happened to me and nothing will ever happen. You asked for my opinion and there it is. I can think of no other place to go that would be safer than the Lost Woods, but...it’s your call Mido.”

Mido trusted Saria and much of her opinions and suggestions. He of course never revealed that to her, but this was different, lives were possibly in danger.

“Alright Saria, since you know the woods better than anyone...you will be in the lead from here on.”

She walked up to him and put a hand on his shoulder. A smile, of all things right now, spread across her face.

“Thank you for trusting me Mido.”

He gave a quick smile and said, “You’re welcome, now lets go.”

The both of them quickly gathered all of the Kokiri and met up at the entrance to the Lost Woods. Saria looked at Mido, who gave her a nod. She weakly smiled, but drained her face of the look as she stepped in the middle of the Kokiri.

“Everyone, this storm has been the worst one in a long time. Mido as well as myself believe that the water will continue to rise for some time. The water already has leaked into everyone’s homes, flooding the floors and the ground outside. That is why I think we should stay in the Lost Woods, at least until this crisis has abated.”

Some of the Kokiri yelled out ‘no way’, and others just looked blankly at her.

“Look everyone, I know the woods backwards and forwards. I have been in there many times and have came out unscathed. You will be surprised to know that none of the legends of the forest are true. I believe that this would be the safest place to stay until the water recedes. I would never put anyone in a situation unless I was absolutely certain that it was safe. You have to trust me.”

A couple of Kokiris engaged in a quiet conversation, with a look of worry on their faces. After a moment, they all looked to Saria. They needed someone to guide them and look out for them. Ever since Link left them they had no one to look to for protection. Co-dependence was in their nature. They needed someone to look after them, and in return they gave complete respect to whomever tended them.

“Is everyone going to follow me?”

“Yes,” they all said in unison.

“Then follow me.”

Saria began the line that led into the Lost Woods. Every Kokiri followed her in a single file line. Mido, however, stayed at the end of the line to make sure no one got left behind. It was eerie to walk through the forest at night, even for Saria. With every step, though, she gained more and more confident. She was leading the Kokiri! Saria dreamed of the day when she would have the Kokiris’ trust and respect. Even under the extreme circumstances, it was still welcomed.

The line of Kokiris snaked its way through the forest. Saria went to one place in the forest where she knew nobody except her and Link knew about: the secret meadow. Should Link come looking for everyone, if he saw nobody in their homes, he would most likely come here. Once they all settled into the meadow, finding somewhere to sit or lay, Saria said, “Now, we are going to stay here for a while. I know that it is late, so everyone needs to try and get to sleep. Don’t worry about something finding us because I can guarantee that no one, not even monsters know where this place is.”

She didn’t want to say that word, but she was sure that it was going to through everyone’s head. As she had requested, all of the Kokiri began to fall to sleep. Mido walked over to Saria and sat down beside her. She was looking up and the tree top canopy that covered the meadow. The occasional lightning bolt shone through the leaves. He nudged her and asked, “Hey, you did a good job Saria. Look at everyone, they look almost peaceful. Some are actually getting to sleep.”

She forced a smile out and said, “Thanks Mido, that means a lot coming from you. I just hope nothing else happens and this water ebbs soon.”

Mido looked at her and noticed that she seemed brighter than usual. He didn’t notice it really until now. He had just thought that it was the lightning bolts that affected his vision. Now that he looked closer, her skin gave off a faint glow.

“Saria, look at your skin. It’s...glowing.”

She looked down at her exposed legs and saw what Mido saw. She pulled the sleeve to her nightgown up and gazed at her arm. It was giving off an almost unnoticeable glow. She looked over at Mido, now with a look of worry.

“Mido, throughout the entire night I have been getting the feeling that something is wrong. I didn’t realize it until now. I am part of a group of sages that share the same power. When one sage parishes, their power is divided among the living ones. I have been feeling more energy than usual running through me. I brushed it off, thinking that I was just tired and wasn’t thinking clearly. But, I am fully awake and now that I think about it...I sense that something is wrong. All of the sages are linked together-we can contact each other telepathically. I...I don’t sense all of the sages. It could mean one of three things: they are asleep, unconscious, or...dead.”

“Don’t worry, I’m sure everyone is okay. Link wouldn’t let anything happen to the sages. They are probably asleep like you said.”

“But...I don’t sense Link. I can’t feel him...anywhere. That means that he could be-”

“-Saria! Link is not dead or anything of the sort. We are very deep in the forest. It is possible that you are too far away to sense him. You need to stop being pessimistic. You are just tired and stressed out. You need to get some sleep, now.”

Mido had a commanding tone in his voice. He wanted Saria to get some sleep, and the only sure way to make her do it was to order her.

“Is that an order?”

“Yes, now please, get some sleep. If anything goes wrong I will immediately wake you.”

She conceded, “Okay, I’ll get to sleep. Just promise me you will wake me if-”

“-Saria, don’t worry, I will. Just go to sleep, please.”

She untied her nightgown and pulled it over her legs as she laid down, as well as her sleeve. She laid her head on the soft ground and closed her eyes. She wanted to get to sleep, but something was making her anxious. The glow around her, not being able to sense all of the sages or Link. Her mind was a mess. It would not slow down enough to fall to sleep. However, she still forced herself into sleep. It was not easy, but she had to get sleep or she would not be ready to face whatever happened during the night...if and when something would happen.


Before them stood the large fortress of the Gerudos. It was made from stone and was carved into the side of a mountain. It gave obvious protection, but not from things that found their way inside of the fortress. That is why guards are stationed at just about every corner in the valley. Link and Ganondorf had no doubts that the guards would impede them in any way.

“Ganondorf, to make this search go faster, I suggest we split up. We can cover more ground and find Nabooru faster.”

Ganondorf was about to interject, but Link sensed it. Before Ganondorf could even get his thought out Link said, “And don’t worry, I will leave Nabooru for you if I find her first. I would not want to keep you from something you want so much.”

Ganondorf gave Link a malevolent smile and looked back towards the fortress.

It wouldn’t be difficult to get inside. What would be difficult would be getting in without a guard seeing them. They didn’t care much for being covert, although not being seen was one of their top priorities. If any guards saw them they would quickly do away with them. It seemed too simple to pull off, but neither was going to underestimate the Gerudos. They were ruthless warriors and if you let your guard down for a second they would kill you. Since Link and Ganondorf, or rather, Ganondorf was not welcomed into their grounds, they would most likely do all in their power to get him out, at the least. The Gerudos have a way of fighting that can over come any army. They split the large group of soldiers into smaller groups, and then take them out very quickly. Attacking one by one was very risky and took too much time. With this technique they had won many battles.

Link entered the door on the leftmost side of the fortress. He came to a corner and pulled his sword up. He used its shiny surface as a mirror and looked to see if anyone was around the bend. It was clear. Link darted around the corner, sword ready, just in case there was a Gerudo there that he did not see. Link kept his senses sharp, not wanting to get a sneak attack from any of the Gerudos. They fought almost as sneaky as he did. They looked for any weakness, no matter how small, and took it to their full advantage. It was a very effective way of fighting, and it saved time and effort. ‘The only way to truly win a fight is to not get into a fight’ Link once said. He was a pacifist, but he was by no means a push-over. Fighting was his last resort if whomever he tried to talk to didn’t seem to enjoy conversations. He didn’t like to fight, but if he had to fight he fought with his fullest abilities. He was not one to be underestimated, as too many poor souls had.

Link continued his stealthy walk through the corridors until he came to a large open room. In there were five Gerudos. Easy he thought If I can quickly attack at least two of them without the others reacting too quickly, then this should be a piece of cake. Link lunged at the Gerudos, sword ready to strike, when he heard someone behind him yell out, “Link, what are you doing here?”

Link stopped and noticed that she was not surprised at all to seeing Link.

“What?”

“Where have you been? We haven’t seen you for a while. What have you been up to? I heard you and the princess actually have a baby coming...is it true?”

Link just stood there, unable to react to what was just said. Everyone he thought. Everyone, even the Gerudos knew of a supposed wife and child he had. Ganondorf told him not to listen to their lies, but what the Gerudo just asked was too casual to be an attempt at trying to confuse him. Besides, the Gerudos weren’t even alarmed that he was there...like he was a welcomed friend. He really didn’t want to believe them, but he decided to take advantage of their idiocy.

A smile edged its way across his face as he lowered his sword and said, “Um...I was just coming here to visit.”

The Gerudo walked up to him and asked, “Well, don’t you think that this is the wrong time to be visiting? I mean, it is flooding out there.”

“Oh, I know.”

The Gerudo walked to the table with the other Gerudos and began eating. Through a mouthful of food the Gerudo asked, “So, is it true you are having a baby with Zelda?”

He knew nothing of this woman they spoke of and knew nothing of a baby. But, if they had guessed it being all the way out here it had to be true. With as casual a voice as he could muster, “Uh, yeah. Zelda is having the baby. It should be here in a couple of months.”

“Huh, I heard that the baby was due this month.”

He began to worry, but didn’t show it.

“Oh, I guess I lost track of how long the baby has been in her.”

One of the Gerudos pulled a chair out and called out, “Come have a seat.”

Link sheathed his sword, but was ready to use it should they drop their charade and attack him. He walked over to the offered seat and sat down. He pulled the seat up and put one of his hands up on the table and the other one on the hilt of his sword. The Gerudo next to him said, “Well, since you’re here why don’t you enjoy some of this food with us.”

Before Link could object the Gerudo threw a plate in front of him and threw some sort of meat on it. He gave a look of disgust at the sight of this supposed ‘food’. It almost looked alive. He didn’t know if he should eat it or try and set it free. He picked up something that looked like a fork and poked at it while asking, “What is this? Don’t tell me that whatever this is that it is still alive.”

The Gerudos stopped eating and looked at Link with confusion. He began getting uneasy and squeezed the handle of his sword to comfort him.

“Link, this is one of your favorite foods to eat whenever you come to visit. Don’t tell me you don’t know what this is.”

“Oh...yeah...my eyes are just a little weak right now. It’s probably from the lightning bolts. When it flashed it left my eyes somewhat messed up. I really can’t see that well right now. What am I eating?”

“Why don’t you eat some of it and tell me.”

Link knew nothing of what he was about to eat. He didn’t even know what it was called if he could recognize the taste. He still had to do it in order to not disrupt this misplaced trust he had with the Gerudos. Uneasily, Link picked up his fork and picked and cut into the apparent meat. It was still hot, he didn’t know how long it had been there. He raised it to his nose and smelled it. Something about the smell caught something in his memory. He knew what this was, he didn’t have to guess and have the guards turn on him. He put it into his mouth and began chewing. The succulent meat was very tender, just like it was supposed to be.

“Well, do you know what it is?”

He looked up at the Gerudo and said, “Yes, this is crow meat.”

Link never remembered having crow meat before. But, for some reason he knew what he had just tasted. Link knew for certain that he never had crow meat, but knowing what it was startled him. He put down his fork and stood up very abruptly. He put some room between him and the Gerudos. They turned around and one asked, “Hey, what’s the matter Link? I know the meat isn’t that bad.”

Link drew his sword ready to take on the Gerudos. They were trying to confuse him and deceive him. He already felt himself believing them and had to stop. The Gerudo that was talking to him stood and said in a worried voice, “Are you going to fight us over this?”

Link swallowed the rest of the meat in his mouth and charged at the Gerudo. Everyone was in utter shock as they watched Link’s sword pierce their commanding officer’s chest. Link was their ally, not an enemy. Usually, if a stranger moved like he did they would have already had their swords out and engaged in a fight. But, since he wasn’t an enemy, the Gerudo didn’t think to move out of the way or grab her sword and defend herself. However, the sense of shock was over quickly as the others grabbed their swords and surrounded Link.

“Link, what the hell did you just do?! You just killed Nasuri!”

Link heeded them not, he was not going to let them draw him in with lies. He killed an enemy and that was all. Link advanced on one of the Gerudos and slashed at her. She dodged out of the way, of course, but disbelief pulsed through her. None of the Gerudos were prepared for something like this. They were having a friend attack them and that was something none of them had ever experienced. Link stabbed at the Gerudo in front of him and met her gut. The poor Gerudo was the one who didn’t shake the feeling of shock from herself quick enough. Link pulled his sword out of her and she fell, holding her wound. Link jumped back to avoid a slash that was finally made by one of the Gerudos. The long, curved sword came close to Link, but not close enough. Link fell to his knee and spun in a circle. Two Gerudos jumped out of the way, but one did not. His sword sliced cleanly through her legs. Blood spurted out and spilled onto the floor. She fell and grabbed at her legs to keep the blood in. But, the others had flipped out of the way and weren’t close enough to stop Link from slicing the wounded Gerudo’s head off.

“Link, what are you doing?!” one of the Gerudos called out.

They all were confused, Link would never do something like this...at least not in his right mind. In just one minute he had taken out two of their own and no one had even planted a scratch on him. However, they were all through with trying to stop Link verbally and were now resorting to physically stopping him. They all jumped at once, bringing their swords down on him. Link pulled his sword over his head to block all of their swords. The way his sword was placed, he stopped all of them from coming down. He pushed up and knocked their swords out of their hands. He reached forward with his sword and pierced one of the Gerudo’s throats. He hit a main artery, and when he extracted his sword blood gushed out of her neck. He didn’t have to worry about her anymore, she would die either from the wound or suffocation soon enough. Link pulled his sword into the air and began charging it. His sword glowed blue and white, like a very hot fire. The Gerudos were watching all of their sisters die and were now watching their own demise. Link threw the energy at the remaining Gerudos, killing them instantly. Link took a second to absorb what just happened. He breathed in deeply and wondered how Ganondorf was doing.


Being inside the Gerudo fortress brought back thoughts of nostalgia. He couldn’t believe that just over four years ago he was ruling over these incompetent women. He was once feared, respected, and praised by many. Now, he was not their savior anymore, he was their antagonist. He didn’t care for them any longer. He would kill them all now for following Nabooru. They would all die a most painful death. But something in Ganondorf told him maybe you shouldn’t do this. After all, they are your sisters, your mothers, and your grandmothers. They raised you from birth. Ganondorf’s, disliked, humane side emerged through all of the hate he felt right now. His conscience was right. He was raised by all of them. He knew what kind of people they were, though. The Gerudos were strong together, but they all still yearned for a leader-someone to guide them. When Ganondorf was old enough he was crowned King of the Gerudos. Being just eight-teen he wasn’t ready for something as huge as controlling an entire race. Soon, being spoiled and having nearly every wish of his granted turned him into something he would probably despise, if he had any humanity. After fifteen more years of his indifferent and callous ruling, the Gerudos turned to someone who would be more generous and kind to them. This new sought out ruler was Nabooru.

She had discovered what Ganondorf was doing thirteen years ago that led up to him becoming supreme ruler in Hyrule. She exposed this to the Gerudos and they unanimously voted to abdicate him from their throne and make him their enemy. After removing him from his position the entire race of Gerudos voted to have Nabooru placed into power as their new ruler. She, of course, was much more lenient than Ganondorf and even removed many of his inhumane and ridiculous laws he had enacted in order to keep control over the Gerudos. Hundreds of Gerudos died because of his unrighteous ruling, and now they planned to exterminate Ganondorf. However wrong they were to Ganondorf, they were still his family.

What am I thinking?! They are my enemy, do I have feelings for my enemies? No! The Gerudos are no different.

That easily he convinced himself to go through with his plan. His benevolent side never took a hold on him long enough to consider the better alternative to a decision he had. He was going to kill them all, but most importantly, he was going to kill Nabooru. She was not being killed just because she was a sage. Ganondorf would still kill her even if she was not a sage. Nabooru was a traitor and needed to be dealt with accordingly. Mainly...a cleaved head. He would kill her and have her head displayed as a warning to others who even considered the thought of attempting at overthrowing him.

Ganondorf snuck through one of the long corridors and ended up in the resting area. There were plenty of chairs to choose from to sit in. A couch was the only large object in the room. Three Gerudos were all that were in there. It might be difficult, but it wasn’t impossible to accomplish. Two were sitting comfortably with their eyes closed. He could only hope that they were asleep, which would be too perfect. The other was lying on the couch polishing her sword. She was the farthest one from him-if he ran into the room the Gerudo would see him and wake the others. He would be surrounded, but he had been in worse situations.

Ganondorf ran into the room and went straight for the awake Gerudo. She looked up and screamed, “Ganondorf is here! Wake up you fools!”

She grasped her sword in front of her and rose to her feet. Ganondorf kept his eyes on the one with the sword, because she was the most deadly woman right now. The two others jumped to their feet, petrified for a moment. Ganondorf was already at the other Gerudo when the two, now awake ones, grabbed a weapon. Ganondorf was not going to fight fair, it always wasted time and energy fighting a fair duel. He used magic while he fought, which always gave him the upper hand in a battle. He powered his fist with dark energy and punched the Gerudo while she blocked one of his simple attacks. The energy from the punch burned her chest and killed her instantly. Ganondorf turned quickly to find two swords coming at him. He ducked his head and swung his sword to slice one of the Gerudo’s arms off. Taking advantage of her loss, he quickly attacked her. Within a matter of moments she was killed. One left he thought. This Gerudo was evidently frightened at the sight of Ganondorf. He watched her grip on her sword. It was very weak and the sword shook in her hands. He felt no sympathy for her, just like they showed him no sympathy when they exiled him out of his home.

“St...stand down Ganondorf,” she said, weakly.

He walked closer to her, knowing that she would not lay a finger on him.

“What? Do you know exactly who I am? I am the one who took over Hyrule. And right now, I am taking out every sage one by one. There are only two left, and one of them is Nabooru. If you choose I can make your death painless, but if you do not tell me where she is I will make sure that you die a most torturous death.”

His words struck fear into her. She could stop him, her body would not obey her. Ganondorf walked closer and was now right in front of the Gerudo. He watched as her bottom lip began quivering. He reached forward and snatched her sword out of her hand.

“Are you going to tell me or not?”

The Gerudo could not say anything, at least nothing that would save her life. Ganondorf was not very patient, and this coward of a Gerudo was not going to tell him anything. Ganondorf raised her sword and cleaved her head off with her own sword. The headless body fell to the ground along with the head. He stood there for a second looking at the pathetic corpse. He shook his head as he dropped the bloody sword next to its master’s body.

This was not helping Ganondorf. He killed three Gerudos and didn’t get any information as to Nabooru’s whereabouts. In anger he kicked at the dead body of the woman he just killed. The lifeless stiff traveled across the room a couple of feet and came to rest on top of another body. He had to find Nabooru before somebody found out about what happened here. He didn’t mind taking on a few Gerudo warriors, but the whole...that was different. He would definitely need Link’s help if it came to that. He gawked at the blood that pooled around the bodies and realized that he just killed his family members. They were his family, they were no! I will not be drawn into that again. They are my enemies, and that is that. I am not going to allow them to get away with what they have done to me simply because they are family members. I could care less; I know this isn’t affected Link at all by this. He doesn’t look at the faces of these Gerudos and see a familiar face. He doesn’t have to kill his own kind. All I really want is Nabooru. If I kill her then I may leave the rest of the Gerudo to themselves. They are weak without someone to guide them. It’s like the queen of an any colony: if the queen dies then the other ants die soon after. They do not have someone to tell them to do something.

Ganondorf was through with his contemplations, he knew thinking about killing Nabooru wasn’t going to make it happen. He continued through the fortress. Walking through the door to his left led him outside. Outside he was met with a downpour. Being soaked for hours did not bother him. He knew he would not be affected by the will of nature. Water could never hurt him...but a certain person could... He shook it from his mind, he wasn’t going to worry himself about that right now. Link wasn’t anywhere near him. He sensed Link, he was behind him, still in the fortress. Ganondorf walked around the corner and spied another door. This was the entrance to his chambers when he was in power here. Perhaps she had taken up residence in his place. Another way to be insolent, no doubt. He looked at his sword as he continued towards the door and noticed the blood being rinsed off by the rain. The blood dripped off of his blade and left a trail in the mud. Blood mixed with mud was an unusual sight. He shrugged it off and walked through the door.

As he walked in he smelt the faint scent of lavender. Potpourri was evident in the air now that he took a couple of more steps into the chamber. Then, like something out of a fairy tale, he saw Nabooru. Through sheer curtains he saw her, lying on what appeared to be a silk bed. She had her arms wrapped around a pillow and had her face on it. There was a sheet covering her body up to her waist. Ganondorf stopped, realizing that she was asleep. For a second, Ganondorf heard the word beautiful go through his mind. It was like a fairy tale. Nabooru looked like a beautiful princess asleep in her bed, peacefully.

He sheathed his sword and walked quietly up to her. He spread the curtains and sat on her bed next to her. Old memories of them raced through his head. He never told a soul about their relationship together. It was for a short time, but it was more than Ganondorf would ever spend with a woman. Before this whole Triforce thing started, the two of them were seeing each other. Both were deeply in love with each other. Ganondorf had everything he desired, but one thing he didn’t have before he met her was happiness. When he first asked her out, she refused. Ganondorf loved her so much that he began showing her how. He would send her things like flowers, which was very rare to see in a desert. He wrote her letters and even took time out of his life to see her.

At first, she was hesitant to get into a relationship with someone like the King of the Gerudos. But, time passed and she found herself admiring him and adoring him more and more . She always thought that he was a stuck-up spoiled brat. However, with every flower and every note he wrote her, she began developing feelings for him. His next attempt at wooing her succeeded. She said yes to going out with him at last. Nabooru was the only person who could bring laughter and happiness into his life. You would never have known it, but Ganondorf had a gentle side. During their time together, unrighteous laws were done away with, and even most of the prisoners in the dungeons were set free. Nabooru brought the real person out of him and showed him what loving really meant.

However, when Ganondorf got word of the Triforce, it was as if everything him and Nabooru had been and done together never happened. He stopped spending time with her and at one point all together stopped seeing her. He devoted all of his time to figuring out a way of getting the Triforce. He discovered that the way into the Sacred Realm lay in the Temple of Time, which was in Hyrule castle. Nabooru caught wind of his plans to obtain the Triforce and become the most powerful man in all of the lands. She found what he was doing to be wrong and immoral. She had confronted him about it and he simply told her to ‘keep her business out of a king’s life’. She took his words very hard. Her love for him died as he said those words. Nabooru knew then that all he really wanted was just power. He used her, like buying her for her feelings just so that he could experience human emotions. In rage, she told the Gerudos what he was planning on doing and they threw him out of their land. Before he left he promised her one thing, that he would get his revenge on her.

Ganondorf reached forward and brushed some of her hair out of her face. Her face was so beautiful, so tan and so luscious. She had the most tender lips he had ever felt. He wanted to pretend like this was a dream, and he could reach down there and kiss her. That she would wake up and take him in open arms. For so long he had been without a woman...and a woman’s touch. What he experienced in the short time they had together he would never forget. The prior feelings of happiness engulfed him again. He wanted so much to just be with her. But, he knew that could never happen. This was no fairy tale, and there was going to be no happy ending...at least not for her. She stirred and turned onto her back. Ganondorf had not seen a woman in so long, that seeing her naked body was somewhat new to him. He took in every curve on her body, indulging every inch of her. However, he watched as her eyes began to flutter. He leaned back a little, and felt his hand go to his sword.
Nabooru’s eyes were now open, and what she saw left her with a scream in her throat. Ganondorf reached forward and clasped his hand around her throat, preventing her from screaming anymore. She reached up and put her hands on his to try and free his grip. He was too strong, though. Ganondorf listened to her struggle for air. The look on her face was of horror. Ganondorf felt his feelings come back to him. I’m killing her...I’m killing Nabooru. I...can’t...she means so much to me. Ganondorf’s hand released from Nabooru’s throat involuntarily. She jumped back to the rear of the bed and covered herself with a blanket, all the while crying.
“Why are you here? You are supposed to be in the Dark Realm.”

“I know, I found a way out.”

He talked very calmly for some reason.

“Why Nabooru, why couldn’t we be together? Why did you have to betray me?”

Through her sniveling she said, “Because, you were going to destroy an entire kingdom just to get the Triforce. What you did was wrong. You killed innocent people for something as the Triforce. How could I have stayed with someone like you. You had turned into a monster!”

Her last word rang violently in his ears. It hurt so much that the one woman he loved would say that to him.

“I’m sorry you feel that way, but, you did betray me and I cannot let you get away with that.”

He pulled his sword out and she saw the blood that covered it. He killed some of the others.

“I’m sorry Nabooru, but I have to do this. You and the other sages are what stand in my way.”

In a brave attempt, Nabooru reached forward and put her hand on his to keep his sword down.

“Why do you want all of this power? You have toiled years and still have not gotten it. Don’t you get the idea that you were not meant to have that much power? Think about all the things you gave up for this lost cause. You gave up a life as a ruler of the Gerudos, you gave up a life of no bloodshed, and you gave up a life with me. We could have had something, but you chose to blow it all away on some stupid Triforce. When will you learn that power only corrupts?”

Her touch was almost all that went through his head. He nearly missed all of what she said. Her fingers touching his sent jolts of pain through him. He knew that no matter what she said, or how he felt, that he was still going to have to kill her.

“I...just have to. I don’t know why. Power is all I have any more. I can’t go back to my former life. The best thing for me is to make sure that no body can interfere with me. I love...I mean...I loved you. I have to do this Nabooru, there’s no way around it. Believe me, if I could go back to the way it was I would. But, since that cannot happen I have to continue my life like this. Since you are a sage you are obligated to stop me. In my search for power, you are an enemy to me. Therefore, I have to stop you.”

He watched her eyes water. He knew that she knew she was going to die. Ganondorf dropped his sword and grabbed a dagger out of his side holster. He reached forward with his free hand and brought her close to him. He looked her deep in her green eyes and kissed her. He had been without her lips for so long, that he felt he like he could stay here forever. But, he knew what had to be done. All the while, Nabooru did not stop him from kissing her. She actually welcomed it, strangely enough. She knew she was going to die, but she wanted to experience Ganondorf’s human side, just one last time. They remained there for a moment, lost in their kiss. Then Ganondorf thrust his dagger into her heart. Her lips stopped moving and he felt her grab her wound. He held her in his arms and rocked her, all the while whispering to her, “Nabooru, I love you. Forgive me, if you can, for my past and future transgressions. I will never forget you, my love.”

She cried and coughed into his shoulder, until there was no life left in her. She did not move and neither did Ganondorf. He stayed there, holding her like he had just lost a love. But he had, he lost the only person he could ever love. Now he knew how Link probably felt-the feeling of losing someone you love. It was a horrible feeling, it felt worse than the years he spent in the Dark Realm. It hurt so much that he was ready to do anything to take things back the way they were so that he could have a relationship with her. A tear came to his tightly closed eyes. It traveled down his cheek and stopped at his chin. He brought a hand up and wiped his chin dry. He finally opened his eyes and looked into Nabooru’s face. Even in death she looked beautiful. Her color of life had not left her yet, nearly deceiving Ganondorf into thinking that she was still alive. He looked down at his hand and saw it still grasping the dagger that was inside of Nabooru’s chest. He pulled it out of her slowly, noticing that her blood still freely flowing out of her. He laid her down on her bed and covered her with a blanket. He reached down and gave her a kiss on the cheek. Ganondorf stood and left her, not wanting to turn back. Knowing if he did he would most likely do something foolish, like try and bring her back to life.

Upon exiting, Ganondorf saw Link coming towards where he just left. When Link reached Ganondorf he asked, “Did you find Nabooru?”
In a very solemn voice he said, “Yes, I found her.”

“What’s the matter?” he asked, sensing something amiss with him.

“Nothing, she’s dead. Lets go.”

Ganondorf walked out of the Gerudo Fortress with Link following behind. The only thing that ran through his head was regret. He regretted ever leaving Nabooru and taking up this life of pain and destruction. He could have had a life with her, but now that would all be impossible. He could do only one thing now, finish what he started years ago. He would have to rule Hyrule now, there was nothing else he could do. If he decided to stop killing and stop destroying, everyone would have him locked away or executed. He couldn’t let that happen, he was not planning on dying any time soon. He chose his destiny a long time ago.

Link wanted to say something to Ganondorf, but felt it wasn’t his place to get into his business. If he wanted to confide in him Ganondorf would do it. Link gave Ganondorf the space he needed and would welcome his thoughts and ideas when the time came. Wanting to change the tone, he said to Ganondorf, “The last sage is Saria, she is at the Kokiri Forest. We shouldn’t have any problems getting to her and getting rid of her.”