FicWad

The Switch of Fate

By: USA Tiger

Disclaimer: The characters of The Legend of Zelda series belong to Nintendo.

Author Note: Ugh I know, over a year and a half of no updates. I really don’t have a good excuse, I had a bit of writer’s block and I’ve honesty haven’t had a big desire to have anything to do with fanfics in general for a big while. But I’m still writing and updating when I can it’ll just be slow going. We’re in the home stretch of this story, I’m not about to abandon it any time soon.

With Breath of the Wild coming out, I can already see small handful of things I could add to this version of Hyrule just from the trailers but we’ll see if anything is added once the game comes out and I’ve had a chance to play it. Hyrule Warriors will also have a huge inspiration with some stuff, that is now my favorite version of Ganondorf and how I imagine him during the adult half of the game.

On another note, I have recently joined the ranks of twitter and set up an account for my fanfics where I’ll share updates, fic recs and all other things. You can find me under usa_tiger1983

Chapter was betaed by my main minion Asilyessam.

Chapter 18

The damage to Kakariko Village was nowhere near as bad as Sheik had first feared. Other than some surface damage from the fires and a couple of roofs that needed to be repaired, all of the buildings were intact. The rain that had started after the attack by the shadow being in the well on himself and Link had helped keep the fires under control until the villagers could put them out. Amazingly no one was seriously hurt either except for maybe a minor burn or two. In the end the attack had been a scare tactic by Zelda and her witches as well as a distraction so the ice witch Kotake could free the shadow being from the seals his mother had put up years ago.

As he sat there on the roof of his old house and listened to the people of the village, it seemed Zelda’s attempt to scare and cow the people back to blindly following her had backfired. They were angry that Zelda had once again attacked their homes. They already lost their homes and most even families when Zelda’s possessed army of knights and monsters had attacked and destroyed Hyrule Castle Town, forcing many to flee to the nearby Kakariko Village at the base of Death Mountain. There they had rebuilt their lives and had been for the most part left alone by Zelda as she spread her rule over the rest of Hyrule.

But everyone in the village had heard of Link’s heroic efforts to defeat Zelda, of the young hero pushing back the darkness that had choked the land for so long. How the forests to the east were now green and safe, or as safe as the forests got, again. They all seen the darkness leave the volcano they lived in the shadow of and, given time, soon they would know that Lake Hylia was once again filled with clear cool water. And if Link was successful, soon this village would be cleaned of the darkness as well. Sheik had every reason to believe Link would succeed.

That didn’t mean Sheik wasn’t worried, he knew just what the temple was like being the next in line as the Sage of Shadow should his mother Impa die. And that wasn’t even counting whatever Zelda’s dark magics had done to his people’s temple. He was so worried in fact that instead of going back to his village in the forest and seeing a healer about his ribs, Sheik was waiting for Link. A stupid thing to do of course but he was too worried to even think about leaving. So instead he had drank a healing potion, which took care of the worst of the damage but left his ribs bruised and aching.

Sheik could feel the moment that Link defeated the Death Sword and cleansed the Shadow Temple. The sky above the village began to clear and the air suddenly felt a lot lighter. A pulse of power was felt by everyone as rush of purple light rolled over the village coming from the direction of the graveyard. As everyone came out of their homes wondering what the magic they felt had been, commenting on how much lighter they felt, Sheik grinned and teleported to the grave yard to wait on Link.

******

Inside the Chamber of Sages, Link turned to face the symbol of the Sage of Shadows as a purple light shown brightly and Impa arose among the glow her arms crossed over her chest.

“The boy with the Royal Family’s Ocarina… as I expected, you have come,” Impa said as she gently tapped her right hand against her arm. “I am Impa, one of the Sheikah. I was once one of the guards of the king of Hyrule and I am the protector of his majesty Prince Llyr, and I am so the Sage who guards the Shadow Temple.”

“Hello Impa,” Link said with a smile. “Sheik was worried to death over you.”

“Then my sons will be pleased to know I have survived,” Impa said. “You have grown into fine young man Link, you carry within you the Spirit of the First Hero of her grace Hylia. You have done well in awakening my fellow Sages and defeating the darkness Zelda has spread over the land. Take this, a portion of my power.” Impa held out her hand a purple light filling it. When the light died down, a purple medallion with the symbol of the Shadow Sage floated above her hand. As Link wrapped his hand around the medallion to take it, Impa placed her other hand on top of his stop him. “Please, continue to look out for my sons and his majesty in my stead. Tell Sheik and Kain I am proud of them and to look after each other.”

“I will Impa,” Link promised. Impa nodded and let go of Link’s hand, allowing him to take the medallion at last. She watched as he stepped into the glowing circle of light in the middle of the chamber and was teleported away. Her lips quirked just slightly, thinking the boy was something else. He had defeated an evil that not even she had been able to destroy, only seal away. She had very high hopes that he would completely free them from the Queen of Evil.

***

As soon as Link’s feet touched the ground, he was tackled by Sheik sending them both sprawling in the dirt.

“Thank you, thank you Link,” Sheik said his voice muffled where it was pressed against Link’s shoulder. Link grinned and hugged the other youth back.

“You’re welcome Sheik,” he said.

“He would have had to go to the temple anyway,” Navi pointed out. Link scowled at Navi for her words while Sheik finally lifted his head.

“I don’t care about that, I’m just glad my mother is alive and that you are alright,” Sheik said. He gave into temptation and pressed a quick kiss to Link’s mouth before pulling away. Link blinked as he sat up and pressed his fingers to his lips, he had never been kissed before and he wondered at the fluttering feeling in his chest. Sheik blushed softly. “Sorry I-“

“No, it’s ok… I never had a kiss before other than Saria kissing my cheek,” Link said. Sheik smiled softly and couldn’t help the small flutter of hope in his heart. Link stood and reached down to help Sheik stand up. As the Sheikah teen was pulled to his feet, Sheik hissed in pain and pressed a hand to his ribs. “Sheik, are you ok?”

“Yeah, my ribs just hurt,” Sheik said.

“You were supposed to go to your village’s healer,” Link scolded softly.

“I know, but I couldn’t leave. Not without helping the village and not until I was sure you and Mother were alright,” Sheik said.

“How is the village?” Link asked.

“The damage from the fires was not as bad as it first seemed,” Sheik said. “No one was badly hurt in the village either.”

“Thank Farore,” Link said with a smile then shook his head. “I’ve got to tell you Sheik, the Shadow Temple was very… creepy.”

“Sorry about that, but we don’t call it the ‘House of the Dead’ for no reason,” Sheik said as he leaned back against the fence on the edge of the small cliff.

“Why is it like that? It’s nothing like the other temples,” Navi asked. Sheik sighed and rubbed his face.

“The Sheikah have a long and bloody past my friends,” Sheik said. “I will explain at the village, my ribs are starting to really ache now.”

“Alright,” Link agreed. Sheik held open his arms for his friend then tossed a deku nut to the ground once Link and Navi where pressed against him, teleporting them to the hidden Sheikah village.

******

A scream of rage tore through the dark tower. In her throne room Zelda sat upon her throne, her hand clutched into a fist while the other gripped the arm of the chair. She had a sneer on her face and was leaning forward, glaring down at the knight that had just brought her the news about the Shadow Temple. The knight felt a trickle of sweat race down his face under the helmet he wore.

“Get. Out,” Zelda said in a low dangerous voice. The knight didn’t need to be told twice and ran out of the room like his ass was on fire. As soon as the doors closed Zelda stood, grabbing a goblet from the table next to her throne and flinging it against the wall. Another temple, lost! She stalked over to the window that looked out over Hyrule, her hands braced against the windowsill as she gazed out.

“Damn that boy,” She said. “Damn the Sheikah.”

How? How had the boy defeated the creature from the well? Not even the Sheikah, the loyal dogs of the Goddess Hylia and her descendants, had been able destroy the creature, only seal it away. That was why she had the witches go break the seal, she was sure it would have killed that annoying little flea Link. But no, somehow the boy had come out on top and placed the Shadow Sage in her rightful place.

Zelda growled to herself as she turned away from the window and started to pace her throne room. She couldn’t believe how wrong everything was going! One by one the Temples had slipped from her grasp, all of her curses broken. She had received reports that Zora’s domain was half way unfrozen and that Lake Hylia was once again filled with water. Her puppet Dark Link was lost to her as well, the boy had broken the mind control spell she had used on his dark twin and had delivered Dark Link to Ganondorf. The annoying king of the Gerudo was as powerful as she in the ways of magic and no doubt by now he had assured her puppet could no longer be controlled by her.

She had one temple left under her control, just one! The Temple was under the control of her mother figures Kotake and Koume, it had been for years. Not even the Gerudo had been able to take the temple back from the witches in the long past.

Then there were the rumors that her bastard of a cousin Llyr, the younger prince of Calatia and the boy her father had made his heir, was within Hyrule as well. No doubt protected and hidden away by the Sheikah. She gritted her teeth and clenched her hands into fists.

This was unacceptable! She was the king’s daughter and the rightful ruler of Hyrule! Still after so many years it angered her he would skip over her and given the kingdom to Llyr when she was his child and therefore she should have been his heir! But oh she fixed that, with the help of Kotake and Koume, and took her birthright by force. But now it was falling apart!

On her left hand the Triforce of Wisdom pulsed catching Zelda’s attention. She held up her hand and looked at the glowing symbol on the back of her hand then took a deep breath and forced herself to calm while grasping her left hand with the right.

“I need to be calm… I am wise, that is why the Triforce of Wisdom chose me. It knew I twas the rightful ruler…” Zelda said softly as she closed her eyes and found her center again. Once she felt herself settle again and turned to the window again. She had to do something about the boy Link before he took the Spirit Temple from her. More pressing…. She needed to do something about the Sheikah and the Gerudo… And her cousin Llyr.

A glint of light caught Zelda’s attention from the direction of her throne. She turned and looked at it, looking above it. The light from the sunset on the horizon glinted off a large trident that was hanging over her throne, glinting off diamond shaped red jewel set in it.

It was called the Trident of Power, not long after Hyrule had been completely under her rule Kotake and Koume had suggested that she take it. It was, they said, a weapon as powerful as the Master Sword. It’s dark equal as it were. The only other weapon that could compare was the fabled Four Sword.

It had once been a sword, one that belonged to the Demon King Demise, a great and powerful being that had nearly taken the Triforce for his own and had nearly destroyed the world. That was until the Goddess Hylia had sealed him away until the Hero of the Sky had used the Triforce to destroy him. Or the Hero fought Demise to the death using the Master Sword; the witches were never really clear on that. One said one thing and the other witch said another.

Which ever had happen, Demise’s dark blade had been left behind and found by a race called the Zuna. The Zuna lived deep in the desert, deeper still than the Gerudo ventured, in a place called the Desert of Doubt. There the Zuna had built a large pyramid and that was where the sword had been taken. They had re-forged the blade into the Trident of Power and had kept it there ever since. Well until Zelda came that is, no matter how wise and mighty they might have been in the past, the simple Zuna were unable to stand up to Zelda and her forces. She had taken the Trident as her own and now it hung in her throne room.

There was one other thing that made the Trident special, what had made it special when it had been a sword of dark power. Within the Trident laid a spirit, at least according to the witches. The spirit, demon, or whatever the being was laid dormant inside… but now Zelda planed on calling on that spirit. Her puppet Dark Link had not worked out as she hoped, she could see now she made the puppet to human, to alive to be any use.

But the spirit within the Trident, it would listen to her and do her bidding. She wasn’t called the Demon Queen for nothing after all. With a manic glint in her eyes Zelda held out her hand and called the Trident of Power to her hand. She pushed her magic into the Trident, shivering and smiling as the dark power with washed over her and touched the mind of the spirit within. Grabbing onto that mind, she pulled him out of the weapon.

The gem on the front of the Trident glowed, the light spreading to the entire trident until the whole weapon was covered. The light drew itself up into a ball and hovered a moment over Zelda’s hand then flew away, landing on the floor in front of the dark queen.

A flash of light had Zelda holding up her hand to keep from being blinded. When she was able to look again, a figure was kneeling in front of her, his or her head bowed low.

“I am at your service my Master,” the figure, the man she noticed, said his voice had a slight nasally sound to it and she could hear just a hint of insanity within that voice.

“Stand,” Zelda commanded. “Let me look at you.” The man stood up and let Zelda look to her content.

The man had short stark white hair that was long in the front and fell over the left side of his face. The ear on the right was pointed, not unlike a Hylain or a Sheikah, but the left ear she noticed when he shifted his head just slightly was rounded more like a Human or Gerudo. He was tall, just a little taller than her, with a hard lean body. He was dressed in a solid white pants and shirt, diamond shapes cut out in the legs and the sleeveless top had half a diamond shape cut out on the top and bottom of the shirt. His gloves were white as well, with more diamond shaped holes in the fabric. (1)

He wore a red half cloak that was made to look tattered in the back and a high collar that rose above his head. Throughout the red fabric were golden diamonds in a row and a chain decorating the front. The man wore a golden arm band on the upper part of his right arm and a large blue crystal shaped earring in his pointed ear. Around his waist was a golden sash with large red crystal, one that looked like the one that had been on the Trident of Power, on his right hip.

When Zelda looked in his eyes, they were solid black and had a look of deep insanity in them. The underside of his eyes were painted purple and his skin, what she could see of it, was a grey color almost like stone.

“What are you called?” Zelda asked. The witches had never told her the name of the being inside the Trident.

“I am the Demon Lord Ghirahim my Master,” the man said with a low bow and chuckle. “And I am your loyal servant.” Zelda gave a smirk in satisfaction; yes she was quite pleased with this creature. She once again took her seat upon her throne and looked down at Ghirahim once more.

While Zelda had studied Ghirahim, he had in turned studied Zelda. He found he was pleased with what he saw, she was not his former Master Demise but Zelda had the same… feeling of power… that his old Master had at one time. Or at least she would as she continued to grow into her power. She was not Demise reborn, not in the true sense, but she had the same hate, the same darkness that he had.

Ghirahim wondered how long it had been since that final battle with the Sky Child, just thinking about the boy made him seethe in cold rage. Years he knew, decades he was sure, perhaps even hundreds of years had passed since that day. It was hard to tell when in his weapon form, he only had a very vague sense of the world around him. He had remembered the reshaping of his sword form to the trident form, which had thankfully not altered body which was already perfection!

“I have a task for you, three in fact, that I am sure you will enjoy,” Zelda said to Ghirahim.

“And what does my Master wish of me?” Ghirahim said with a low sweeping bow.

“My rule of Hyrule is being challenged by the Hero of Time, I would like you to stomp the annoying bug in his tracks before he takes my last hold on this land,” Zelda instructed. “You will know him by the green tunic he wears and the fairy that follows him. He also wields the Master Sword.”

“The Sky Child?” Ghirahim asked his black eyes flashing, he thought of the annoying Sky Child who had worn a green tunic and hat.

“No, the Hero of the Sky was some time ago, this boy comes from the forest realm,” Zelda said with a shake of her head. “I also demand you find and destroy the Sheikah.”

“That I will do with relish my Master,” Ghirahim said with a manic grin. “I will enjoy ripping the dogs of the Goddess apart!”

“Last you will bring my cousin, Prince Llyr, to me. I have one piece of the Triforce,” Zelda said holding up her hand where the Triforce of Wisdom shone brightly. “It is possible he had one of the others. And if not… I will take care of my father’s so-called heir myself.”

“As you wish Master,” Ghirahim said, drawing a saber from nowhere and cutting the air in front of him. Ghirahim disappeared in a flash, leaving behind a scattering of diamond shapes that faded away. Zelda smirked and leaned back in her throne, a satisfied look on her face.

“Only a matter of time before I retake my kingdom,” She said into the dark room then looked down at her hand with the Triforce in it. “Then, once I have the Triforce of Power and Courage, the world!” Her dark laughter rang out through the tower halls and into the night.

*******

“The temple wasn’t always like that,” Sheik said as he leaned back in the chair. He and Link were sitting in Sheik’s home that he shared, or had shared, with his mother and younger brother. Kain had been told that their mother had gone to perform her duties as the new Sage of Shadow and that she was safe. The younger Sheikah had been upset but understood the duty that their people had and accepted the change. It didn’t stop the younger teen from being upset and leaving to have time to himself.

As soon as Sheik and Link had returned to the hidden forest village, Sheik had gone to the village’s healer. The healer had been upset that Sheik had gone so long without healing after the attack from Death Sword and threatened to leave the bard like that to heal on his own before sighing and healing Sheik’s ribs. They were still just the tiniest bit sore, Sheik was sure that was to teach him a lesson.

“How did it get like that then?” Link asked. He knew that not all the Temples looked like they originally had, the Forest Temple currently looked like an very old manor house or small castle, built to look like that by a researcher and historian who had been interested in the Sages. He had moved there with his wife and four daughters, each of which had died in a short time and the father driven insane, if the diaries Link had found was to be believed.

“You must understand Link; the history of the Sheikah isn’t all nice. We are in a way the shadow of the Hylian people, we deal in the darkness so others will not have to,” Sheik said. “Remember the story Llyr and I told you, back at the Temple of Hylian?”

“About the great evil and a hero from the sky wielding the Master Sword?” Link asked. Sheik nodded and leaned forward, propping his arms up on the table.

“Before that time, when Hylia was still a goddess, and the evil one hadn’t been sealed away yet by her, he had an army. We Sheikah have always been her loyal servants, and protected this land which came to be known as Hyrule in her stead after she gave up her goddess form,” Sheik explained. “Sometimes… my people have done things that would make other’s turn away in horror.”

“You’ve killed people,” Navi said.

“Yes, in the past,” Sheik said with a sigh. “It was war, and then we guard the dead so they can tell no tales. Every time an enemy of Hylian’s descendants, the Royal Family, or of Hyrule itself, attempts to move against them, it is our people that do what others can not to keep the land safe. Like I said, my people’s history is bloody and isn’t always nice and we know this.”

“That’s… a little disturbing to think about,” Link mused. “I never would have thought that by just watching everyone here.”

“In times of peace the more… darker… parts of our race does not show as much,” Sheik said. “The Shadow Temple is where everyone was taken, and they say the dead still talk, so we seal the lingering ghosts inside. Not pretty, or nice, but there you go. In time the actions made the Shadow Temple the House of the Dead.”

“Hmmm…” Link mused over this then sighed. “I guess every race has its dark side.”

“Well, maybe not every race,” Sheik said with a small smile. “The Kokiri and the Kikwi both seem pretty nice.”

“Some Kokiri can be pretty mean spirited,” Link said with a small shake of his head. Mido was a prime example of that but then again maybe the red head had finally ‘grown up’, in mind and spirit anyway. “Maybe not the same thing but that’s a close to ‘dark’ as they get. But I’ll agree with the Kikwi, they are the nicest if more timid race within the forest.”

“So what is our next plan of action?” Navi asked changing the subject. “We have one last sage to awaken.”

“This next temple, I’m going to guess it’s in the desert?” Link asked. “It’s the only place I haven’t been.”

“Yes… thought I honestly am not sure just where the Spirit Temple is,” Sheik said. “The desert is very… large. There are a lot of ruins and such within the area. A lot of old history there. I do know that the old Temple of Time is there.”

“The Temple of Time? Wait, isn’t that in Hyrule Castle Town?” Link asked surprised.

“It’s not the original building,” Sheik said with a shake of his head. “The Temple of Time was located in the desert, the ruins are still there in fact. I’ve never been to them but others have said they still stand. The building you know as the Temple of Time now was built by Rauru and the Sages of the past and it is just a building, one built to house the entryway to the Sacred Realm. They say the real temple exists outside of our realm, or maybe outside of time itself, much like the Temple of Light. And the ruins in the desert are just like the current temple, nothing but an outside covering.” (2)

“Wait, Rauru built the Temple of Time?” Link asked surprise. “But… the temple is really old isn’t it? Even if it’s not the original?”

“It was built after Hyrule was established as a nation and the royal family started its rule,” Sheik confirmed. “I think he is only exists in his mortal form within the Temple of Light in the Sacred Realm. If he must travel to ours, I believe he takes the form of a giant owl named Kaepora Geabora.”

“Rauru is that annoying owl!?” Link sputtered.

“You’ve met him?” Sheik asked.

“Din yes,” Link said with an annoyed sigh and roll of his eyes.

“We’ve had a few run-ins with Keapora while Link was a child, almost as if he was watching Link’s progress,” Navi explained. “Knowing that he is really Rauru I guess that makes sense but I never guessed they were the same being. Rauru seemed so different from his owl form.”

“Ugh, I don’t think I’ll be able to look at Rauru the same way again,” Link said with a groan as he pressed the heels of his hands against his eyes. Sheik watched his friend in amusement. “I really don’t want to think about that. How do we find the Spirit Temple?”

“Couldn’t you just teach Link the song to get there?” Navi asked. Sheik sighed and shook his head.

“Part of the test of being the Hero is locating the Temples, or at the very least having an idea where it is. Link was able to tell me the Water Temple was in Lake Hylia so I was allowed to teach him the Serenade of Water. Lake Hylia, while a pretty large lake, isn’t anywhere near the size of the desert. Unless Link is able to tell me just where the Spirit Temple is, I am bound by magic not to teach him,” Sheik said. “That is the limits that were put on me when I trained go be Link’s guide. The only reason why I was able to tell Link where the Shadow Temple was is because I am the next person in line to be the Shadow Sage, the magic of my sage blood was able to let me tell Link.”

“So… the next Sage of Spirit could tell me where the temple is?” Link guessed.

“It’s possible, but no one knows who the sage is,” Sheik said. “But… the Gerudo may know. In fact I’m sure they do know, Ganondorf rules over the desert so the Gerudo would know better than anyone where the temple would be.”

“… Do you think Ganondorf is the Sage of Spirit?” Link wondered tapping his fingers against his chin. “I mean, most of the other Sages were leaders of their people. Saria isn’t the leader of the Kokiri but she is a beloved member. Darunia is the leader of the Gorons, Ruto the Zora princess and your mom is sorta the leader of the Sheikah isn’t she?”

“Huh… never thought of that… maybe?” Sheik said. “Everyone was drawn to their temples, so we should see if Ganondorf is feeling drawn to his.”

“To the Gerudo Fortress then!” Navi said. “Sheik can just teleport us there.”

“No, they don’t like the Sheikah teleporting into their fortress remember?” Sheik said dryly. “We’ll have to go the long way, by foot or horse back.”

“Just teleport us back to Epona, we can ride her back to the desert,” Link said grinning, he loved riding on his horse. “You can ride with us.” Sheik nearly declined the offer, he did have a horse of his own after all, but stopped before the words left his lips. He realized that if he rode with Link, he would have to hold on to the other boy as they rode… One selfish little part of the Sheikah perked up at the idea and Sheik found himself saying instead,

“Alright, sounds like a plan. Let’s head out in the morning, I’m sure you’re tired from braving the Shadow Temple right after the Water Temple and my ribs need a little more time to heal.” The brilliant smile Link gave Sheik made his heart thud a little harder.

******

Ghirahim found himself in a world that was quite changed from what he remembered. Before he had returned to sword form for his master’s use, the land had been wild and untamed with scattered remains of the civilization that had once existed. Twisted broken remains that had fallen under his old master’s might that look the land hundreds and hundreds of years to recover from while his master had been sealed away by that dratted goddess and her reborn human form.

Now that land was filled with settlements once again, cities and towns filled with Hylia’s people, the Hylains, and the round ear Humans. The land had been named ‘Hyrule’. Ghirahim needed to know more of this time, of its people and how he might locate his targets. It only took a little digging around to find out about Zelda’s loyal witches and mother figures the witches Kotake and Koume who resided in a temple deep in the desert in what was once called Lanayru Desert, now Gerudo Desert.

Ghirahim appeared in a fabulous flash of diamond and sparkles, shaking his stunning white hair out with a flip over his shoulder then strode into the temple. As soon as Ghirahim reached the top of the stairs in the entrance hall of the temple, a burst of fire and ice appeared in the air forming into a pair of old green skin women. Ghirahim had to fight to keep the sneer of his face, both women were hideous to look at. He noticed that they were identical in very way except one had a blue stone on her forehead and ice-blue stripes on her robe and the cap on the end of her hair and her sister had a red stone with red strips and a cap.

“Demon Lord Ghirahim,” The one with the blue stone said.

“The loyal right hand to our lord Demise,” the other witch said.

“I am Kotake the witch of Ice,” The first witch said.

“And I am Koume the witch of Fire,” her sister finished.

“I don’t remember my master having either of you in his service,” Ghirahim commented his arms crossed over his chest and his weight leaned onto one hip.

“Sadly we were not yet alive during the time of our lord,” Kotake said.

“But we learned of our lord in our youth from another loyal subject and dedicated ourselves to him,” Koume added. “We worked from the shadows for years to help bring his great power back into this world.”

“Though not in the form we originally intended,” Kotake said with a ‘hee-hee-hee-hee’ laugh. Ghirahim looked intrigued, they were ugly but he could feel the power rolling off of them and they claimed to be loyal to their master.

“Go on,” he said.

“We intended for the Gerudo King Ganondorf to house our master’s hate and power,” Kotake said. “The pervious Gerudo king had died and his mother lay dying as well. We were for the most part unknown to the rest of the Gerudo and had planned on swooping in and offer to raise their new king as our own.”

“But somehow that annoying woman not only survived but convinced the others that we were un-trustworthy,” her sister said next. “So we bid our time and had our next chance drop right into our laps.”

“Most of the races of Hyrule were driven by greed and fought over the right to claim the Tri-Force, the powerful relic that belongs to our master,” Kotake said.

“All but the races for the forest that is,” Koume added.

“Oh that must had been fun, seeing them rip each other apart,” Ghirahim said with a wicked grin, his wide eyes filled with an insane light.

“For a while, we egged on who we could, but the Hylian king Dhanphos grew weary of war and instead became to unite all of the races,” Kotake said.

“Dhanphos?” Ghirahim asked.

“The descendant of Hylia’s reborn form Zelda, for whom our dark queen is named for,” Koume said with another ‘hee-hee’ laugh. Ghirahim smirked slightly seeing the delicious irony of it all. “She and the Hero of the Sky settled here on the surface and their children’s children named this land Hyrule and became its rulers.”

“Our Queen believes she is the blood child of the late king, but she does not know this was a ruse to protect her and her mother,” Kotake said. “We… helped… the new queen to pass on after Zelda’s birth and after the war had ended offered our services as nurses for the young princess.”

“With a little help of our magic to convince the king of course, we had to work quickly before the Goddess’s dog was given the task,” Koume sneered as she thought of Impa. “We also convinced the king it would be better to… send away… the woman.”

Ghirahim started to laugh as he saw what the witches had done, they had secured the adopted daughter of the King of Hyrule and raised her in their beliefs grooming her to take over their master’s power and quest for power. The laugh had a heavy dose of insanity in it and he started to walk around the chamber spread his arms out wide.

“Oh what a wonderful turn of events,” he said. “The only way it could have been better if she really had been Hylia’s descendant. Thought I suppose if she had been, your magics never would have worked on her. The… light…” his lips turned up into an ugly sneer at the word, “would have protected her.”

“Yes,” Kotake agreed.

“The girl serves her purpose well and soon our master’s hate and power will completely take her over,” Koume added.

“Tell me of the forest child, my mistress wishes for me to kill him,” Ghirahim said. “I can take out my hate for the Sky child on the boy.”

“We believe that the boy Link is the current form of Hylia’s chosen hero,” Koume said. “That he carries the same spirit as the hero from the sky though they do not share a bloodline.”

“He has entered each of the temples of the Sages, places of power that our Queen Zelda had filled with her dark magics to help anchor her rule over Hyrule,” Kotake said next. “We killed the spirits of the pervious sages, all by the sage of Light who escaped into the Sacred Realm.”

“Sacred Realm?” Ghirahim asked.

“The realm where the Triforce rests usually,” Koume remarked.

“A realm of golden light,” Kotake added.

“But since Zelda has started to spread her power, it had become a realm of wonderful darkness,” Koume took back over.

“The boy from the forest has reawakened the new sages of the temples, taking power away from our mistress,” Kotake said.

“I feel her power here,” Ghirahim said.

“This is the last place within Hyrule where Zelda’s power still rest,” Kotake said then started to laugh with a ‘Hee-hee-hee’. “It must drive the Gerudo king crazy to know Zelda has so much power within his own lands.”

“So the Forest Child will be coming here?” Ghirahim asked.

“No doubt, he and the Sheikah boy,” Koume agreed. A glint of smoldering anger entered Ghirahim’s eye but he kept it under control, just barely.

“One of her grace’s dogs?” He asked.

“The boy is tasked with leading the Hero of Time to each temple and teaching him the song to whisk him back,” Kotake explained. Ghirahim let out a gleeful laugh.

“Well… we should greet our guests when they come, shouldn’t we,” The demon lord said then disappeared in a shower of diamonds. The witch sisters laughed and also disappeared in twin puffs of smoke.

****

By the time Link and Sheik made it to Gerudo Valley, the sun was close to setting. Sheik would admit, only to himself, that he had greatly enjoyed the ride pressed up against Link’s back and holding onto the other teen as Epona raced across the fields. Link, too, had greatly enjoyed the experience. Not only the feel of the wind in his hair and his loyal steed under him, but the feel of Sheik holding onto him.

Link didn’t know what to make of the little pitter-pat his heart made when he was around Sheik. The way his whole being warmed when the other blond had kissed him. It had been nothing like the kisses Saria had given him, those had been the kiss of a best friend and sister figure. But Sheik’s kiss…. Link would be lying if he said he didn’t want to try another one. He just didn’t understand what these feelings meant… and he felt almost too shy to ask Sheik since the teen was the one who stirred up the feelings in Link.

So who could he ask? He couldn’t asked Saria or Fado, both of them were in the Sacred Realm. The same went for Darunia. Impa was Sheik’s mother, he couldn’t bring himself to ask her. He didn’t know Rauru well enough to ask. Ruto was out for sure since she had wanted to marry him right up to when she became a Sage.

Link’s eyes looked at his shoulder for a second as Epona walked up the ramp over the shallow pool of water, glancing at Navi. His fairy partner was a possibility… but no, this was not something he felt he could talk to Navi with. More than likely she would tell him to put it out of his mind since it had nothing to do with their quest.

“Look,” Navi said as she flew off Link’s shoulder to hover over his head. “The bridge is fixed!” Link and Sheik looked over at the bridge over the river, it had indeed been fixed. Sheik could see Mutoh and his four assistances packing up to leave.

“Mutoh!” Sheik called as they crossed the bridge. “You got the bridge fixed.”

“Now that those Gerudo weren’t stopping us, and these slackers finally decided to work,” Mutoh glared at one of the carpenters as the man passed, “it took us no time at all to fix the bridge. Fine piece of work it is too.” The man smiled and puffed up a little in pride. “They’re slackers, but once this lot starts working, they can make works of art.”

“Well it’s great,” Link said grinning. “It didn’t sway or anything when Epona walked across.”

“Haaaa!” Mutoh laughed and slapped his arm. “See? Fine, fine craftsmanship. We’re heading back to Kakariko Village now. Word is there was a bit of a fire and we should have some more work.”

“There was a fire,” Sheik said. “Those two witches started it, but the rain put the fires out. I remember there being a bit of damaged roofs and maybe a singed wall or two.” Mutoh shrugged his shoulders.

“Work is work,” he said then turned to his men. “Come on you slackers, get a move on!” Link, Sheik and Navi watched the carpenters leave. The only thing left to even tell that anyone had been there besides the new fixed bridge was a burnt out fire and that weird red headed guy who was sighing as he stared into the ashes. Link and Sheik decided to ignore the odd man and headed up toward the Gerudo Fortress.

As they rode, Link realized he could ask Ganondorf about his strange feelings about Sheik.

***

Dark sighed deeply as he leaned against the window sill looking out into the desert. He was so /bored/; Ganondorf and all the girls in the fortress were busy and didn’t have time to play with him. And he really missed Link and wondered when his brother was coming back.

The fortress and the desert around it was an interesting place, at least it was different from the place he was in before. It was dry, sand was everywhere and everything was so brown and tan looking. It was hot during the day but got really cold at night. It was so hot during the day that Dark had to stop wearing his thick black tunic. He was given the same sort of puffy pants that the girls wore and a thin sleeve less shirt made out a light material. Dark reached up to touch the neat trinket that Ganon had given him, it was a medallion with a jeweled inlay in the shape of a Gerudo Dragonfly. Ganondorf had said it would protect him from the blond lady’s magic and keep her from controlling him. He thought the dragonfly was pretty looking.

A horn blaring down below caught Dark’s attention and his ears perked up when one of the sentinels said that someone was riding to the compound. Leaning out the window eagerly, Dark grinned widely when he saw the familiar forest green tunic and blond hair of his brother.

“Link!” Dark called waving his hands then yelping as he started to fall forward.

“Careful there puppy,” Ganondorf said with a chuckled as he caught Dark. Dark grinned again as Ganon pulled him back inside. “You don’t want to fall do you?”

“Link’s here!” Dark said in excitement. “I can’t wait to tell him about everything I’ve done while he was gone.”

“Then we should go down and greet him shouldn’t we?” Ganondorf suggested. Dark didn’t need any more prompt and raced out of the room and down corridors to go outside.

“Link! Link!” Dark called as he ran outside and met Link and Sheik as the blonds rode up on Epona.

“Dark,” Link said with a smile. He slid off Epona’s back and made an ‘omf’ sound as Dark glomped him. Sheik laughed as he dismounted Epona and caught Dark as the dark hair Hylian moved to glomp him next.

“I missed you too Sheik,” Dark said. Sheik smiled and patted Dark’s back.

“And I you,” he said as the dark Hylian released him. Ganondorf exited the fortress and clapped the boys on the shoulders.

“I see you’ve broken more of Zelda’s hold over the land. I’ve heard the reports of Lake Hylia filling back up,” he said to Link.

“He has also freed my people’s temple as well,” Sheik added while giving Link that same grateful look from before. “That only leaves the temple that your people guard.”

“Yeah, we need to get to it next,” Link added as Ganondorf lead them inside. Dark all but danced around them, happy as a clam that Link was back. Ganondorf uneasily cleared his throat.

“Yes… well we can talk about that over dinner. It is too dark to journey over the sands tonight,” he said. He motioned for one of his girls to have dinner set out. Sheik and Link traded confused glances, wondering what was on the desert king’s mind.

****

“Hey Ganon, I’ve been wondering,” Link said mid-way through the meal. “Where’s Nabooru? I haven’t seen her yet.” A dark look crossed Ganondorf’s face as he placed down his eating utensils causing a look of concern to pass between the three teens.

“My cousin… has been missing these past 7 years,” the large red headed man said.

“Missing? Wha… I don’t understand,” Link said. “Missing how?” Ganondorf sighed and pressed his finger tips together in front of his mouth as he leaned back in his seat.

“You asked about the Spirit Temple, when you arrived,” the desert king stated. He nodded his head toward a window that looked to the west. Link and Sheik both turned to look but could see nothing but the darkness of night through the window. “It is there, on the other side of the Haunted Wasteland. You will have to cross it to reach the Desert Colossus where the Spirit Temple rests. This fortress was built here in the valley not only as a guard against the main land of Hyrule but to guard the lands beyond the gate as well. If Zelda hadn’t killed her father and tainted the land as she had, the fortress would have become a way point between my people and Hyrule.”

“Yes well Zelda and the witches have done a lot to damage Hyrule,” Sheik said as he picked up his drink, taking a sip of it.

“So what happen to Nabooru then? Does it have something to do with the temple?” Link asked. Ganondorf’s lips quirked into a smile.

“Yes. To know the history of the temple, I must also tell you a bit about the history of the witches Koume and Kotake. Once, in their youth, they were members of the Gerudo people,” he explained.

“That makes a bit of sense,” Sheik mused. “Their robes match what some of your people wear.”

“Aye they do, but their hearts became corrupted and they began to worship a great evil that said to have existed in the far past,” Ganondorf explained. “Or so the story goes at any rate. Their powers allowed them to live far past the life span of a normal Gerudo mage and their use of their magic for evil had them banished from the tribe. After a few generations they were forgotten, banished to stories. Then they appeared again after my father, the pervious king Ganondorf, died.”

“He has the same name as you!” Dark said happily as he clapped his hands.

“You’re father name was Ganondorf?” Sheik asked surprised.

“Aye, as was my father’s father,” Ganondorf said with a little smirk.

“But… I always heard that the pervious Gerudo king’s name was King Cormack,” Sheik said. (3)

Ganondorf started to chuckle then roared in laughter, his fist pounding the table a bit.

“People still believe that about my people?” He asked.

“I… don’t understand,” Link asked, Dark nodding in agreement just as confused as his brother.

“It’s believed that the Gerudos are an all female race except their king who is born only every 100 years,” Navi explained. Sheik started to shake his head in amusement as he came to an understanding.

“But that is untrue isn’t it,” he commented.

“Cormack as the name of my great grandfather,” Ganondorf agreed with a grin. “The same name is used for three generations; I am the third to use the name Ganondorf. My future son will have a different name but he will give his son the same name and so on. People outside the desert believe we are all the same person.”

“That is… quiet clever,” Sheik realized with a laugh of his own. “It names more sense that one king born every 100 years.”

“Yes,” Ganondorf flicked away a tear from laughing too hard then took a deep breath. “As I was saying, my father, the pervious Ganondorf, died around the time of my birth and my mother was so deep in her grief that it was believed that she would die with him after I was brought into this world. Koume and Kotake appeared then and offered their services to act as surrogate mothers for me. They had been all but forgotten by this time and had been slowly placing themselves back among my people. No doubt to gain a position of power. It would have worked too except my mother came back to herself in time to hear of them, she is the people’s historian and knew who they were. Knowing that I and our people were in danger gave my mother the strength to recover and expose the witches for who they were.

“Kotake and Koume were chased away from our village deep in the desert and my mother acted as Queen until I was old enough to take the throne and lead the Gerudo people.”

“So the witches are chased away from you and your people and instead they wait until a new victim appeared, the king’s adopted daughter Zelda,” Sheik realized. “They somehow convinced the king to dismiss my mother, who was originally going to be put in charge of the princess, and became her nursemaids instead. Mother mentioned it many times, she always felt like she failed the royal family for letting this evil pass by her watch.”

“So if they had been able to go along with their original plan…” Link said with wide blue eyes. Ganondorf nodded seriously.

“It is quite possible it would have been me who you would be saving Hyrule from instead of Zelda.”

******

(1) If you pay attention, you can see Ghirahim's left ear is rounded like a human's instead of pointed. It's kinda weird looking which I guess goes with his insane character.

(2) I honestly don't think the real temple of time exists in the physical world, all the temple of times are nothing but a shell and a doorway for the real temple which I bet is in the Sacred Realm like the Temple of Light and the chamber of the sages or outside of time itself. After all, the Temple of Time in TOOT and the upcoming Breath of the Wild use to be the Temple of Hylia in the games according to the current game lore, which I changed for the fic cause the placement if everything just never matched up for me. It doesn't help that the map's change in just about every game. The Lost Woods never stay in the same place!

(3) Interesting enough, when I looked up the meaning of Ganondorf's name it turns out it's Irish so I decided to go with that theme when choosing a name for his great grandfather.