The Legend of Zelda: Goddess of Secrecy

Puppet King Deopon

...but breathing, slowly. The motion was so faint, Link almost missed it.

"Father," Zelda whispered, before she lowered her bow and started to walk towards the throne.

Something felt wrong, too wrong about this. Link stepped in front of Zelda, hoisting his shield up and pointing his sword forward at the throne.

"Link, what are you doing?" Zelda asked, leaning to pass him by but Link held his ground in front of her, blocking her from passing.

"You should listen to your knight, Princess."

A shadow passed behind the throne, forming into a figure as it rested a hand on the back. Deopon coughed, and his face warped in pain as Ganondorf stepped into the hazy light.

Now closer, Link could see Ganondorf in full. A mane of red hair fell down Ganondorf's back, the beard along his jaw cut cleanly in sharp contrast. The Gerudo were known for their deep tans and olive complexions, but there was something unnatural about Ganondorf's. He appeared almost green, making the amber eyes looking out at them all the brighter in contrast. He decorated himself like a king. An ornate golden headpiece kept his hair back, and no small amount of simple, but rich ornaments decorated his hands and neck. Compared to Deopon, Ganondorf looked like a ruler.

"Let him go," Zelda warned, the light around her growing brighter as she stepped up to Link's side.

"Why would I do that?" Ganondorf asked, his hand digging into the padding of the high-backed seat. Deopon again winced, some degree on consciousness coming back to him only for it to be filled with agony.

"He's been too useful," Ganondorf went on, bending down to get close to the king's ear. "Eager to listen, easy to sway."

Deopon's chest now rose and fell with visible distinction. The king's face contorted; his eyes unseeing even as they opened.

"You? He would never listen to you!" Zelda spat, seething.

"Oh, how naïve, Your Majesty," Ganondorf said heavy with mockery towards her title, a grin on his face. "Do you think a wise man would have resurrected a long dead custom like the nameless? Would have called his best soldiers traitors solely on rumor? No. Only a weak man listens to such base lies and feeds on them like truth."

Zelda kept her eyes ahead, but Link could see her distress in his periphery. She shook her head, breath hissing between her teeth. "No."

"Look around you, Princess!" Ganondorf motioned about them at the castle, but the gesture was larger, reached further. "He abandoned his people at the first sign of monsters. He divided them to their own causes rather than unite as one. He stripped the names of any who opposed him. As I told him to. As he's done. There was never any fight here. And now you scramble to unite those who remain behind your and your little play knight."

Link held his stance, the blade still pointing ahead. Ganondorf had hung a new robe over his shoulders. The wounds from their fight were covered, and Link couldn't tell if they remained.

"He changed! "Zelda screamed back, denial loud in her voice. "There have been no more nameless in almost twenty years! We've sent aid, made things right!"

"Oh, I know. That's why I needed to get rid of you," Ganondorf snarled, the first real sign of frustration on his face since they'd arrived. He grabbed Deopon back the jaw, tipping the king's head to the side. "Your little blessing made things difficult to work around. So we drove you off. Kept you out of the castle, made you think you were being hunted, that you were needed. Working so hard to save Hyrule, Princess, you left the door open for me to finish what I started."