Reminiscences [Ganondorf x Zelda]

Reminiscences

When Ganondorf entered the throne room, all eyes turned to him. Zelda gasped, her breath caught in her throat. Many of the guests were apprehensive about the Gerudo king's visit, but she alone was seized by an intuition: she had seen this man before. When Rauru had mentioned Ganondorf's name earlier, the young woman had felt a strange sensation. She had repeated the name, savoring each syllable, trying to understand the source of the unease it caused her, to no avail. As the Hylian's eyes fell on the Gerudo's face, all her impressions intensified, and she could neither look away nor think of anything else. Her soul was troubled, like when the bed of a stream is disturbed and a cloud of mud floats beneath the translucent water. The answers she sought were beneath the cloud, they were swirling there, but it was impossible to disperse it to claim them.

Sonia leaned forward from her chair and placed a soothing hand on her friend's forearm. This presence pulled Zelda from her stupor, and she offered a smile to the queen. Sonia had probably noticed that she was troubled and wanted to help her. Perhaps she should explain everything to her after the reception. The Hylian's attention quickly returned to the Gerudo. He stood in the center of the room and scanned the assembly with a glance, by way of greeting. When he saw the young blonde in the corner of the room, he stopped on her. Their gazes locked. Zelda felt a wave of heat wash over her body as her mind flashed with images she had no control over. She glimpsed the blade of a knife, lips capturing others, a ride through the desert, a bow being drawn, a hand caressing a torso. She heard screams of terror, laughter, sensual whispers, the clinking of swords. Ganondorf finally broke eye contact to turn his attention to Rauru and begin his speech.

"Zelda, are you alright?" Sonia whispered.

"Y-yes, I was lost in thought. Everything is fine," she stammered, finally stopping following him with her eyes.

Had he had the same visions as her? She tried to maintain an expression suitable for the political event unfolding, despite the hundreds of questions flooding her mind. She felt that these images belonged to her without her being able to claim them, that the sounds resonated clearly without her ever having heard them in her life. The Hylian glanced again at the Gerudo, who was now busy making veiled threats against Rauru, emphasizing the extinction of his people. That massive, greenish body, that red mane, that belligerent gaze, and that arrogant smile: Zelda had seen them before, she was certain of it. She had crossed paths with this man before, and surely several times. Countless times.

"We thank you for coming before us, Ganondorf. You will accomplish great things. You may leave." "Of course."

The Gerudo picked up his sword and, turning, briefly sized up Zelda. The atmosphere in the room relaxed a few seconds after he left, and people began to whisper among themselves. The Hylian regained her composure and turned to Rauru:

"Your Majesty... This man's heart is dark, I can feel it. The ambition that consumes him is limitless. And that name... Ganondorf... It makes me uneasy."

She spoke her last words more quietly, looking at the ground, as if trying to help herself with the strange impressions that the simple pronunciation of the name provoked in her.

"His nature is evil, I haven't missed that. Moreover, if I invited him, it's precisely for that reason. I can't watch him from a distance."

Zelda sighed in surprise and disapproval. She knew it was dangerous to get close to this man, her whole body was screaming at her to be wary, to flee the sword that was about to pierce her chest and whose blade she could almost feel as if it had already happened. But her body also revealed other things to her, burning caresses on that same chest, Ganondorf's lips running down her belly. "... Very well," she conceded.

Zelda had dreaded this party from the moment it was announced. Up until now, she hadn't had to cross paths with the Gerudo king since he hadn't deigned to visit the castle, and she was grateful for that. She still hadn't found the origin of her visions and was still preoccupied by the strange sensation that a part of her didn't quite belong to her, a part that had existed long before her and would outlive her. The social and political aspects of the ball demanded a mandatory presence, even the recalcitrant Ganondorf would have to show up to avoid causing a stir, and the Hylian knew she couldn't escape this event since she too had to be present and put on a good face.