The Reformed Gerudo King (Legend of Zelda)

Chapter Eleven- Gerudo Valley

Nadia shifted around in her new outfit, now much more comfortable in the burning heat. "Thank you very much, Chieftain."

"You don't have to call me that, dear." She smiled and stroked her hair gently. "If you're going to be part of the family when Ganondorf is old enough, I'm going to be your mother. Just call me Urdania."

She blushed a bit and gave a nod. "Okay."

Urdania smiled and pointed to the palace. "You will be living there with Ganondorf and I, as well as my personal guard. I hope you will find the palace to be to your liking."

Nadia stared at the massive building in front of her. "I'm going to be living in the palace?" She looked at Urdania. "Are you sure?"

She looked down at the young girl. "You are royalty now, Nadia. Where else would you be staying?"

"Royalty..." Nadia looked at the ground, a thoughtful look on her face.

"Don't worry about it, Nadia." Ganondorf placed a hand on her shoulder. "You're going to be just fine, I'll be here."

She looked up at them. "So I'm going to be like Princess Zelda when she became queen?"

"Very much like that, but the Gerudo are a little different from the Hylians." The chieftain said. "But same premise. You are a princess to the Gerudo now that you are engaged to Ganondorf." She gave a big smile. "Is Princess Zelda your idol?"

She gave a nod. "Princess Zelda is my hero, she's absolutely amazing, and she was an incredible queen!"

"Then you can be just like her." Urdania smiled more, placing a hand on her hip. "I believe in you, you can be anything you want."

Nadia smiled excitedly. "So when do I get to start training with the guards?"

They both laughed. "Slow down a bit, darling." Urdania said. "You will not be training for a while, I want you to get to know Gerudo Valley so you understand what you will be ruling and protecting. I trust that Ganondorf will be a fine guide as well as a fine guard, and uses this opportunity to strengthen the bond between the two of you."

Ganondorf smiled at Nadia. "We can go any time you want."

She gave a nod. "I want to look around the city first, if that's okay."

"Of course!" Ganondorf smiled. "I'll lead you around!"

Nadia smiled and nodded, taking his hand as he started the tour. She looked around at the large buildings of sandstone, the streams of clear water pouring all around the city and all of the children running about in the streets, pulling their mothers along as they talked excitedly. She looked around at all the women, becoming more and more confused. "Ganondorf, I know this is a stupid question but...How do you all reproduce if you're just a race of desert women?" She heard ganondorf burst into laughter and her face turned so red she could feel the tips of her ears burn. "It's not funny, I'm serious!"

"The Gerudo women find men from other countries, Nadia!" Ganondorf said between laughs. "What, do you think they just appear out of nowhere?"

Nadia pushed him a bit. "Well I don't know! I don't know anything about the Gerudo!"

Ganondorf calmed himself down a bit. "Sorry, sorry, I forgot that Hylians don't really know much about us anymore." He took a deep breath, getting rid of his laughter completely. "The Gerudo have the main goal of finding a true love outside of Gerudo Valley and having a child. Whether they come back here to raise their daughter or keep with their husband is up to them, but after the Ganon incident they've mostly been staying in the desert while their husbands live a short sand seal ride away at a beautiful oasis. The women do their work and education in the city then go back to their husbands in the oasis."

"...If their goal is to find a true love, how come men are forbidden in the city?" She asked.

He shrugged. "No idea, probably because only one boy is born every one hundred years and that's sacred to them."

She gave an understanding nod. "Okay." She continued to walk with him, looking around. "So what are the main jobs here?"

"Merchants and guards." He said. "It's not much but since we don't get much visitors or travelers it sustains the city just fine." He looked at Nadia. "But now I have a question for you."

She looked up at him confused. "What is it?"

"Why does your father hate us so much?" He asked. "But not your mother?"

"My mother was the descendant of my great grandmother who fought Ganon." Nadia said. "She told me that great grandma Raina met Nabooru and she knew that the Gerudo weren't as bad as we made them out to be, they were just under Ganon's control with no will for themselves." She looked down. "But my father doesn't believe that."

He frowned. "Your father doesn't believe what your great grandmother saw?"

"Nobody does." She said. "Only my mother believes that." She shook her head. "But I believe her."

"I'm glad you do." Ganondorf smiled. "Maybe you can help change Hyrule's mind as a whole." He finished the tour and looked at her. "That's the city. It's small, but it's home."

Nadia smiled. "It's beautiful, I love it."

"Thank you." Ganondorf smiled. He crossed his arms. "Want to go check out the desert now? I can teach you how to ride the sand seals!"

Nadia blinked. "Ride the sand seals?"

"You'll love it!" He grabbed her hand and pulled her back to the entrance of the city. "They're like our horses!" He walked her out into the sand and pointed to some wild seals. "We just gotta grab a shield and sneak up on those, and we can ride all over the desert."

"Is that really a good idea though?" Nadia looked up at him. "Your mother said that there are monsters out in the desert."

Ganondorf scoffed a bit and crossed his arms, a big grin on his face. "The Molduga? They're nothing to worry about, we'll be just fine!"

Nadia gave a nervous smile. "Well, if you're sure, I'll trust you."

Ganondorf ruffled her hair. "Just wait here, I'll get some shields!"

Nadia sat down on the sandstone just outside the city and watched the seals flop around happily in the sand, enjoying the bright sun. She adjusted her bracers and shifted around a bit, everything now quiet. She looked over at the mountains where the path out of Gerudo Valley was carved and a wave of pain hit her all at once. She hugged her knees and sobbed, the stress, homesickness, and fear that she had been hiding all coming out into the open. Her knees were soon damp, but her tears couldn't stop.

Ganondorf returned quickly. "Hey, I have the-" He stared at Nadia, who was staring at the mountains, sobbing harder and harder. "Oh..." He put down the shields and sat down next to her. He gently placed a hand on her back, but didn't say a word, letting her cry. After some time, the tears finally slowed and she was left as a shaking and sniffling mess. After a few minutes Ganondorf slowly turned her head to him and wiped away her tears. "No exploring the desert today." He pulled her up to her feet gently. "I have something else in mind."

The two were now deep in the heart of the desert, Ganondorf holding Nadia's hand. She finally spoke after over an hour of walking. "Where are we going? I thought we weren't exploring today."

"We're not, I want to show you something." He said. He held onto her hand tighter. "Something that will remind you of home..." He continued to walk until a massive skeleton buried in sand came into view from the distance. "We're almost there."

"What is that?" Nadia looked up at him.

"Something you're familiar with." He said, continuing to walk. Finally, they got to the leviathan bones where the massive flower was.

Nadia stared at the bud. "Is...Is that a fairy fountain?"

"Not yet." Ganondorf said. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a pouch. "But it will be soon." He walked up the mushroom steps and placed rupees before the bud, and the bud started to shake, then opened in a display of shimmering spores and fairies, a large pond in the middle of the flower that the bud had turned into. He turned to Nadia. "This will be our new place."

Nadia looked at the fairy fountain and a smile slowly formed. "Thank you. It's just like home."