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Endgame	By : RyuaAlba Category: Zelda > General Views: 26666 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 3
Disclaimer: I do not own Legend of Zelda, or any of the characters or regions or names associated with it. I make no money from this fanfiction.

Chapter List
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“You know, I actually kind of miss going directly outside from here,” Zelda mused as they stepped into the newly finished corridor at the base of their tower. “Although I admit this will be much nicer once the seasons turn and it starts getting colder again.”
A maid was clearly just on her way up from the kitchens, a basket of steaming meatrolls in her arms, and she curtseyed, handing them to Zelda before turning back to the kitchens. Link grabbed for one eagerly, Ganondorf only a second after him, and Zelda shook her head in disgust. “Don’t either of you have any kind of manners?
Link flushed, but Ganondorf laughed. “I’m the exotic barbarian King. It goes with the character. And besides, we’re going to speak with what passes for an army in Hyrule. They should be reassured by a warrior’s healthy appetite.”
“Do you take anything seriously?” Zelda sighed, looking up at him as they walked towards the courtyard.
“I take the two of you extremely seriously,” he said, his tone of voice disturbing. Link couldn’t tell whether he was being possessive, lewd, dangerous, warning… or Farore forbid, friendly. He sped up his pace and eagerly turned the corner into the daylight of the broad courtyard. It seemed very bright after the stone and wood corridor, and it took a moment to focus on the shining armor on the other side of the field.
“Well, they look impressive,” Link observed. Armor for the Knights of Hyrule was a treasured possession for a family to have, and it was cared for meticulously. There were very few new suits in production, since there hadn’t been a reason to expand the Knighthood for generations.
“Until you get close,” Ganondorf said in a low tone. It was true they resembled a group of civilians lounging around rather than a well-trained army waiting for inspection. Taking a breath, he bellowed, “Form up ranks!”
Link and Zelda both flinched away from him, and the effect on the Knights was instantaneous. They jerked around, jumping off the ground, leaping away from walls, shuffling awkwardly and loudly into some semblance of three lines. Still, once formed up they looked decidedly more like an army, and Ganondorf nodded in acceptance. “I see… sixty eight Knights. Zelda, I admit I was hoping for more.”
“We’re a peaceful country,” she said defensively. “Our last major war was over a century ago, and the Knights are largely a ceremonial and policing force.”
“Nonetheless, Your Majesty,” one of the younger Knights spoke up proudly, “We’ve always proudly kept training to serve our country!”
“You did so well against the Twilight invasion,” Ganondorf said cooly, making the Knights shift and mutter amongst themselves. Link heard Zelda saying something sharp to the Gerudo in a low voice, but didn’t pause to hear what it was.
Instead, he stepped forwards before he could think about it and nerve himself out of speaking. “You did the best you could against an enemy you couldn’t touch. There was nothing more you could have done.” He swallowed, glancing around at the dead silence that greeted his words. Still, talking to soldiers was easier than a mass group of people so large he couldn’t even comprehend them. “But we’ll be going up against flesh and blood foes this time… the kind you don’t need magic to hit.”
He managed not to flinch at the pounding of mailed fists on shields, grateful when Zelda stepped up beside him, squeezing his hand softly before starting to speak herself. “We are calling upon you to protect your family, your home. With luck and the Gods on our side, we can avoid a conflict entirely… you are our failsafe, not our first option.
“Ten of you will be coming with us to the meeting with the invading forces, along with five warriors each from the Gerudo, Goron, and Zora clans,” she continued. “The intent is that we will discuss a way to deflect this war before it begins, and you will be a representative of the best our joined nations have to offer.”
“That is not to say that there is no danger,” Ganondorf said, although his glower slowly shifted to a grin. “But if there is battle to be had, we will all be facing it together. Even if negotiations fail, we can eliminate their leaders and destroy their will to fight.”
One didn’t even have to see him in combat to be reassured the thought of fighting beside Ganondorf rather than against him, Zelda reflected. The gathered Knights certainly looked relieved. At the call for volunteers, they ended up with enough they could pick and choose, Ganondorf selecting their guard while Zelda made arrangements for where to deploy the rest of the Knights.
The Gerudo had already been briefed on the situation and required no extra preparation. The women who had been such efficient carpenters over the last week now looked like the warriors they’d spent a lifetime training to be, each one with twin curved sabres strapped to their backs. Some had nearly full sets of armor, others appeared to prefer to fight in light, loose clothing that gave them full freedom of movement. Five of the most spectacular female warriors were already saddling up Bullbos for the trip. While the massive boars were better suited to the desert, there was no doubt they made for an intimidating cavalry. Most of the Gerudo in Hyrule proper were already dispatched into the countryside to set up defensive lines, and there were twice their number still in the desert, although not all were active warriors. Still, any Gerudo would contest that if one of their tribe was capable of picking up a sword, they were also very capable of using it.
Zelda wasn’t entirely sure what to think of that. She’d been trained from a young age, of course, but she’d also been trained in healing arts, dancing, poetry, politics, speechmaking, and numerous other things a ruler needed to know. Swordplay was only a small part of her training, and she knew her experience was unique. She’d seen children playing with mock wooden swords… but the people of Hyrule weren’t professionally trained to fight unless they applied to join the Knighthood. The focus of their lives was farming, or crafting, or building families, not war. Her people were happy, and yet… now they were horribly vulnerable because of it.
The sight of the Goron contingent was another bolstering addition, rolling into the courtyard and uncurling once they were close to Zelda. About half of them were unarmed, although being constructed of granite meant that even an unarmed punch was quite a blow. The remainder curled around hammers or clubs, mostly things that would be as at home inside a forge as on a battlefield. Picking the five most intimidating, she dispatched the rest into groups of four, assigning each a Hylian Knight. With the Knight mounted, they would be able to cover a lot of ground, relying on the Hylian’s familiarity with the area to ensure they had an efficient cordon outside of Castletown.
The Zora warriors would mostly stay in Lake Hylia and the surrounding tributaries, where they were at their strongest. They’d meet the group of five warriors to join their delegation on the far side of the Lake, and Prince Ralis was on his way to Hyrule Castle to help Zelda’s own advisors and the leader of the Knighthood govern Hyrule until the Link, Zelda, and Ganondorf returned. She wasn’t happy about leaving her capital without one of the official leaders in place, but Ganondorf had to come for obvious reasons, she would need Link’s support, and she didn’t trust either of them to negotiate properly, even without Midna’s plans.
No, this was the only option available to them, as risky and unnerving as it was. Thanks to Link’s warning, the main Goron population would be watching to the south, and Ganondorf was sending his swiftest warriors to join their lines, just in case they couldn’t stop this war before it swept over Hyrule. Reassuring herself for what seemed like the hundredth time since learning of the impending invasion, Zelda turned to where stable attendants and Knights were helping to pack up the horses.
They were very nearly emptying the royal stables on this jaunt, Hyrule didn’t have a large number of horses, it wasn’t required for such a small country. Farmers used goats, oxen, or donkeys as beasts of burden, and even most messengers tended to travel on foot. Ganondorf was just swinging up on a massive black stallion that she remembered was several hands taller even than Epona, a creature that must have come from a distant land. She and Link would both be on matching greys, which was entirely an appearance choice rather than a comfort. As usual, Link looked comfortable in the saddle, although she knew he’d rather be on Epona. Zelda was just happy with how much easier it was to ride in a shorter skirt and leggings, climbing to her saddle with far more ease than usual.
She supposed as war arrangements went, they had gotten moving fairly well. They were finally on their way before high noon, and by crossing Lake Hylia over the bridge, they could cut two hours off of their travel time. The Zora delegation met them at the farthest east curve of the lake, wanting to remain in water as long as possible. They were all at least capable of riding horses. The sense of discomfort she felt wasn’t about the delegation or how long the journey was taking… it was all about what was going to happen at the end of it.
The idea was that they would stop at a place they felt suitable for both diplomacy and fighting, and Midna’s group would approach. The moment the Twilight Princess was in range, she would attack, hopefully quickly enough to take Ganondorf out without a massive, drawn out scene. After that, negotiation would be very short, Midna would hand over the Fused Shadow to be destroyed, the invading armies would turn back, and they could all go home, and both she and Link would be free of Ganondorf’s clutches.
She wanted that very, very badly.
That was the best case scenario, though. Zelda knew better than to assume things would go exactly how they hoped, especially when a being such as Ganondorf was involved. He was not easy to kill, any historian knew that. And if that wasn’t enough, Midna, Link, and Zelda had all failed in succession to kill him… she could only hope that all three of them could manage it.
Even coming to the decision to go along with Midna’s plan had been a hard one. Because no matter how badly she wanted to be rid of the Gerudo King, he hadn’t thrown Hyrule into chaos, started killing people, writing power-hungry laws… true to his word, he hadn’t been acting the enemy, at least not to her people. And that was one reason why she’d asked him so specifically about what his plans for Hyrule were. At least this way, if she failed and all three of them were killed, at least her country would be safe, for a while.
Something about Ganondorf was… unnerving. It wasn’t just that he was cruel and did awful things to them in private, either. He was powerful, yes, and intelligent. But he was also impulsive, and driven by his passions, and he needed to have checks and balances in place if he was going to hold that power. She didn’t want to leave him in charge of her country indefinitely, especially not on his own. Someday, he would get bored, or impatient, or want more, and end up running Hyrule into the ground. That was why she was willing to risk this plan of Midna’s.
Still, she wasn’t certain enough to give her any peace of mind, and she was glad when Link suggested they stop for the night. At least setting up camp and talking with the people riding with them was something else to think about. And after one of the Gorons passed her a bowl full of spiced meat and rice, she realized a lot of her mood was just hunger.
She felt immensely more optimistic with a full stomach, and swapping tales and songs around a campfire was just as helpful. Zelda thoroughly enjoyed the scandalized looks on the Knights’ faces when she happily sung along with a bawdy Gerudo drinking song, and decided that there were good things indeed about having the women around, even if she wasn’t fond of their males.
Finally feeling good enough to retire for the night, Zelda withdrew to her tent. She’d just unbuckled her sword belt when she heard a sound she hadn’t at all expected on the edge of Lanayru Desert; the instantly recognizable hail of the postman. Curious, she came out to find the man just entering the circle of firelight and dropping to his knees, panting harder than she’d ever seen him.
“Just ran… clear around the lake…” he gasped, gratefully taking someone’s water skin “Princess? Link?” he asked, already having seen Ganondorf’s massive bulk on the other side of the fire. Once they both came around to his field of vision, he sat back, taking a deep breath.
“I’m officially delivering from Gor Coron at Death Mountain,” he started. “But there was no time for a note. Message is as follows:
“ ‘Link, I hate to have to tell you I failed. You warned us there was an army in the south, but we never dreamed they’d come right up through Ordon without even stopping. We’re holding them in the canyons, but we’ve got no chance to help your people. Kakariko village is safe in the mines with us, none of us are going anywhere.’ “
Complete silence greeted the end of his recitation, and the postman gulped, taking another sip of water. “I… I went south to see how bad it was. I couldn’t get close, there were soldiers everywhere, and smoke on the air. I’ve been going all out since to try and catch you before the summit.”
Newcomers to Hyrule occasionally wondered how the Postman always knew exactly where to find people. Zelda simply put it down to a blessing from Farore, since he also never got lost and could run faster and longer than even mounted cavalry. And the goddesses certainly had a stake in this, with all three chosen active on the field. Abruptly aware that the silence was still dragging on, Zelda forced herself to step forwards, resting a cool hand lightly on his hot, sweating shoulder. “Thank you. We owe you… probably more than we can even understand at this moment. Please, take whatever refreshment you need, and you may have use of my tent for as long as you need to rest.” It was a mark of how exhausted the man was that he just nodded tiredly and let her lead him away, still clutching the water skin and a bread roll someone had pressed into his hand.
She returned to the campfire to see Link sitting stunned by the fire, Naburia sitting with an arm wrapped around him, Ganondorf pacing, looking as if he was ready to charge off and destroy something, probably all of Holodrum. “Link… Link come on.” She felt guilty interrupting his thoughts, but she needed him to focus. Taking his hand, she drew him up, her heart aching at the way he stumbled across the ground after her. Steeling herself, she reached up and grabbed Ganondorf’s arm on his next angry stomping past.
As she’d expected, he turned to her with a furious snarl in place. Zelda managed to not flinch away, and said calmly, “We need to talk.” Ganondorf drew a deep breath, then exhaled and appeared to calm slightly. He nodded, and gestured towards his tent. It wasn’t as if any of them were particularly more ornate or comfortable than the others, Zelda had wanted speed over waiting for a royal procession, but at least his was relatively private and large enough for the three of them to talk in comfortably.
Link’s fingers were painfully tight on hers, but she wouldn’t have pulled her hand free for any reason. Once inside the tent, she touched the gem on her crown, willing it to glow, and hung it on the central pole. Maybe not the most dignified option, but it took the least energy, and Zelda did not want to waste her magic now. She had a terrible feeling she was going to need every bit of it.
The soft blue light wasn’t particularly flattering for any of them. Link’s already pale face looked ghastly, and Ganondorf was almost completely a shadow, just his eyes and jewelry glittering in the light. She didn’t expect Link to speak first, but he did, his voice a pained whisper. “She said they’d wait. She said they wouldn’t invade until we… until we talked.”
“You had better not be about to advise caution and diplomacy, Princess,” Ganondorf said darkly, his teeth flashing in the faint light, making him look more demonic than ever. “I will not tolerate an attack on my lands without retribution.”
She still hated him referring to Hyrule as his… but at this exact moment, it worked in her favor. “I wasn’t,” she said, feeling terrible about the whole situation. “But if Midna gave her word to Link, I don’t think she’d break it.”
“She clearly has!” Ganondorf snarled, and this time Zelda couldn’t stop flinching back.
“My home’s been attacked!” Link added, his shock starting to shift to anger.
“And have either of you thought that perhaps she had nothing to do with it?” Zelda countered before she lost her nerve. “Even a Twili can’t be in two locations at once, and she has two armies to run.”
Link paused, the anger shifting just as quickly to confusion. “You… you think she’s lost control of them?” He wasn’t sure which idea was worse. At least he knew Midna, the thought that he had no idea who had destroyed his childhood home was a whole different kind of scary.
“I think it’s a possibility,” she said, rubbing her temples. She could tell it was going to be a long night. “This… this changes everything.”
Much to her relief, when Ganondorf next spoke, his voice was quieter, calmer again. “Indeed it does. For one, I assume you won’t all be trying to kill me now.”
“We weren’t… but you… how did you know?” Link asked, at first defensive, then just resigned.
“It’s what I would do in your position,” he said, shrugging and not seeming to care. “Well now. Since your original plans seem to have fallen through, we appear to be back to what I’ve been saying all along. I am not your enemy. Can we agree on that now?”
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Endgame