The Hero, the Princess, and the Cursed King

Chapter 1: The Hideout

|~Part One~|

[Link]

The wind howled, blowing grains of hot sand into Link's eyes. It stung like needles, but he squinted his eyes in an attempt to bear it.

"Is a little sand going to be the downfall of our beloved hero?" Ganondorf centered his weight and flipped his wooden training sword in his hand, taunting Link to charge with the other.

"I dunno." Link huffed. "Come at me, and we'll find out!"

Ganondorf let out a hearty chuckle. "Oh! Quick-witted!" he charged at Link, kicking up a dust trail. "Let's see if your blade is just as fast!"

Link struggled to open his eyes fully, only catching a bit of the movement as Ganondorf swung. Link raised his blade, narrowly blocking the blow.

"That was a close one." Ganondorf struck at him again.

"Whatever, this is easy." Link scoffed, sidestepping. "Give me an actual challenge.".

A gleam entered Ganondorfs eyes, and Link gulped. Maybe he shouldn't have said that. Ganondorf delivered blow after blow giving Link no reprieve and forcing him onto the defensive. With a mighty roar, Ganondorf swung his sword down with all his might.

Crack

The full force of the blow sent Link and his blade flying. The good news was that Link wasn't broken, but the same couldn't be said of his sword.

The wooden blade's broken pieces had landed in the sand a few feet away from Link. Disappointment sat heavy in the pit of his stomach—there was no hope of winning now. Link had so badly wanted to win. It wasn't that he hadn't beaten Ganondorf in their skirmishes before—because he had—but he had been hoping to impress a certain someone with his skills.

"You almost had him there, Link!" Zelda called out, sitting under the tent the two boys and she had assembled for their desert hideout. She raised her eyes from the sketch she was drawing to Link, who rubbed the back of his head with a sheepish grin. "I guess I should've put more emphasis on almost, huh?"

"Don't give up on me yet, Zelda. Sheesh!" Link stayed sitting on the ground, feeling a little wave of embarrassment.

Ganondorf approached Link and offered his hand to help him up. Link accepted it.

Most of Link's, Zelda's, and Ganondorf's afternoons were spent in the hideout. Its small oasis, palm trees, and slightly concealed location made it the perfect retreat—especially after Link and Ganondorf's military training sessions in the mornings. Link had been coming to this hideout since he discovered it one day while out seal surfing a few years back.

The hideout was actually how Link had persuaded Zelda to befriend him and Ganondorf. Six years ago, a couple of weeks after the attack that had killed Zelda's mother, Link had shown her the hideout. He vividly remembered that moment because it was the first time he had ever seen her smile. From that day on, the three of them had come to the hideout nearly every day to relax, have fun, and be together.

"Let's go again." Link dusted himself off and picked up the sword's broken pieces. "I gotta save the princess one of these times."

Zelda laughed. "We haven't played that game in years."

"Maybe Link just needs some extra motivation to beat me." Ganondorf teased.

"Well, in that case." Zelda smiled and threw a not broken sword to Link—they had several backups in the tent. "Come and save me, brave knight!"

Link smirked. "Anything for you, princess."

Link and Ganondorf spaced themselves back out to restart the duel. This time Link was determined to win. He tightened his grip on the wooden sword, feeling its coarse texture, and met Ganondorf's gaze.