The Hero, the Princess, and the Cursed King

Chapter 29: The Cursed King

[Ganondorf]

Ganondorf's head was splitting in two. One half screamed in frustration that the hero before him was still alive, while the other was flooded with relief and joy that the hero hadn't fallen. Tears streamed down his face, but he wasn't sure why he was crying. Sorrow, fear, anger, love, hate--so many raw emotions clawed at his heart, and he had no idea what to feel, say, or do. Not that he could do much of anything since the magical ropes still restrained him, digging painfully into his flesh.

"I'm sorry, Link. I'm so sorry. I'm sorry, Link. I'm so sorry. . ." Ganondorf kept trying to say those words, but while his lips moved, no sound came out. But who was this Link? And why did he feel such urgency to tell him such things? His mind was foggy and mottled. Ganondorf stared at the boy sitting on the dais, then it clicked. The boy was Link, the Hero of Hyrule, and his little brother.

"He's not your brother!" A terrible voice screamed in his head, and Ganondorf winced. "He's our greatest enemy."

That didn't sound right, so Ganondorf ignored the voice. Instead, he watched as the girl that had nearly killed him pulled some sort of gross, purple glowing ooze from Link. It floated over and merged with another orb of the same substance. Who was that girl? She looked familiar too.

"That's Princess Zelda, you idiot! She's one of the people we're trying to kill."

Ganondorf frowned as the voice in his head spoke again. Why would he want to kill Princess Zelda? She seemed nice, and she'd spared his life.

"Pull yourself together. We can still kill them both."

Ganondorf shook his head. He didn't want to kill those two. In fact, he felt quite the opposite. He had this strange feeling that he needed to protect them and keep them safe.

"Ganondorf?" Link asked as he approached, leaning on Zelda for support.

"Get away from me, hero." Ganondorf's voice started working again, but it wasn't him that talked. It was that awful-sounding voice he heard in his head. "I'll kill you both."

"Here," Link opened his hand, a ring resting in his palm. It was simple, yet it looked well-loved.

Ganondorf recoiled from the ring for some reason, and his heart pounded with fear. "I don't want that disgusting thing. It's old and plain." 

"That's too bad." Link came to a stop in front of him. "But it's more than just a band of gold and a few gems. It's a reminder of how much we love you."

"Stop spouting lies."

"I never lied. Especially when I promised to save you." With help from Zelda, Link slid the ring onto Ganondorf's finger. "Ganondorf, snap out of it!"

The moment the ring was back in place, the fog in his brain dispersed, and for the first time in years, the voice in his head subsided almost completely. Ganondorf closed his eyes to enjoy the serenity, but it didn't last long, for the fog was swiftly replaced with long-forgotten memories. Link's laugh; Twinrova's scoldings; the hours he spent training; teaching Zelda to fight; their afternoons spent at the hideout; the day the war had started. For the first time in years, Ganondorf remembered everything about his life, not just fragments of it.

But that wasn't the only thing he remembered. The atrocities he'd committed were also there, but those memories were fuzzy--as if he was seeing the world through a haze. He saw villages burned down, men killed, children crying, and Zelda in chains, but that wasn't the worst of it. Ganondorf trembled as the most recent memory resurfaced.

Link lay on the ground, dead, and there was blood on Ganondorf's hands and sword. He'd stabbed Link, his little brother. No, he hadn't just stabbed him; he'd killed him. Anguish and grief filled his heart at the memory. But Ganondorf was looking at Link right now--he was pale and exhausted but alive. How could that be? Link had died. He'd killed him with his own two hands.