A Hidden Kindness

WARNINGS for domestic violence

1864 words

Monday

After breakfast, the festivities of the night before were back in full swing. Throughout the day there were various performances put on by dancers and musicians. Ganondorf showed Rabia around the rest of the valley, which consisted of a quick tour of the fortress, the horse stables, a small area designated to making goods to trade in Hyrule and the training grounds, where a sparring tournament was occurring. The guard, Aveil, appeared to have won the last three matches and was looking for another opponent when she spotted them.

“X ! T i Ganondorf, da must i. Oλí zi bi twi n λæ hant(1)?” she called over to them. Her voice had a mocking lilt to it as she spoke.

“B’af saλi t(2),” he replied. A servant ran over and handed Ganondorf his sword, and he entered arena to fight. Though Ganondorf had the upper hand in strength, Aveil had the upper hand in speed, so they were nicely matched. In the end, Ganondorf pinned Aveil with a smirk. “Bi af fxo ši dad ći dad bi kénču t ar p ési énoy hant(3).” He offered her a hand up and handed his sword back to one of the servants. Aveil dusted herself off and picked up her sword, then looked up at the two of them with a little smirk.

“Rabia, why don’t you give it a try?” she asked. Ganondorf set a heavy hand on Rabia’s shoulder.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” he said with a glare.

“Aww, come on. It’ll be fun,” Aveil said. The other women were all looking at Rabia expectantly.

“Um… sure…” she trailed off as she shifted her weight from foot to foot. Ganondorf let go of her reluctantly and she approached the arena.

A servant approached with a few sets of dual scimitars like Aveil’s and after a moment of consideration, handed one of the sets to Rabia. She took them and mimicked Aveil’s fighting stance. Aveil quirked an eyebrow, but Rabia held her gaze steadily, her breaths deep and even as the two stared each other down. Aveil moved first, striking at Rabia’s right side. Rabia dodged before making her own move, their swords clashing together. The two of them fought, the motions flowing more like a dance than a fight, until suddenly Aveil was on the ground with Rabia’s sword to her neck. She stared up at Rabia in disbelief.

“Um… so… that just happened…” Rabia said. She set the swords down and offered Aveil a hand up. She looked confused. “I can honestly say I’ve never done that before.”

“Da hant(4),” Aveil said, snapping out of her shocked stupor. She smiled at Rabia sincerely. “That was your first fight?”

“Well, first one with swords. I’ve punched Link a couple times, but he was being stupid and totally deserved it.”

“You’ve never used swords… ever? Like, not even held one in your hands before?” Aveil asked. Rabia shook her head.

“Nope. I’m clumsy so I… actively avoid sharp things.” Aveil looked impressed.

“I don’t think I’ve introduced myself. I’m Aveil,” she held out her hand. Rabia glanced from the hand to Aveil’s face and back again before accepting the handshake.

“Rabia,” she smiled. “It’s nice to meet you.”

“Ganondorf!” Aveil called over to him. “Pr omí n pr í λa éso i nśa, ša(5)?” She wrapped an arm around Rabia’s shoulder and exited the arena with her. Ganondorf laughed.

“És na hasa hi λæ(6),” he replied. Aveil smiled.

“... I’m lost,” Rabia said, shaking her head. “But that sounded like good stuff, so... yay?” Ganondorf laughed again and linked their hands together.

“Come, it’s lunch time and I’m starving.” His stomach growled to emphasize his point.

“You’re always hungry,” Aveil snorted, but she followed them into the fortress to get some food.



That night was like the one before; a roaring fire, food, music and dancing. Everyone seemed even more excited tonight. Ganondorf, Rabia and Aveil sat down together with their food to watch the festivities. Tonight seemed to be showcasing some of their best fighters. There was an ongoing tournament that anyone could participate in, but it seemed that the current fighter had remained undefeated through several fights.

“Kamilah has won this tournament eight years in a row,” Aveil said to Rabia. “She used to be one of our best warriors, but after we were banished from Hyrule she decided to be a servant instead, which is usually a job reserved for those unable to fight. No one is really sure why.”

“Maybe you should fight her,” Rabia said, nudging Aveil. Aveil grinned.

“Oh, I plan to,” she said.

“Think you can win this year?” Ganondorf asked.

“No, but it’ll be fun to try.” She stood and dusted herself off as Kamilah knocked another girl onto the ground, and picked up her swords to challenge her. Rabia leaned against Ganondorf’s side and shared a plate of food while they watched the fight. Aveil laughed as Kamilah knocked her to the ground and accepted a hand up with a bright grin.

“Hi ü λæ du λi tani da ha td as(7)?” Kamilah’s voice rang out over the gathered crowd.

“Opr ìλ λæ hi ü(8),” Aveil said, pointing at Rabia. Rabia, who had been laughing at something Ganondorf said, blinked when suddenly half the valley’s eyes were on her.

“...What?” she looked up with wide eyes.

“You’ve just volunteered to fight Kamilah!” Aveil said. “It’ll be fun.” She handed Rabia her scimitars and pulled her into the circle.

“What?! Aveil, no!” Aveil just laughed and took a seat beside Ganondorf.

“Good luck!” Rabia sighed and once again got into a fighting stance to face off with Kamilah. She vaguely thought about how heavy Aveil’s swords were before Kamilah was attacking. The two fought against each other in a flurry of swords, long hair swirling around as their movements sped up. Kamilah knocked one of Rabia’s swords out of her hands and suddenly Rabia’s other one was caught between Kamilah’s two. They stood in a standstill, eyes locked on each other. “Woo! Go Rabia!” Aveil cheered. Kamilah’s eyes widened.

“Rabia…?” her swords slipped and Rabia let out a cry, dropping the remaining sword and cradling her bleeding arm close. “Oh, és ri žo (9)!” she dropped her own swords, but before she could go help, Ganondorf was by Rabia’s side, putting pressure on the cut. “I’m so sorry,” she repeated to Rabia.

“That’s okay. It’s just a scratch,” Rabia said to her reassuringly. She looked up at Ganondorf. “Will I live?” A small smile tugged at her lips. He pressed a kiss to the cut, which had already stopped bleeding.

“Yes, sa ehe roz, you’ll live,” he said to her, touching her cheek. She tilted her head and kissed his palm.

“‘Sa ehe roz’? What does that mean?” she asked. He smiled and pulled her out of the ring. Aveil whistled when they sat back down beside her.

“Damn. Got your first battle scar already?” Aveil asked as two new women entered the circle. Kamilah had left while Ganondorf was patching Rabia up. “You know, I’ve never seen her get distracted like that. I wonder what got to her?” Rabia shrugged.

“Accidents happen, and it’s far from the worst injury I’ve ever gotten,” Rabia said. “Do you think you could answer something for me?”

“I can try.”

“What does ‘sa ehe-” Ganondorf coughed loudly, cutting her off and Aveil grinned widely.

“Gibberish,” she giggled. “Pure gibberish.” They spent the rest of the night talking and watching the other warriors fight each other. Kamilah won another year, with Aveil coming in second and another warrior in third.

The fire was burning low as the last tribe members trickled off to bed and the servants started to clear up the festivities. Ganondorf wrapped Rabia up in his cape to keep her warm from the bitter breeze, then offered her a hand up and led her to his room. The two of them changed for bed, but before they curled up together, Ganondorf carefully took her arm to assess the damage.

“It’s just a scratch,” Rabia said dismissively. He rubbed some of the salve onto the cut and some more onto the bruise, then covered them with fresh gauze.

“I know,” he replied. He pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead. She rolled her eyes with a smile.

“I don’t think anyone has ever fussed over me this much in my life,” Rabia said as she leaned in to kiss his lips. He smiled and leaned back into the pillows, then pulled her on top of him and buried his face in her hair. The two of them drifted off to sleep in each other’s arms.



Ganondorf found himself in Castle Town, inside the living room of what appeared to be a mansion. He wasn’t sure why he was there until he saw Rabia enter the room with a little girl perched on her hip and a young boy trailing in behind her. Both the children had light tan skin, black hair and striking green eyes. It was an eerily beautiful combination. Rabia set the toddler down and she immediately waddled over to a toy box next to a love seat.

“Watch over Liza for me while I make dinner, okay James?” Rabia leaned down and kissed the boy on the head. Ganondorf followed her into the large kitchen.

“Rabia?” he asked. She didn’t seem to hear him as she put some soup and pasta on the stove, and started making salad. She was mumbling to herself anxiously as she stirred. She was draining the pasta when Finn entered the room.

“Rabia? Why isn’t dinner ready yet?” he asked with a frown. “I’ve been home for ten minutes.”

“James’ practice ran late and the babysitter is sick,” she sighed. “I’m sorry, it’ll be done in a few minutes. I’m sure your children would love for you to play with them. They miss you. Goddesses knows why,” she muttered to herself. Ganondorf suppressed a snort. Finn crossed the space in a couple of steps and grabbed her arm roughly.

“What was that?” he growled. She gasped and dropped the bowl she was holding on the floor.

“Clean that up, you clumsy bitch.” He slapped her hard and shoved her to the floor. She hurriedly started picking up the broken glass with shaking hands. “Goddesses, you’re useless.” He left the room with Rabia crying on the floor. The scene disappeared and Ganondorf found himself standing in an empty, starless desert night, with cold blue eyes glowing out of the darkness.

“She will never be yours, Desert King. Her soul belongs to me.”

Ganondorf woke from the dream with a start. He pulled Rabia closer to him and kissed the top of her head. She smiled a little in her sleep, but didn’t stir. He wrapped her up securely in his arms and didn’t sleep for the rest of the night.