A Hidden Kindness

2496 words

Tuesday

When Rabia woke, the morning sun was just beginning to filter in through the spacious windows. Ganondorf was propped up against the headboard, reading a book he was almost finished with. His other arm was wrapped around her. Rabia yawned and snuggled against his side. Ganondorf smiled and set his book aside.

“Good morning,” he smiled. Rabia yawned again and rubbed her eyes.

“Mm… morning,” she stretched, then smiled at him.

“How’s your arm?” he asked.

“You’re such a worrier,” she rolled her eyes as he took the gauze off anyway. “See? All healed up.”

“Yeah.” His eyes lingered on the bruise as his fingers trailed over it. Rabia hummed, shifted over onto her stomach and hugged a pillow under her head, Ganondorf’s cape spread out beneath her. Ganondorf watched her, eyes soft. Rabia had almost dozed off again when he settled over her thighs, straddling them.

“... I’m not a chair, Ganondorf,” she said. When he didn’t answer, she frowned. “What are you doing…?” she broke off with a sigh when his hands pressed into her back. “This is gonna make me fall back asleep,” Rabia mumbled.

“It’s still early,” he answered. Rabia jumped when his hands slid up her shirt and pressed into her shoulders, massaging the sore muscles.

“Mm… If you say so,” she smiled. He inched her shirt up slowly as he placed gentle kisses along her spine, and tossed it to the floor. He pressed his lips against her neck, his chest flush with her back, and trailed his hands down her sides. When they reached her ribs, she laughed.

“That tickles,” she giggled. He grinned and sat back up, tickling her sides. “No, nonono! Ganondorf!” she pushed his hands away and laughed, rolling back over to glare at him half-heartedly. He caught both her wrists in one hand and pinned them above her head and tickled her with the other. “Ganondorf!!” she shrieked. “Nonono!!” Ganondorf smiled, let go of her wrists, and leaned down to kiss her lips. Rabia smiled and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, kissing him back deeply.

“Hey guys, everyone is wondering where you a- ohhh…” Aveil stepped into the room and blinked. “Well. Should I just leave, or…?” Rabia started laughing into Ganondorf’s lips.

“We’ll be down in a minute, Aveil,” Ganondorf said, sitting up to look at her.

“A minute? Really?” Aveil raised an eyebrow. Ganondorf rolled his eyes.

“Yes, as soon as we’re dressed. Now go away,” he said.

“Well, you don’t have to be rude about it,” Aveil said. Rabia laughed harder at the look Ganondorf gave her. Aveil rolled her eyes and closed the door behind her. Ganondorf stood and offered Rabia a hand, then pulled her into another kiss.

“We’ll finish this later,” he winked. Rabia flushed. The two of them finished getting dressed and headed to the fortress.

~ VAATISPURPLEBUTTVAATISPURPLEBUTTVAATISPURPLEBUTT ~

Ganondorf and Rabia joined Aveil at their usual table for breakfast and she greeted them with a cheeky wave and an eyebrow waggle. The few other girls sitting near them burst into giggles. Ganondorf rolled his eyes and Rabia blushed.

“T i Ganondorf, da must i(1),” she greeted with a grin. “Did you two have a good night?” He ignored her and sat down next to Rabia, the amicable silence only broken by the quiet sounds of eating.

“So, what’s going on today?” Rabia asked.

“Well, today they’re prepping for tomorrow, so it’s just the artisans and horse trainers showing off. They don’t have as much to do as the others for tomorrow,” Aveil said. “To be honest, it’s kind of boring.” One of the women walking by the table scowled at her. “... Ri žo(2).”

“Horse trainers?” Rabia asked. Ganondorf nodded.

“Our war horses are highly sought after... by the warriors who can afford them,” he winked. “They’re intelligent, agile, graceful horses, and they bond strongly with their companions.”

“I think people just like them because they’re pretty,” Aveil muttered.

“That too,” Ganondorf nodded with a quirk to his lips.

“Can we go see them?” Rabia asked.

“Yeah, sure,” Ganondorf said. He stood and offered her his hand, which she took eagerly. They left the fortress and headed outside towards the stables. The horses were all outside in a large, fenced in space. Some horses were being ridden over jumps and through other obstacles by strong, muscled women, whom Rabia noticed were doing this bareback. Other horses were playing with each other or running around enjoying the sun. Most of them were in various shades of gold, from white to yellow. There were a few golden-brown and silver-grey horses, and one lone, large black horse. All of them shared the same metallic sheen to their coats that made them unnaturally beautiful.

“Wow,” Rabia breathed. Ganondorf smiled.

“I believe the Hylians call them Akhal-Teke. We call them ‘Ehe gor o λíst r’,” he said. “Desert fire horses,” he translated at her blank look. “Named for their coloring and… distinct personalities.” Rabia pointed at the black one.

“He’s yours, isn’t he?” she asked. The horse came trotting over and nudged Ganondorf’s hand.

“Yeah, this is Kerberos,” he nodded. He reached into his pocket offered a carrot up to the horse, who took it happily. His munching attracted a few other horses who trotted over to the fence. A white-gold horse nudged at Rabia’s hands for some food while the others hounded Ganondorf. An angry woman rounded the corner and glared at him, hands on her hips.

“Ganondorf! Af bi magst ak t aλ ot očλa? Kuk Ot oλa i nša čuka(3)!

“Naaat(4),” he said, hiding the carrots behind her back. The woman tutted at him. He sighed and handed the carrots over while Rabia giggled. “Nadéλa, Í sk λi st r i t ašk ani éso sak t ho(5)?” Nadéλa sighed.

“Ša, λak i n kuk ot oċλa da’müs par a(6),” she answered.

“Ki t i t(7)!” he called after her as she walked away. “She’s letting us take them out for a ride. Is there one you like?” he asked. Rabia nodded, still petting the white-gold horse.

“She’s nice,” Rabia said. Ganondorf coaxed the two horses out of the pen and mounted Kerberos. It took Rabia a few times to mount since this horse was taller than her own, but she managed to vault herself up high enough.

“I was about to get off and give you a boost,” Ganondorf teased as he urged Kerberos to go, with Rabia beside him. She huffed.

“I had it! I just had to… jump higher.” She scowled when he laughed. “Don’t make fun of me! She’s taller than Duke!”

“You’re so stubborn, mewadala,” he smiled.

“Says you,” Rabia grinned. She followed Ganondorf further into the desert, winding between the sand dunes. The horses glided over the sand as effortlessly as if it was grass. The sun was high in the sky when they finally dismounted, hidden in the shade cast over them by the sand dunes. “That was fun!” Rabia laughed, leaning against Ganondorf’s side. He wrapped an arm around her waist and smiled.

“E’ata ti saλa b’af ž i no(8),” he said. She looked up at him with an eyebrow raised.
“You know I have no idea what you said, right?” she asked. Her lips twitched as she tried to suppress her smile. He leaned down and kissed her.

“Don’t worry about it,” he said, touching her flushed cheek. He frowned a little. “We should be getting back anyway.”

“Okay,” Rabia leaned into his touch. Ganondorf stood and pulled her up with him, then boosted her up onto her horse. She gave him a look that he ignored, but didn’t say anything. The route back was much shorter, and soon they were heading back to Ganondorf’s bedroom. “Oh, it’s much cooler in here,” she said as she flopped onto his bed.

“Why don’t you cool off for a while? I have to get something ready for tomorrow anyway,” Ganondorf shrugged. Rabia sat up and tilted her head, but didn’t ask.

“Okay. I’ll take a cold bath or something.” She stood and kissed his lips. “See you at dinner?” she asked.

“Of course.” He set his hands on her hips and kissed her deeply, then left the room.

~ VAATISPURPLEBUTTVAATISPURPLEBUTTVAATISPURPLEBUTT ~

Rabia stayed in the bath water until it started to warm up. She wrapped up in a fluffy towel, then headed back into the bedroom to find Kamilah sitting cross legged on the bed.

“...Hi?” Rabia paused in the doorway.

“King Ganondorf asked me to bring you some water. And clothes,” she added. Kamilah handed her a glass.

“Oh, um… thank you,” Rabia accepted the water and drank it quickly. She eyed the other woman curiously. “I have my own clothes, though,” she said. Kamilah shrugged.

“He thought you’d be cooler in these,” she said, tilting her head. “Your name is… Rabia, yes?” Rabia nodded and smiled as she looked over the clothes Kamilah had brought - purple. Her favorite color.

“Yeah,” she said. “And you’re… Kamilah?” she asked. Kamilah nodded.

“That’s right.”

“Rabia, I finished early if you want to head down now,” Ganondorf stopped in the doorway and blinked, looking back and forth between the two women.

“Yeah, sure, I just have to get dressed,” Rabia smiled. She flushed dark as his eyes roved over her and he smirked.

“I think you look great,” he said.

“I-I… you… shut up!” Rabia said. Kamilah threw Ganondorf a dirty look and stalked out of the room. “Would you turn around, please?” He laughed, but turned around while she dressed. She left the vambraces and the veil on the bed, then took Ganondorf’s hand. “Ready?” He squeezed her hand and the two went downstairs.

They grabbed some dinner and sat with Aveil and Kamilah around the largest fire, though it was less crowded out here than the night before. It seemed most of the women had spent the day in the fortress. Most of the people milling about were glass blowing, making pottery with dark red clay, or grabbing something to eat.

“Hey, guys,” Rabia said as they sat down. Aveil smiled. “How’s it going?”

“Hey, Rabia,” Aveil smiled. “My preparations for tomorrow are done, thank the goddesses. They make such a fuss for his birthday,” she nodded to Ganondorf. Kamilah nearly choked on her dinner and Rabia giggled.

“You’re just jealous that people actually want to celebrate my birth,” Ganondorf said. Aveil gasped dramatically, clutching her chest.

“Oh, you wound me!” she cried, and Ganondorf laughed his booming laugh.

“So, what exactly are you preparing?” Rabia asked.

“It’s his actual birthday, so… alcohol,” Aveil said. Kamilah rolled her eyes.

“We were preparing for his birthday feast,” Kamilah said. “The performers were doing some last-minute practicing, and lots of cleaning,” she answered.

“Ohhh,” Rabia said. There was a lull in the conversation, broken only by the sounds of eating.

“So, you’re from Hyrule?” Kamilah asked, breaking the silence and looking at Rabia.

“Yeah. I live in Castle Town with my dad, stepmom, and brothers.”

“Brothers?” Kamilah asked.

“Yep, I have three! One older, and two little ones,” she smiled brightly.

“Are you close with your stepmom?” Kamilah asked. Rabia’s smile fell a little.

“Not really? We’re the only women in the house so we kind of bond over how ridiculous the boys get… but we don’t have anything in common. Aside from the red hair, anyway,” she shook her head.
“What do you mean? Surely if she raised you, you must have something in common,” Kamilah said. Rabia shrugged.

“Well… she’s much nicer than me, and puts up with stuff that I don’t. She’s very friendly and has more social graces than I ever will. She’s gentle and is such a mom, even with children that aren’t hers.”

“She sounds nice,” Kamilah said.

“Yeah, she is. She just doesn’t appreciate my bluntness. Or sarcasm. Or overall sassiness, which is pretty much my whole personality,” Rabia shrugged. “The only thing I think she likes about me is my need to save every sad animal I see. Something about having hope for my ‘maternal instinct’ or something.”

“So you must take after your father, then?” Kamilah asked. Rabia shook her head.

“Nope, not much like him either,” she said. “Dad says I’m a lot like my real mom, but he only talks about her if he’s really drunk and I’ve never met her, so I can’t attest to that,” she shrugged. “But my brothers think I’m awesome so I mean, whatever.” Kamilah smiled a little at that, then looked back down at her lap with a frown.

“He... he never talks about her? Did he at least give you a name?” she asked after a moment. Rabia shook her head. Aveil glanced between the two of them, her eyes getting wider. Ganondorf caught Aveil’s eye and shook his head, giving her a look. The interaction when unnoticed by Rabia and Kamilah. Kamilah had abandoned her dinner and was staring intently at her lap. She stood suddenly, and smiled. “Well, I have to get back to work.” She collected up the empty dishes. “I’ll see you all later.” Rabia blinked and watched as Kamilah walked away.

“Did I say something wrong?” she asked Ganondorf and Aveil with a frown.

“Why don’t we go look at the artisan stuff?” Ganondorf asked, cutting off Aveil before she could say anything. He stood and dusted himself off, then offered Rabia a hand.

“...Okay,” she took his hand and followed him to the tents where the women were displaying glass and clay goods. There were glass beads and figurines of all shapes, sizes, and colors, and of course there were plenty of clay pots and dinnerware. There was even a small amount of beautifully crafted gold jewelry in the mix. Rabia slid her hand back into Ganondorf’s, slotting their fingers together as they wandered slowly. She was so entranced by her surroundings, she didn’t notice him slip something into his pocket as they passed by the last tent.

“It’s getting late,” Ganondorf said. They were far enough from the festivities that the laughter and talking and shrieks of playing children was barely audible anymore, and their only light sources were the fireflies and the moon. A gentle breeze was blowing across the sand dunes as they walked towards Ganondorf’s house. Rabia squeezed his hand and hummed in agreement.

“Yeah, it is,” she agreed as she stifled a small yawn. He led her back inside to the bedroom and gently nudged her towards the bathroom.

“You can have it first. I’m going to change,” he said. He watched her disappear behind the bathroom door. Once he was certain the door was closed, he pulled the small ring out of his pocket and placed it into his bedside drawer, then changed and got ready for bed.