Sequel: A King and A Girl

A Hidden Kindness

'Til the Morning Sun (you're mine)

1532 words
Thursday

Rabia woke with a soft groan and immediately squeezed her eyes shut. Her head ached and the bright desert sunshine only exacerbated it. She took a deep breath and pushed herself up from the bed slowly. It was still early morning and Ganondorf was fast asleep. At some point during the night, he had removed his headdress so his long hair was fanned out around him like a fiery halo. He was lying spread eagle, face down on the bed and hugging a pillow. Rabia smiled and kissed his cheek, then headed downstairs to get them both some coffee. She went down to the fortress and sat at their usual table. Kamilah was sitting there already, drinking a cup of tea and reading a book, but Aveil was nowhere to be found.

“Da must i,” Rabia said, sitting down across from her. Kamilah looked up and smiled.

“Da must i,” Kamilah greeted her. There was a silence while the two finished their drinks. “Rabia,” Kamilah finally broke the silence. Rabia blinked and looked up at her.

“Yes?”

“I… never mind.” Kamilah finished her tea, picked up her book, and made a hasty exit.

“Oh… okay…” Rabia watched her walk away with a frown. She finished off her coffee and grabbed another cup, plus a glass of water, and headed back to Ganondorf. He was starting to stir when she entered the room.

“Good morning,” she said softly. He groaned and put a pillow over his head. She smiled and set the cups down on the nightstand and sat next to him on the bed. “I brought you some coffee, and some water,” she rubbed his back. He sat up slowly and reached for the coffee, taking a small sip.

“Mmm…” he leaned back against the headboard and squinted his eyes shut. “Thank you,” he murmured. He set the empty coffee cup aside and laid back down, this time with his head in her lap, eyes still closed. Rabia ran her fingers through his hair.

“How’s your head?” she asked.

“Awful,” he groaned. Rabia hummed, then reached down to grab one of the books from the trunk shaped box beside the bed. She carefully took off the green dust jacket and opened it up. Ganondorf opened an eye, reached for her free hand, and put it back in his hair. Rabia huffed out a soft laugh, then started to read to him.

“Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, of number four, Privet drive, were proud to say they were perfectly normal, thank you very much. They were the last people you'd expect to be involved in anything strange or mysterious…” she smiled as she recounted the familiar words to Ganondorf. They stayed like that for hours, until, near noontime, Ganondorf’s headache abated enough to finally get ready for the day. Rabia pressed the glass of water into his hand. “Drink that,” she said. He hid his smile behind the cup and drank it in one large gulp, then took her hand and went downstairs.

The festivities were beginning as they joined everybody outside. There were three large wooden platforms set up, pushed up together to form a large stage. The servants were standing on the stage, sweeping off as much of the sand as they could. Ganondorf and Rabia weaved their way between the excited women and children. For the most part, despite the number of people present, everyone was on the quiet side as they finished nursing their hangovers. Ganondorf and Rabia sat down in front of the stage on one of the many, many colorful blankets that had been laid out on the ground. They had chosen the blanket next to Kabira, who was sitting with another girl, when Aveil joined them.

“This is my favorite part of the week,” Aveil said to them. “I love watching the dancers.”

“Oh, hi Aveil!” Rabia smiled. “The dancers?” She nodded.

“Yeah, and today we get to see all of them, the youngest to the oldest. It’s my favorite,” she said. Rabia hummed and leaned into Ganondorf’s side.

“It’s alright,” Kabira muttered. The music had begun when Kamilah joined Aveil on her blanket, and the first dancers stepped onto the stage. They looked like they ranged from ages 3 - 5, and were clumsily mimicking the motions of two older women on stage. Some of them were facing the wrong direction, and the youngest ones were doing their own dance, which made some people in the audience laugh.

The next group of dancers were a little bit older, and their dance was cleaner, but still simple. The third group again were older, and their dancing was more complex with ballet interspersed with some quick movements. As the groups of girls grew older, they moved away from ballet and towards the motions associated with traditional Gerudo dance. The last group separated by age was almost completely traditional Gerudo dance. The youngest girl of the group, only slightly younger than Rabia, took the lead.

The performance ended with the most experienced dancers as the sun was setting across the valley. The servants were beginning to bring out dinner and light the fires and torches for the evening. The dancers all went up on the stage together and bowed to the loud applause they received before everyone broke for dinner. Rabia stood with a stretch.

“Mm… what do you want? I’ll go grab it for you,” she said as she placed a kiss on Ganondorf’s head. He shrugged.

“Anything is fine,” he said. “Thank you.” She gave him a gentle smile, then turned to Kabira. “Would you like anything?” she asked. Kabira ignored her, so Rabia shrugged and walked away. After a moment, Ganondorf turned to Kamilah. “So… you’re… Rabia’s mother…?” he asked. Kamilah froze.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I have no children,” she said quickly. He raised an eyebrow at her and she slumped. “Was it that obvious?” Ganondorf shrugged.

“Only for those of us paying attention,” he gestured to himself and Aveil. “Why don’t you tell her?” he asked. Kamilah shrugged.

“She’s happy,” Kamilah said. “And I’m sure her father didn’t tell her for a reason. I don’t think he ever wanted her to come here.” Kabira smirked to herself, but stayed quiet.

“Okay, okay, I’ll stay out of it. I think she’d be happy to know, though,” he said. There was a lull in conversation until Rabia came back. She handed Ganondorf a plate and sat beside him with her own.

“Here, darling,” Rabia smiled. He kissed her in thanks.

“I’ll be right back, Father,” Kabira said. She stood and disappeared into the crowd. Rabia sighed a little to herself.

“The dancers were amazing this year, as usual,” Aveil said. Kamilah nodded in agreement as Kabira joined them with her own dinner.

“It’s so beautiful out here,” Rabia said, hugging her knees to her chest. She closed her eyes as a soft breeze blew across the sand dunes. Ganondorf watched her with a smile.

“Yeah, it is,” he agreed. Aveil choked on her water and started laughing, and he threw her a dirty look.

“You are so lame,” she snorted. Rabia blinked and glanced at both of them.

“I missed something,” she said. She looked at Kamilah who shrugged. Aveil was still sniggering into her hands.

“Come on, Kamilah, let’s go spar or something.” Aveil asked, grinning in amusement. The two rose, whispering and giggling together as they walked away.

“... I’m very confused. What happened?” Rabia asked. Ganondorf stood as well, and offered her a hand up.

“Nothing. There’s just nothing else going on out here tonight, so everyone is finding other things to do,” he replied. She looked around and noticed groups going to the oasis or training grounds or into the fortress.

“Alright, what should we do then?” she asked.

“To be honest? I’d kind of like to read more of that book from this morning,” he said with a chuckle. Rabia perked up.

“Harry Potter?” she asked. “I’m always in favor of Harry Potter, let’s do it,” she said, following him up to his room. He sat down on the bed and leaned back against the headboard, then pulled her back against his chest. She picked up the book and hummed, then opened to the page marked with a ribbon. “The door swung open at once. A tall, black-haired witch in emerald-green robes stood there. She had a very stern face and Harry’s first thought was that this was not someone to cross,” Rabia began to read.

Ganondorf set his head on top of hers. Her voice faltered when he set his hand on her thigh. He pulled the book out of her hands and set it aside, then pulled her into a soft kiss.

“What was that for?” Rabia asked, turning in his arms to look up at him. He tucked his fingers under her chin and tilted her head up, then leaned over her, his lips brushing her cheek.

“Do you want me to stop?” he murmured against her skin, as he gently traced his thumb over her bottom lip. She leaned closer and rested her forehead against his, their breaths and heartbeats in sync. Ganondorf closed the gap between them, the hand under her chin sliding up to cup her cheek as he leaned over her and pressed her into the sheets.
♠ ♠ ♠
OCs: Rabia (main character/Ganondorf's bae), Kamilah (Gerudo warrior cum servant), Kabira (Ganondorf's daughter)

Translations:
da must i - Good morning