A Hidden Kindness

1164 words

{Friday}

Ganondorf woke as the morning sun was coming up over the horizon. Rabia was curled up underneath the sheets beside him. He wrapped an arm around her bare waist and pulled her close as he pressed kisses along her shoulder. She stirred and stifled a yawn.

“Mm… Ganondorf?” Rabia smiled and turned over to kiss him. “Good morning,” she said softly. She pressed her face into the crook of his neck and sighed. “What time is it?” she yawned.

“It’s sunrise,” he answered. “I have to get up. Kabira will be leaving soon,” he stroked her hair, then got out of bed.

“You have a great ass,” Rabia mumbled as she checked him out from behind. He chuckled and pulled on some clothes.

“So do you.” He leaned over and kissed her. “I’ll bring you back some breakfast.”

Ganondorf returned an hour later. Rabia was sitting on the window bench, still wrapped up in the sheet as she gazed out the window. The sun cast her in a soft golden glow. He sat down beside her and set the breakfast plate on the wide window sill.

“The sunrise here is amazing,” Rabia said after a moment. “In Hyrule, a December sunrise is dim, grey, and cold. It’s never grey here,” she said. Ganondorf wrapped an arm around her waist and trailed his fingers over the dark bruise he had kissed into the side of her neck. She shivered and leaned into the touch.

“You could… stay, if you wanted,” Ganondorf replied. Rabia sighed wistfully.

“I wish I could… there are… a lot of things I love about this place,” she weaved her fingers through his. “The oasis… the people… the sunrises and sunsets…” she looked up at him, and though she didn’t say anything out loud, the look in her eyes made it clear. Ganondorf kissed her lips softly. After a moment, she stood. “I should get dressed,” she said with a stretch.

“I don’t know, I think you could pull of the toga look,” Ganondorf grinned at her.

“You’re such a dork!” Rabia laughed as her cheeks flushed.

“I actually had some clothes put in here for you. I thought you’d like something cooler than what you brought,” he said. She pressed another kiss to his lips in thanks before going into the bathroom to get changed. It was like the purple outfit she had been loaned before, but this time the clothes were a deep red. She stepped out of the bathroom to find Ganondorf having a heated discussion with Kamilah.

“What happened? I was gone for five minutes,” she said, looking between the two of them. Kamilah huffed and said something Rabia assumed was a curse, then glared at Ganondorf.

“Don’t worry about it, mewadala,” Ganondorf said. “Kamilah is just being stubborn.” Kamilah scowled at him.

“We have talked about this, Ganondorf! I will not change my mind, so you need to drop it, okay?!” she snapped.

“Fine! Don’t tell her,” Ganondorf said. He turned to Rabia. “Want to go see the musicians? It’s nothing like Hylian music, but the players are just as amazing,” he said.

“Uh, yes?! Is that even a question?!” Rabia asked. She grabbed Ganondorf’s hand, and the two ran downstairs with Kamilah following. They hurried outside where the musicians were already playing. There were no clear groups, with people walking back and forth and joining in songs and leaving them to join others. Aveil spotted them and ran over to join them.

“Hey guys!” she said. “Whoa, Rabia, you are covered in hickeys,” she said. “Did you guys have a good night?” she winked. Rabia blushed dark and Ganondorf grinned.

“We had a blast.”

“Oh my goddesses, Ganondorf,” Rabia groaned and hid her face in her hands. He laughed loudly and wrapped an arm around her.

“I’m glad you guys came. Since you,” Aveil looked at Ganondorf, “locked Nabooru up, I’ve had no one else to hang out with. This was her favorite celebration on your birth week!”

“She threatened to kill Rabia, tried to act on that threat, and ignored my direct orders.”

“Ganondorf, her job is to prevent outsiders from entering the valley,” Aveil said. “Rabia isn’t a member of the tribe, so Nabooru was just doing her job.” Suddenly Aveil gasped, and grabbed his arm. “What if Rabia gets an honorary membership? Then Nabooru has to let Rabia into the valley!” Ganondorf sighed.

“To earn that membership, she has to earn a sparring match against Nabooru. Nabooru is locked up,” he said.

“Well, as third in command, I think I can stand in for her. And she’s already beat me, so who’s to say she hasn’t already earned it?” Aveil said. “Besides, considering…” she glanced back at Rabia and Kamilah who were talking together. “Well, you know…”

“Fine. Get Rabia a membership card. I’ll have the guards release Nabooru,” Ganondorf replied. “If she steps out of line again, I will lock her away for good,” he growled. Aveil whooped and ran off into the fortress, and Ganondorf sent some guards to the dungeon.

“Ganondorf! Kamilah and I are gonna go dance. Do you wanna come?” Rabia chirped.

“Sure, why not?” he replied.

~ VAATISPURPLEBUTTVAATISPURPLEBUTTVAATISPURPLEBUTT ~

Sunset found Rabia, Ganondorf and Kamilah by the large fire. The musicians were still playing and women were still dancing. People were coming from the oasis and enjoying dinner together by the fire as they dried off.

“Guys! Guuuys!” Aveil was holding another woman’s wrist as she ran over and thrust a piece of parchment paper into Rabia’s hands.

“What is this?” Rabia asked. She unfurled the parchment curiously.

“You’re officially an honorary tribe member!” Aveil said. “You beat me in a sparring match and you’re a frequent guest of the king, so we figured you deserved the title. Next time you come, just show that to the guards, and they’ll let you by, no questions asked! Oh, and this is Nabooru, I’m sure you remember each other,” Aveil said, gesturing to the woman behind her.

“Yeah, we’ve met,” Rabia said. She stepped back from Nabooru warily. Kamilah frowned.

“You two don’t get along? I’m surprised - you’re a lot alike,” she stated.

“Yeah, well, death threats put a damper on any relationship,” Rabia shrugged.

“És ri žo,” (1) Nabooru said. She offered a hand to Rabia. After a moment, she took it and Nabooru grinned. “So, is it true you kicked Aveil’s ass in the training grounds?” she asked. Rabia let out a surprised laugh.

“Is that what she’s telling people?” she asked.

“Oooh, I love this song! Let’s go dance!” Aveil grabbed Nabooru and Rabia’s arms and ran off to dance with some of the others.

“Don’t even say it,” Kamilah said, cutting of Ganondorf before he could start.

“I wasn’t going to say anything!” he said. She gave him a stern look. “Okay, maybe I was. You know what I think about this.” She ignored him and sat by the fire, watching the three younger girls dance.