Queen of the Banished

October brought in cool winds from the north, and the return of relatively normal life to the citizens of Castle Town. Ganondorf’s changes had improved things economically, and though many of the Castle Town residents disagreed with his rule, they weren’t inclined to make too much of a fuss. The increased number of Gerudo Guards in Castle Town ensured that any one who did make a fuss were shut down quickly, locked away in the castle dungeons. With Hyrule Field overrun by moblins, travel outside of Castle Town and Kakariko Village had become treacherous. Most citizens opted to grin and bear it.

Life inside the castle wasn’t nearly as peaceful. With the Gerudo guards occupying the streets of Castle Town, their posts inside the castle had needed to be filled. The hallways were patrolled day and night by moblins, who also acted as brutal guards to the dungeon. Though Rabia had received news her project was complete and things were set into motion in the valley, it brought her little peace. She was surrounded by monsters and didn’t dare enter to dungeons to see her friends. Sheik still wasn’t himself, and Ganondorf hadn’t spoken to her in weeks. With her mother always on patrol or training guards, and Aveil returned to the valley, she felt very alone.

One of many sleepless nights found her wandering the cold castle hallways, followed by her ever-present shadow, Sheik. She paused as she heard hushed voices coming from the study and pulled Sheik down the next hallway, a hand over his mouth. He looked at her questioningly, but she shook her head. They heard the door creak open and Ganondorf’s heavy footsteps heading towards the throne room.

“-nd them, boss,” Dark Link said, emotionlessly. “I’ll make certain of it. They can’t hide forever.”

“Finding them isn’t the problem. We have to be ready…” their voices trailed off as they moved deeper into the heart of the castle. Rabia poked her head around the corner and, seeing the hallway empty, snuck into the study. She wasted no time looking through the pages and pages spread out over the desk.

“What are you looking for?” Sheik asked. He leaned against the wall and crossed his arms.

“Anything about the Triforce…” Rabia muttered. She paused on what looked like an intricate training regime for the Gerudo, then continued flipping through the papers. She found a small black journal at the bottom of the pile. She hesitated, then opened it to the newest entry.

“My guards training has increased. With Kamilah leading them, their abilities have increased ten-fold…” she hummed to herself and skimmed through the pages until she came upon what she was looking for. “...Link and Zelda still evade my patrols,” she let out a breath of relief, “though I have no doubt they’ll return. Meanwhile, I have found a way to retrieve their pieces of the Triforce and take back what is rightfully mine.” She frowned as she continued to read. There was no mention of how he would do it.

“Rabia,” Sheik hissed. He was looking out in the hallway anxiously. Rabia quickly put the journal back where she’d found it and hurried out of the study, Sheik close behind. They rounded the corner as Ganondorf entered the study corridor. They didn’t move, barely breathed, until they heard the door click shut behind him, then silently made their way back to Rabia’s bedroom.

“What did he mean about taking their Triforce pieces?” Rabia asked once the door closed behind them. She turned to Sheik. “How would one manage to do that?”

“The only way to obtain a piece of the Triforce is by being the one most worthy to wield that piece,” Sheik said, as if reciting something from a book. Rabia frowned, not understanding. “He would have to destroy the worthier vessel,” Sheik explained, emotionless once more. Rabia paled.

“He’s… he’s going to kill them?” she asked. Sheik nodded.

“Yes. It’s awful, but it’s for the greater good,” he said assuredly. Rabia shook her head slowly.

“You don’t truly believe that,” she said softly.

“Of course I do. Ganon always makes the right decisions,” he nodded. Rabia sighed.

“You’re right,” she muttered, brushing him off. “I’m going to go to bed.”

“Of course. Goodnight, Your Majesty.” Sheik bowed and left the room.



Ganondorf reentered the study a few minutes later. He paused in the doorway for a moment. Something seemed off, but he couldn’t tell what.

“Master?” Dark Link questioned. Ganondorf shook his head and sat at his desk.

“We’ve checked the Lost Woods, Kakariko Village, Hyrule Field, Death Mountain… have we checked Minish Woods? I wouldn’t put it past the wind mage to be harboring Link…” he said thoughtfully. Dark Link bowed.

“I’ll start searching right away.”

“Noted.” Ganondorf nodded to him. “I’ll have a search party sent to join you in the morning.” Dark Link stepped into the shadows and disappeared. Once he was gone, Ganondorf unlocked the bottom drawer of his desk and pulled out a notebook. This one was full of detailed battle plans and fighting strategies and training regimes to anticipate any of Link’s future moves. He wanted both himself and his army to be prepared for anything Link would bring their way. He had reports from Nabooru and Aveil, both of whom had trained with Link, as well as reports from various moblins that had faced him and lived.

Ganondorf finished scribbling out a detailed training regime as the sun was coming up over the horizon. Dark Link still had not returned from Minish Woods. Ganondorf sent off another servant to deliver the newest training regime to Kamilah. He had a search party to attend to.



After an impromptu meeting with his search party and a quick dinner by himself, Ganon sat alone in the throne room. No guards were needed - the moblins patrolling the castle hallways were enough. The dark, empty room was blissfully silent. Despite this, Ganon was wracked with a splitting headache that didn’t want to let up.

“What?” he finally growled. His voice echoed off the stone walls, but the moblins that walked past the doorway took no notice of his odd behavior.

I saw your plans for my people - for my WIFE. Ganondorf clearly wasn’t happy with Ganon’s training regime, or his plans to get Rabia out of the way. Ganon rolled his eyes.

“You think YOU could do better?” he asked.

Yes. There was a silence, then Ganon started to laugh.

“Fine, fine,” he chuckled. “Take the reigns. Do your best to enact my plan without your casualties,” he sneered. “But if you try to stop my plans… when you fail… I won’t only take the Princess’ life. I'll take your wife's, your child's, and your people.” If there had been anyone around to see it, the would’ve seen Ganon’s red, glowing eyes fade into Ganondorf’s sunset gold, and his dark, dark skin grow pale. But there was no one. He was alone.



Rabia had spent the whole night tossing and turning, as she had every night the past week. She was exhausted, but every time she fell asleep she was plagued by nightmares. They weren’t of a blue-eyed demon, this time, but one of darkness and flame. When the sun rose over the horizon she gave up sleep as a lost cause and pulled herself out of the bed. She pulled on her dressing gown and trudged downstairs, her hair still wild from ‘sleep’. The people she passed in the hallways gave her a wide berth - she was clearly cranky.

“Rabia!” She flinched at Sheik’s overly-cheery morning voice.

“Shut up, Sheik,” she grumbled. He frowned, then linked arms with her.

“Awe, cheer up. It’s a beautiful morning in Hyrule!” he insisted.

“Shouldn’t you still be asleep?” she asked. “Do you sleep?” Sheik shrugged.

“Not much. Shouldn’t you be sleeping? You need your rest, you know.”

“I can’t sleep,” she snapped. “And I’m hungry.” She pouted.

“Well, let’s get you some breakfast, and maybe we can go to town and get some Dreamless Sleep potion!” Rabia paused.

“Into town?” she asked. Sheik nodded.

“Fresh air would do you some good,” he said wisely. After a hasty breakfast, Rabia met Sheik in the courtyard. He was sitting on one of the many stone benches, watching Kamilah train the Gerudo guards. “Your mom is intense,” he said to Rabia as she sat down beside him.

“Is this where she’s been all week?” Rabia asked, tilting her head. Sheik nodded.

“Yeah, she’s training up Ganondorf’s forces,” he said.

“...Wait here.” She stood and strode over to Kamilah. When she saw Rabia, Kamilah paused her demonstrations.

“Okay everyone, take five!” she called. There was a collective groan of relief from the guards. They dispersed, some heading inside for warmth, others stretching themselves out and getting water, and some breaking up into small, chattering groups. Kamilah pulled her daughter into a warm hug that Rabia melted into. At least, until Kamilah started whispering in her ear.

“Rabia, listen to me. I know you love Ganondorf, but there’s something dark in him. This isn’t the man you fell in love with - he’s dangerous. I’m afraid of how close you are to this situation. Right now I’m training these guards to kill Link and Zelda on sight. Civilians have been murdered by Ganondorf’s moblin forces in Hyrule field.” Kamilah whispered this quickly and quietly before releasing her daughter. “Are you going into town?” she asked in a normal voice. “Take care if you do - it was freezing last night and there’s some ice.” Rabia smiled at her weakly.

“Okay. Thanks, mom,” she squeezed her mother’s hand, then hurried back to Sheik. He linked arms with her again and they headed into town. She let Sheik lead her to the potion shop and bought the Dreamless Sleep potion, though she didn’t have the heart to tell him she couldn’t drink it while pregnant. Afterwards, they wandered for awhile, Rabia lost in her thoughts until she realized that she had lead them out of Castle Town and into Kakariko Village.

It was noon time, now, and the usually bustling streets were silent, save for the sound of muffled footsteps on the stone. Moblins stood on every street corner, grunting to each other in their own strange language and occasionally brandishing weapons at frightened passersby. Rabia kept her head down and focused on the streets as she and Sheik approached Kaikoura’s home. She paused outside the door, uncertain if she would be welcome, then knocked. The door creaked open, Kaikoura’s eye just visible as she peered out at her visitors.

“...Rabia?” she looked at her in mild suspicion.

“Hey, Kaik… can we come in?” Rabia asked, gesturing to herself and Sheik.

“Sheik?!” Kaikoura opened the door in surprise and hurried them inside, bolting the door behind them. “What happened?!” She went to give Sheik a hug, but he stepped back from her grasp. Kaikoura gave Sheik a hurt look.

“Kaik, he’s… he’s not himself,” Rabia started. “Everything is just… wrong.” She sighed and sat down on the couch heavily. Kaikoura hesitantly sat beside her while Sheik stood over by the door, watching them. “There’s something very wrong with Ganondorf, and I think… I think he did something to Sheik. He’s not hurt, but he’s… not himself,” Rabia said. “I’d hoped that coming here might… snap him out of it.” She set her head in her hands. “I’m sorry.”

“What do you mean?” Kaikoura asked. “What did Ganondorf do to him?!”

“I-I don’t know…” her lip quivered and she took a deep breath. “I don’t know what he’s doing. I don’t even know if he’s… really him, anymore.”

“I hate to say I told you so, but Rabia… Zelda and I warned you that he was bad news,” Kaikoura said, eyeing her husband. Sheik was looking around the cottage with a detached interest, like he’d never seen the place before and he didn’t care to. Rabia shook her head.

“Kaik, he’s changed,” she insisted. “I think he got in over his head with something and I don’t know how to help him.”

“I think you’re finally seeing him for who he is,” Kaikoura said. “No one can help him deal with that.”

“... It was a mistake to come here. I’m sorry to have… disturbed you.” Rabia walked back to the door and grabbed Sheik’s elbow. “If I figure out how to fix Sheik, I’ll send him back to you. Until then… just, be careful, okay?” They left, the door clicking shut with finality.