Queen of the Banished

Link gripped Zelda’s hand as they stepped over the drawbridge and entered the castle courtyard. The drawbridge immediately closed and a second ward went up around the castle courtyard as hundreds of Ganondorf’s moblins descended on them. Link pushed Zelda back and started cutting through them with everything he had. It seemed for every moblin he cut down, three more would take its place. Link took hit after hit to protect Zelda, until finally, finally the last of the moblins scattered when they saw how quickly their numbers had dwindled.

Link, battered, bruised and bloody, knelt in the grass, struggling to catch his breath. Zelda hurried to his side and pressed a soft kiss to his cheek. She rifled through the bag at her hip and pulled out a bottle of a strange, red liquid. Link looked at it dubiously.

“It isn’t much,” she said. “But it’ll help heal you up a bit.” Zelda uncorked the bottle and handed it to him, which he drank without question. In minutes, all cuts and most bruises had been healed, and he felt more energized.

“Thank you,” he said as he pulled himself up. Zelda shoved the empty bottle back into her bag and took his hand once more, leading him towards the castle. They made it to the front garden when they heard Ganondorf’s heavy footsteps coming down the path. Link whistled for Epona, who was waiting in the nearby stables, and urged Zelda behind him again.

“Hello, boy,” Ganon said. He grinned. “I’ve been waiting for this moment for almost a thousand years.”

“You certainly age well,” Link muttered. Ganon’s grin sharpened.

“You have no idea… I told you before, this history will be written in blood. I intend it to be yours.” He stepped closer and Link unsheathed his sword. Ganon paused and let out a low laugh. “You dare raise the blade of evil’s bane to me? So be it.” He drew his own sword, the dark power of the Triforce pulsating off him with every step. Link crouched and adjusted his grip as he and Ganon circled each other, Ganon’s red eyes burning into his.

Link dealt the first blow. Their swords clashed together in a fury of sound, flashing through the air quick as lighting. Their movements were perfectly in sync, like they’d had this fight a hundred times before. Epona finally reached them, her neigh swept away in the wind. Zelda grabbed her reins and jumped up onto her back, readying her bow as she circled the two, looking for a shot. They’d both gotten in a couple good hits - Link was favoring his right side and Ganondorf was bleeding from his left arm. Zelda aimed and loosed her arrow, but it bounced off Ganondorf’s heavy plate armor. He hardly seemed to notice.

The clashing of swords rang through the air as Link and Ganondorf continued to fight, their eyes locked on each other. Zelda aimed and loosed another arrow. It missed Ganondorf by mere centimeters, clattering as it bounced off the stone wall. It also barely missed Rabia as she vaulted herself over the wall and started sprinting towards the fight.

“Rabia?!” Zelda screamed. “No, stop!” Rabia ignored Zelda, unsheathing her swords as she ran for Link and Ganondorf. At the mention of her name, Ganondorf glanced up to look at her, his eyes wide. The hesitation allowed Link to knock his sword out of his hand. Link pulled his own sword back, ready to thrust it through Ganondorf’s chest. Rabia skidded between them and caught his sword between the two of hers, blocking the hit. Ganondorf staggered back, his eyes wild as he grabbed for the lost sword.

Link stared at her for a moment, then glanced down at where their swords were locked. His eyes hardened and they stared each other down. Rabia’s arms strained as Link pushed against her, forcing her to slide back in the mud. Link pulled his sword free from hers and she staggered, but immediately stopped his next blow. They fought, their swords ringing as Rabia blocked Link, hit for hit.

“LINK LOOK OUT!” Zelda shrieked, horrified. Link and Rabia both turned to look where she was pointing. Ganondorf was kneeling on the ground and his eyes burned a strange, pupiless red and his lower canines began to elongate. He gave them a distorted grin.

“Behold! The power of the Demon King!” Ganon screamed. His whole body twisted and morphed before their eyes into a huge, boar-like beast towering over them. Rabia’s swords slipped from her fingers as she backed away from him. He snorted, once, and before anyone could do anything he charged - not for Link, but for Rabia. He ran her through with his tusks, then turned to face Link as he shook Rabia off onto the ground at Link’s feet, her blood dripping grotesquely from Ganon’s face. She screamed.

Link went to charge the beast when suddenly it reared back, its body twisting as it shrieked. Link watched as he shrunk down, his form changing before Link’s eyes. This time, though, the change seemed… difficult. As the beast shrunk back down to human size, its legs changed back to Ganondorf’s human form, and his eyes returned to their Gerudo gold. It was kneeling on the ground, breathing heavily.

“Zelda, shoot NOW!” Link yelled to her, his eyes on the beast before him. At his yell, it started to rise. Zelda aimed and let out a breath, then let her arrow fly. It pierced Ganon’s shoulder, in a gap between his plates of armour. The beast fell back to its knees, letting out an anguished scream as the arrow’s golden light overtook him. The beasts dark form left Ganondorf in a rush of black smoke and left the man kneeling on the frozen ground, head bowed.

The boar-shaped mist turned to Link again, snorting out black smoke as it reared to charge. A spot of bright, white light in the beasts shoulder slowly to grow, overtaking its form as it dissolved into nothingness. There was a heavy silence in the courtyard. Ganondorf struggled to his feet and ran to Rabia’s side. Link stood over her, readying his sword to deliver a final killing blow. Ganondorf didn’t seem to notice as he knelt before Link, reaching for his wife. Just as Link was about to swing down his sword, he felt a tug on his leg and looked down.

“P-Please… Link,” Rabia choked. Ganondorf cupped her cheek in his shaking hands.

“...Link,” Zelda called as she approached. Link hesitated, but lowered his sword and knelt down on Rabia’s other side, putting pressure on the wound. Zelda knelt down beside him and bowed her head, her eyes closing as she started to pray.

“Rabia? Rabia, da’müs saktar sæ. Promín pas érozs mítfa! Mewadala, kiti...” (1) Ganondorf begged. Rabia grabbed his hand and held tight, as the pain faded an a feeling of warmth and peace washed over her. She looked up at him as darkness gathered around the edges of her vision.

“Bi és sun,” (2) she whispered to him. Then everything went black.