-Ganondorf-

The battle did not last much longer. The remaining monsters were defeated by the champions and the combined horsemen of the Majora and Qin. The Twilight were slaughtered to the last. The combined forces of the Qin, Majora, and Fae entered the remains out Jouket.

Ganondorf walked the streets he remembered. All around him were ruins. The sight of them made his heart ached, because in his eyes, they were a reflection of himself. He felt a ruined fire in him, and a crumbling foundation in his soul. Despite the momentary amusement being around Link provided, he couldn't shake off the aching in his heart and pain of silence Din had rewarded him with.

Something in the air struck his nostrils and Ganondorf stopped. He sniffed the air. It was not fire and ashe that he smelled. It was not bodies or blood. It was something primal, something that touched and resonated with his heart almost acidly sweetly. He did not recognize it. He had never smelled it before. The mark of the twilight pantheon on his left hand creeped to the surface, and he approached the source of the smell.

Amidst the burnt ruins of a building were a pair of men. The first was a Dragmire, bloodied and bruised. The latter was perhaps the whitest man Ganondorf had ever seen. He had seen men with a dark color, men with a pink color, and men with a slightly more yellowish-white color, but never had he seen a man whose skin was as the whitest snow off the top of a mountain. Ganondorf almost wondered if he was a snowman.

The snowman looked back at Ganon, and for a moment, Ganon felt himself pulled into the incredible depths of the orbs. Emotions stirred in Ganondorf's gut as he descended into the dark well. Anger, hate, but most of all, hunger.

Why are you so full of anger?

Because his goddess had abandoned him.

Why has she abandoned you?

Because he was a demon.

Yet you feel this is unjust? Anger is an emotion driven by the belief that one is dealt with unjustly.

He had begged and prayed and pleaded and worked every day for a hundred days. He had sacrificed a hundred animals. He had built one hundred altars. He did all of this because he wanted to be devoted, to be saved, and his goddess' answer was silence, contempt, and ultimately damnation. Nothing he did mattered. He didn't want to be a demon. He had hoped she didn't want that either.

You don't deserve such silence. You don't deserve contempt and damnation from one to whom you have given such loyalty. You have been betrayed.

Betrayed. Ganondorf felt rage and anger fill his veins.

The snowman blinked. Ganondorf blinked in surprise. Reality slammed into him and he stumbled, feeling he had been daydreaming. Yes, he had been daydreaming! That is the only thing that could make sense.

"Sir!" The snowman pleaded. "Please, help us! My friend, the house fell on him and he hasn't awakened yet!"

Remembering himself, Ganondorf stepped forward. "Do not worry. The army is near. It is good we found another Dragmire. Are you his friend?"

"Yes, I know him well. Almost like a brother, you could say."

"Come, we are leaving the city. It is not safe here." Ganondorf lifted up the hurt Dragmire and started out the door.

"Thank you, thank you! You are a good and kind man!"

"I don't know about that," Ganondorf grunted. The man's sweet tongue slightly annoyed him, but at the same time, he couldn't deny it. It was a good thing to help the injured. It was not something he was accustomed to doing, but he wanted to help his people, to save the Dragmire, and in so doing, to save himself.

"I am Ganondorf Dragmire. I will personally vouch for you as we approach. The Qin and Fae may find your likeness unusual."

"I understand perfectly. I thank you again." The snowman said. "Especially those 'Fae' things. I don't know which looks more monstrous, those black beasts or the walking trees. If it is well with you, I would rather keep my distance."

"Understandable," Ganondorf shrugged. He was used to the Fae. Not everyone was.

"Oh, where are my manners?! My apologies, this is a horrible day! You may call me Ghiradrim."

-Later-

With the final of the beasts put down, the armies of Qin, Fae, and Majora were able to reach the border and the rest of the Majora army could arrive. The Qin did not pass the border, but stationed themselves on Qin's side. The Majora stood to the other side while the Fae moved between to help formally facilitate the transfer of the Dragmire into the Majoran's arms.

Nabooru arrived at the head of the army. Ganondorf raised an eyebrow as she approached astride her wolf, "Shouldn't you be defending the prison? I sent the messenger to inform you-"

"And it is handled, Ganon," Nabooru whisked her hair behind her while rolling her eyes. "Your guess was correct but exaggerated. There wasn't an army waiting for us, just a handful. I left my brother with the Soren clan to clear it up."

Ganon frowned. He was not on good terms with the Soren, but then he wasn't the diplomatic one, Nabooru was. They were barbaric even by his standards. If she got them to cooperate where he couldn't, maybe she was more cut out for this.

It won't last. Her influence is weak, hesitant. They will turn on her. Unlike you... no one dares defy that which they fear.

Ganon shook the thought away, "Very well. He should do well. The beasts are handled. Anything more you need from me?"

"Depends, are you going to explode into flames again?"

He shrugged. He felt better after venting his frustration for a day alongside Link, but Ganon still felt volatile and unhinged. There were too many things happening at once. He needed to fix his situation with Din. He needed to figure out what the former governor of Joket's plan was, as Ganon had no doubt that he was connected to the monsters and Malon's mother returning from the masks of death. The Dragmire, his family and bloodline, were being transferred from Qin slavery to a new home with Majora in the mountains.

The mountains will trap them as they trapped you. The Majoran will never accept them, just as they rejected you... until you showed them fear.

And it didn't help that his thoughts had become abnormally dark with how frustrated he was.

Ganon hoped the mountains would not be confining for them as much as it was for him.

Ganon answered her, "I am satisfied in blood for now. Again, is there anything more you need from me?"

"A friendly face would help matters..." Nabooru appraised Ganon. "So how about you just stand to the side for now?"

"I can be friendly!"

"Really? Smile for me," Nabooru smiled cheekily.

Ganon narrowed his eyes at her, "Don't mock me."

"Alright, alright. Then let me ask you: what do you want to do?"

Ganon considered the question. What did he want to do? He turned his eyes toward the Dragmire. He had never imagined so many of his kin were still alive. There must have been a thousand of them. It was a drop in the ocean compared to the clans and nations they were surrounded by, but they were alive all the same. With their red, glowing hair, it was as if a bonfire was lit in the valley, a flame that kindled and danced to the fire in his heart. Yet, it was not right. The fire in their hearts and the glow was demonic in origin. They were born of demon-worshippers, and he was the demon.

They are yours. Mold them to your will. Let nothing in your way. Burn anything that stands in the way of your greatness!

Ganon sighed, "I don't know. The Majora raised me and accepted me, but they are my blood. I want what is best for them. But what help can I be when I cannot help myself?"

Ganon had nothing more to say and left of his own accord. He felt Nabooru's eyes follow him, but he ignored her. The line of questioning annoyed him. It only served to remind him of his perilous position.

Ganon found himself a place on a hill to watch the proceeding. Nabooru met with the Qin and Fae, and the Dragmire were handed over. Amidst this, the refugees of Joket were let go and returned to Qin. Ganon narrowed his eyes at this. If it was up to him, he would have ordered them to go to the mountains and form a new clan to serve the Majoran nation, but it seemed the new chief had other thoughts. The exchange was peaceful. It was quiet. All he heard was his own breathing and the wind grabbing at his clothes and the occasional clinking of his blades. His eyes drifted to the ruins of Joket. It was almost poetic that was drew his eyes ultimately was the ruins of Joket. Not because it was his, but because it was destroyed. It was like looking into a reflection. He was a smoldering ruins inside that burned and crumbled with each failed attempt to heal.

Suddenly Ganon found himself wishing the noisy pup was there. Or that there was something he could fight. Realms, he would even settle for a hard drink or sticking a knife under his fingernail. Any distraction was better than this.

-Zelda-

Zelda sat on her throne. A meeting finished recently and she relaxed on the chair as best she could with a scroll in her lap. A few ministers lingered in the throne room talking amongst themselves. No one approached the stairs leading up to the throne so she was content to be in a space of quiet and thought.

Her musing was interrupted abruptly by Shi Ketsu throwing the doors open and running into the room. He panted and sweat from having run this way. Zelda looked at him worriedly a moment. The ministers asked what was wrong, but he ignored them. He ran up to the throne and bowed himself onto a knee in a hurry.

"Shi, what has come over you?" Zelda asked.

In answer, as he could barely speak while gasping for breath, he produced a scroll from his robe and handed it to a servant who handed it further to Zelda. Zelda inspected the scroll. It was left unopened and the seal was that of the king. The impression in the wax was the same as what she had used for official declarations.

"It has my seal. I don't understand," Zelda said. "Are you returning one of my scrolls to me? It is still unopened."

"Your highness!" Shi breathed heavily. "It is a message from the royal harem to you! I was given the scroll by one of their eunuchs."

Zelda felt her breath catch.

Immediately her ministers yelled, "The Royal Harem?! What are they doing with the official seal!?" Others yelled, "What business with us do they have?!"

Shi and Zelda stayed silent. Zelda felt a chill enter his spine as she gazed at the scroll in her hands. She didn't know what it said and feared to know. Shi silently watched her composure struggle to stay intact, knowing now why she struggled.

The Royal Harem was led by Bi Ki, Zelda's mother.

Zelda took a moment to breathe. She closed her eyes and breathed in and breathed out. She took the scroll by the seal, popped it, and opened the scroll. Her ministers fell silent, waiting to hear what it said. Zelda looked over the scroll, confused. She opened it further, and further again. She rotated the scroll's contents to the end.

"It's empty."