The Rain Fell

<c>The Rain Fell</c>

Nabooru pressed her forehead to the stone wall to try and block out the incessant pattering of rain droplets that constantly drummed in her ears.  Once, what felt like centuries ago, she would have taken comfort from this sound. Once upon a time, the noise had been music to her.  Now, it was only a constant reminder of her failure.  

It had been raining for months now.  Months.   It was still difficult for her mind to wrap around the thought of it raining without end for that long.  She was a creature of the desert, used to the blistering rays of the sun and the unforgiving wind.  Rain had been a blessing in her culture, a sign that the Sand Goddess had heard your people’s prayers and was answering them.

At least, the screaming has stopped, she thought bitterly to herself.  For weeks on end the dungeons had been filled with the strangled sobs and screams of its other occupants.  One day not so long ago they had suddenly stopped.  She could only assume that it meant the poor souls had been put out of their misery.  Then, I am the last, she mused sadly in the dank cell that was now her home.  She could feel the weight of power pressing down upon her shoulders and back.  With the other sages gone, the responsibility and strength was now passed onto her.  She carried it all now, and though her power was great, it was still not enough to break out of her here.  A breath escaped her lips at the realization.

The original sages had been dead for months, Ganondorf ended their torture once he realized that they knew nothing of the where abouts of the Princess and Hero.  Two new sages had shortly awakened there after to take up the burden of their fallen predecessors.  He’d quickly taken care of them as well.  They had both been so new to the task that they hadn’t posed much of a problem.  Her stomach churned as she recalled hearing their moaning and pleas for mercy.  It was hard for her to equate the monster that roamed the castle now with the man that she had once loved.

How did we all end up at this place?, Nabooru questioned silently to herself.  As if someone were reading her mind, she heard the door to her cell creak open.  She didn’t bother to turn around.  She already knew who it was the by sudden tension that filled the tiny space.  

The door closed behind the visitor and for several moments neither the sage nor the newcomer did anything.  The guest cleared his throat to draw her attention away from the wall.  Nabooru screwed her eyes shut to try and block out the new presence and wish herself away from this place.

“No, hello?” a deep voice asked behind her.

When she didn’t answer the man gave a smug “hmph” and took a step closer to her to seated figure.

“I see you’re going to be difficult today.  What a pity, I had hoped that we could talk . . . like we used to. . .” he dangled the past in front of her like a sweet in front of a child.  He knew right where her weakness lay.

A sardonic grin curled her lips as she tried to keep from shaking her head at his words.  Still trying to twist your way back into my heart, aren’t you? she said to herself.  When he again received no answer, Ganondorf closed the last of the distance between them.  She hunched her shoulders as she felt him looming over her, his eyes boring into her shoulder blades. A pair of fingers brushed down the side of her arm and automatically, she leaned into the familiar gesture. Nabooru abruptly flinched away when she realized whose hand it was that caressed her.  

“Don’t touch me!” she growled.

“Are you so sure about that? You seemed to be enjoying it, if only for a moment,” he replied, his voice as arrogant as ever.

“I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life,” she whispered through her teeth.  

“I’ve heard those words before.  Do you remember? You said the exact same thing to me when I asked for your hand all those years ago,” his voice dropped a note as he spoke.  She heard his boots scuff the floor as he turned around.  She didn’t have to see him to know that he was pacing in circles with his hands clasped behind his back and his chin tilted up thoughtfully.  She had seen that same image countless times in her dreams and nightmares.  

He sighed and faced her again.  “They didn’t mean anything then.  Why should they now?”

“I did mean them then, and I mean them now,” she rasped.

He gave a cynical chuckle before he spoke again, “Then explain to me why you renounced me only months after you said yes?”

“You know why.  I’ve told you this a thousand times before.  The story hasn’t changed,” her voice came out stronger than she thought it would.  She’d been afraid that he might be able to tell the effect that this topic was having on her.  It was amazing how such an old wound could still cause so much pain.

“The Hylians again, eh?  Why did you care for them so much?  They were not your people.  They were not your responsibility.  If anything they were the reason why we starved and stole in the Desert.  While they grew fat and rich, we worked our selves to the bone trying to scrape out a living in that hell hole,” his voice became heated over the still sore subject.  Ganondorf had always resented the Hylians for their wealth.  He had always coveted their prosperity ever since they were children, but Nabooru had never imagined he would go to those lengths to try and obtain it.

“There were other ways to get what we wanted.  You did not have to resort to such violence.  There could have been peace-“

“Peace?!” he cut her off suddenly, something close to rage kindling in his voice. “There has never been peace between the Gerudo and Hylians. The only way for us to achieve peace was by the means that I chose,” his voice returned to its smooth timbre.

“You’re mad,” she breathed as she tried to press herself closer to the wall.

“Am I really?”

“Yes,” she spat, “you are. You’re nothing but a murderous coward, nothing like the man I knew all those years ago.”

His hands wrapped around her shoulders and hauled her to her feet before she could protest.  Nabooru stood there rigidly with her back pressed against his chest and stomach.  She didn’t dare to blink or breathe hard out of fear that he would finally end her life.  For months, he’d kept her locked up in a cell while he killed off the other sages.  She’d known it was only a matter of time before he finished the job. His hands rubbed up her bare arms, and she watched in fascination as the Triforce of Power glowed on the back of his left hand.  Suddenly, the small, dank cell was replaced by a private bed chamber.  A fire crackled across from her, illuminating the furs, pillows, carpets, and priceless tapestries that filled the room to bursting. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of furniture carved out of dark cherry wood and the twinkling of rare stones as they peeked out at her from a jewelry box.

She let out a gasp and glanced down to see her tattered clothes gone. She lifted her hands to her face to study the pink silk gloves that reached her elbows.  A dress of the same rosy color wrapped around her body.  She looked into a mirror above the mantle of the fireplace to see the topaz that she used to wear once again gracing her forehead, while a ruby pin kept her hair pulled away from her face.

“How did you . . .” she breathed, not able to find the words to finish her question.

His lips curled into a triumphant smile, “How do you think?” He lifted his hand out in front of her where the Triforce of Power pulsed for a moment before dying again.

His hands returned to her shoulders, his fingers holding onto her upper arms.  “I could give you all of this and so much more,” he tempted.

“What’s the catch?” she muttered, trying to keep the luxury before her from overwhelming her common sense.  She had never realized how much she missed a nice warm bed or clean clothes.

“Join me. Be mine as you once were.  We could have it all together,” he hissed into her ear.

“And what would we rule a watery grave? A tomb? Everyone that you haven’t killed has left for higher ground, Ganondorf.  You’ve destroyed. . .”

He laughed gently into her ear, his breath blowing warmly on the skin of her neck. She turned her head to the side to try and avoid the intimate contact.  His grip on her arms tightened as he drew her closer to him.  “Don’t you see? Your Gods destroyed you,” he whispered with a note of finality that made her heart plunge.

“The Goddesses that the Hylians revered are the murderous cowards.  They are so weak and spineless that they would not even defend their precious ‘chosen’ people when I came.  All they did was send the rain.  That is all.  Do you have any idea what became of our people? What the Goddesses did to the Gerudo?” he baited.

He didn’t wait for her answer as he continued to speak, “They drowned them like nothing more than rats.  They were washed away in the tides of the flood.  Our home is nothing more than the sandy bottom of an ever-expanding ocean now.”

Her breath stopped in her throat at his words.  She’d had no idea what became of the rest of the Gerudo once she was imprisoned.  She had only hoped that they’d made it to higher ground like everyone else.

“But with your power, I can raise the Desert again.  I can restore it, and our people to their former place and glory.  We could give them Hyrule,” he enticed. “All you have to do is say yes.”

She gulped at the offer.  Her heart raced at the prospect of restoring her tribe.  She could all too easily imagine the bodies at the bottom of the forming ocean.  She could almost hear their voices calling to her, begging her to release them from death’s grip.  But could he really do that? Could Ganondorf resurrect the dead? The thought sent a chill down her spine.  She’d seen her fair share of the redeads that lurked around Hyrule.  Would her people return as that?

He raised his eyebrows at her lack of response, “Well, what is your answer?”

She shook her head indecisively.  “I-I don’t know.  Let me think it over.”

His eyes went cold at her answer.  He uncurled his fingers from her shoulders and all too quickly the grand room before her eyes faded into the original dungeon.  Her dress returned to its true form of dirty, tattered clothing.  

He took a step back from her and slipped his arms into the deep folds of his black robes.  “Don’t be a fool, Nabooru.  I am only offering you this once.  I love you, but I am not a patient man, and I will not wait forever for your answer.”  With those last words, he stepped out the door and let it swing shut behind him.  The light dwindled down to nothing, and Nabooru was left alone in the small dark room.  Outside, the rain fell without remorse or regard for the last of the sages.