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luminnara · 1 year

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Flying On Wings Made From Feathers and Wax | Ganondorf x Gerudo OC | Ch 4

Chapter three | Chapter four | Chapter five

Summary: 10,000 years before the events of Breath of the Wild, a little Gerudo vai moves to the desert and makes a new friend in the form of the young Gerudo prince, Ganondorf. The two grow up together, enjoying a worry-free life…but distant memories of a long-dead demon king and a sheikah prophecy nag at everyone’s minds, and tensions between the Gerudo and Hylians are on the rise. As the years pass, it becomes clear that this little vai will play an important role in the shaping of Hyrule. Loyalty and love will be tested, empires will rise and fall, and at the center of it all is that mysterious godly power…

Surviving the desert means becoming even harsher than the ruthless sun and the swallowing sands.

For young Gerudo, that meant survival and combat training. While Ganondorf was allowed the privilege of private tutelage from the best general the tribe had seen in decades—his mother, Mira—Ilula was tossed in with the rest of the vai, donning a training uniform as she trudged across town every morning at dawn.

“Try to at least pretend you’re alive,” her mother joked one day. She still hadn’t told Ilula of her newest assignment from the chief, and as time wore on, she hoped that she might not need to. Ilula was fifteen, halfway through her training, and in a few short years, Ganondorf would be taking over as king. If he—or Ryla—ordered Kiluki to resume her espionage in Castle Town, she would obey in an instant. Of course she would. She was a proud Gerudo, determined to do whatever was necessary to protect and help her people. Her hesitation was not born of disloyalty, but rather an unwillingness to cause her daughter any pain, and the thought of forcing Ilula to abandon her best friend almost pained Kiluki more than the idea of refusing the chief.

Almost.

As Ilula ran off to her morning training, her aunt, Uvira, turned to Kiluki. “Well. She’s certainly dragging her feet today.”

“The other vai still don’t accept her.” Kiluki said.

“I think it’s likely that they never will, at this point.” Uvira sighed, shaking her head. “She’s...different from the rest of them. I dare say Ganondorf doesn’t help her fit in.”

“No, I’m sure he doesn’t.” Kiluki chuckled as she cleaned up the bowls and plates from breakfast. “Though he makes sure they can’t bully her.”

“She makes sure they can’t bully her.” Uvira snorted. “That vai is made of fire and sand seal oil, I swear. Takes after her mother.”

“Oh, please.” Kiluki rolled her eyes.

“It’s true! Why else do Mira and Ryla trust you so much?” Uvira asked.

Her sister glared at her. “Don’t speak on such things so openly.”

“Yes, yes, my apologies.” Uvira said sarcastically. “I am but a humble melon vendor, what do I know about espionage?”

“Uvira…”

“Yes, yes.” she held her hands up in surrender, lips quirked into a smile. “Let us continue speaking about Ilula.”

“I would much prefer that.” Kiluki said.

“I know you still worry, but...well, someone has to be the runt. There will always be someone who’s the smallest, or slowest, or weakest. She seems to be doing quite well, all things considered.” Uvira shrugged. “It is a shame she doesn’t have any other female friends, though.”

“I know.” Kiluki sighed. “I had hoped that she would fit in better here than in Hyrule, but...evidently, I was wrong. If it weren’t for the prince, I fear she would be completely alone…”

“Well, perhaps that’s where her future lies. Being best friends with royalty certainly isn’t a bad thing.”

“No, but she would fare better with more friends. Like us--we both had plenty of friends growing up.”

“And how many of them do you regularly speak with?” Uvira raised an eyebrow.

“Well…”

“I just think that Ilula is doing perfectly fine. Ganondorf has been loyal to her.”

“Loyal to a fault, perhaps.” Kiluki mumbled.

“You know Mira would never let him shirk his responsibilities. Both he and Ilula are proud Gerudo, and that’s that.” Uvira stood and clapped her hands. “Now, are you going to help me open the stall? Now that that sandstorm has died down, we should finally be getting some travelers coming through, and I, for one, would love to actually make some extra money today…”

Kiluki sighed and nodded, and a few minutes later, they were both walking out into the morning sun. As she helped Uvira get ready for the day, though, her mind was elsewhere, constantly drifting back towards thoughts of her daughter, and the prince, and the chief. Ilula was hard at work, focusing on her training, and to burden her with espionage and politics just didn’t seem fair. Kiluki couldn’t speak of any of it to anyone outside the chief’s inner circle, and so she was left to mull it over in her own head, worrying and wondering when she would be sent back to Hyrule.

Hyrule…a lush, green land, with so many more natural resources than the desert had. Yes, the Gerudo managed to thrive out in the sun and the sands, but the Hylians had so much more. They hardly knew what to do with it all, and with relatively good relations between neighboring countries, the royal family was enjoying a long and peaceful reign.

Kiluki knew that the chief wasn’t entirely happy about that.

Though she refrained from telling her sister, Kiluki had received a summons from the palace, in the form of a blank letter, decorated only with Chief Ryla’s seal on the back. She knew all too well that it was serious, and it meant that their happy time in Gerudo Town was coming to an end. As she left Uvira, making up an excuse about finding spices to buy, Kiluki wandered towards the palace and wondered how she was to inform her daughter that they may soon be leaving. It wasn’t fair, and she knew it, though few things were fair when it came to war and politics. She could only hope that Ilula was training hard today, lest the others leave her behind in the dust.

-0-

“Hey!” Ilula snarled, coughing up that very same dust. “That—that was a dirty trick! That wasn’t fair!”

Chani, a young voe at least a head and a half taller than Ilula, stood over her and snickered. “You think fights are always fair? Grow up, Ilula.”

“You tripped me!”

“Our enemies would do worse. You’re lucky that’s all I did.”

Ilula gritted her teeth as she pushed herself up into a sitting position. Training wasn’t going at all well that morning, and the moment she was paired up with Chani for sparring, she knew it was just going to get worse. And of course, it had; Chani was bigger and stronger and had a nasty streak reserved specifically for Ilula, and whenever Ganondorf wasn’t around, she loved to torment the smaller girl.

“She’s right.” their trainer said, looking down at Ilula sternly. “If you cannot survive training, you won’t survive war.”

Ilula gritted her teeth angrily, her jaw clenched as she kept herself from replying angrily. She climbed to her feet, taking up her spear again and facing Chani. “Again.”

The taller girl smirked, readying her own spear as the trainer backed away. There was a terrible glint in her eye, the kind that absolutely infuriated Ilula, and as they began sparring once more, it was nearly impossible to contain her anger. Chani was a good fighter, but only because she cheated–and as she sent Ilula flying to the ground once more with a kick to the back of her knees, she laughed meanly.

“Just give up, pipsqueak.” she sneered. “War is no place for someone like you.”

Ilula narrowed her eyes. She hated it when anyone other than Ganondorf called her names like that. When he did it, it was endearing and fun and lighthearted, coming from someone who was massive compared to her, someone who had earned the honor of teasing her. When Chani did it, the words were laced with malicious intent, always spoken with a cruel laugh. She practically spat whenever she spoke to Ilula, looking down her nose at the smaller girl with a nasty sneer on her face. She loved watching Ilula fail, and sparring was her only real chance to have some fun when the prince wasn’t looming over the runt’s shoulder the rest of the day.

“Shut up,” Ilula spat, standing once again. She didn’t like Chani, but she wasn’t about to shrug all of her insults off. War was for someone like her, runt or not. She was Gerudo, just like Chani, just like Ganondorf, just like all the others. If there was one thing she knew how to do, it was fight.

And she was going to show them all.

She gripped her training weapon tightly as she faced Chani. Ilula didn’t like fighting with spears; even though they were long and extended her reach significantly, she could never get the hang of how they felt in her hands. They felt clumsy to her, and too long to be of any real use. She always used the shortest one available, but unfortunately, they weren’t training with scimitars yet. Ilula had to make do with what she had, and she was determined not to land in the dust again.

“Again,” Ilula growled.

“Again?” Chani barked a laugh. “Look at you! You’re covered in bruises. You can’t possibly spar more today.”

“I can,” Ilula hissed. “Again.”

The taller girl rolled her eyes and readied herself. “Fine. But don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

Their trainer, one of the higher ranking Gerudo warriors, looked on curiously as the two began. Ilula wasn’t the best fighter. Anyone with eyes could see that. But she had to admit that the vai had heart, and no amount of bruising could convince her to sit down and give up. That was worth something in itself; Chani was bigger, and stronger, but she was used to living that way. Ilula wasn’t. She was small, and she was at a physical disadvantage…but anyone who roughhoused with Prince Ganondorf had to be resilient, and even as she fell back in the dirt time and time again, she always got back up.

By the time the sun was high in the sky and everyone was putting their training weapons down, Ilula was coughing up sand. She had been thrown to the ground more times than she could count, but it didn’t matter. She didn’t care. It was the same thing, day in and day out, and while she normally gave up at some point, she hadn’t reached it yet. She wasn’t ready to break. She refused.

“Again.” She growled out, her teeth clenched.

Chani looked down at her and scoffed. “No way. We’re finished.”

“Are you refusing my challenge?”

“Only for your own good.” The bigger girl rolled her eyes. “Face it. You’re never gonna make it.”

She turned, moving to put her training spear back on its rack with the others. Everyone else was hanging their weapons up, grabbing their water skeins and hydromelons as they finished their lessons for the day. Ilula didn’t want to join them, though; she wanted one more shot at Chani, one more chance to win.

And she had an idea of how to make that happen.

“Wow. I didn’t realize you were such a coward.” She said.

Chani froze, looking back over her shoulder. “What did you just call me?”

Ilula shrugged, feigning innocence. “Just seems cowardly to back down from a fight. Especially an easy one.”

“I told you,” Chani growled, “it’s for your own good. I don’t exactly feel like being the one who breaks you in half.”

“But I want to learn from you,” Ilula lied, batting her eyelashes as she looked up at her peer. “Just one more time. Please?”

Chani took the bait and gripped her spear in her hand. “Fine.”

Ilula had to stop herself from smiling as they readied themselves once more.

Up above the training grounds, Ganondorf was watching them with an amused smirk on his face. Normally, he was stuck studying at this hour, but today, the chief had called his mother to the throne room, and he was perfectly happy to end his lessons early. Now, with the desert sun high in the sky, the prince was sitting in the window, sinking his teeth into a slice of hydromelon as he looked down at the sparring vai. He wasn’t really interested in most of them, of course, and Ilula was easy to spot as she brandished her spear and lunged towards one of her peers.

He had been watching his friend train for a while, as he often liked to when he had the free time. She always said he shouldn’t interrupt their training because he was a distraction, and while he had every right to disregard her opinions, he still respected what his oldest (and really, only) friend had to say. So, he tended to stick to the window, entertaining himself with a snack while he looked down at the vai.

Ilula was determined, and she was quick. The spear was too long for her, Ganondorf could tell—why they never gave her something more her size to train with, he didn’t know—but now, after so many failed attempts, she finally seemed to have a real plan. Was Chani slowing down in the heat of the day, after a morning of training? Or was Ilula actually faster than her? Ganondorf couldn’t quite tell, but it didn’t really matter; the smaller vai ducked under her opponent’s spear easily as it jabbed forward, lunging in to deliver a blow of her own.

Chani’s eyes widened in disbelief when she felt the dull spear knock against her side, and she let out a shout as she whirled around in an attempt to catch Ilula with her own weapon. The runt was too fast, though, ducking out of the way, making herself even smaller than Chani was used to. She stepped around the taller gerudo, catching the backs of her knees with the stick of her spear, and when Chani stumbled forward, Ilula gave her a whack across the back that sent her falling into the sand.

“What?!” Chani yelled angrily, flipping over to face Ilula. “That–that was dirty!”

“I thought fights weren’t always fair?” Ilula smirked, leaning on her spear as she echoed Chani’s words from earlier.

The other girl narrowed her eyes, then tilted her chin down in shame. “Shut up…”

Ilula’s smirk only widened. “Come on, Chani. Don’t be a sore loser.”

“Sore? I’m not sore.” she scoffed. “I just can’t believe I lost to you.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Ilula frowned.

“That I shouldn’t be losing to the worst one here,” Chani spat as she pushed herself up off of the ground.

“Obviously I’m not the worst, then.” Ilula growled.

Chani’s face twisted into a sneer, and Ilula readied herself to hear any number of biting insults. None came, though; instead, she watched as Chani’s eyes grew wide, the vai taking a sudden step back as she looked above Ilula’s head. She was scared, her lower lip trembling slightly, and after a moment, she dropped to one knee.

“M-my Prince, forgive me,” she mumbled quickly, eyes trained downwards.

Ilula stifled a sigh.

“To what do I owe the honor, my prince?” She asked as she spun on her heel, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

She immediately had to tilt her head back to look up at his face. Ganondorf seemed incapable of pausing in his growth spurts, and while still in the awkward stages of his adolescence, the prince was growing into a fine young voe. A large young voe. Seriously, how tall was he now? Still not finished growing, and already as tall as the guards who stood at the city gates.

Ridiculous, in her mind.

When her eyes met with the planes of his chest, Ilula felt her cheeks heating up in a strange way, and she quickly forced them back up to meet his gaze. More and more lately she had found herself looking at him, fascinated by the angles of his muscles, and she wasn’t sure how to feel about her wandering thoughts.

Gan cleared his throat. “I finished my studies early today. I thought I would come by and see how your training was going.”

Ilula resisted the urge to roll her eyes. She knew he was trying to mess with her. She always told him not to come around and interrupt, because of the way everyone else always acted when he did. Everyone always stopped in reverence, and on the rare occasion that they actually got to continue with their lessons, the others always acted strangely, and all semblance of normalcy was lost. Looking around, she saw that this was no different than any other time—they were all down on one knee, heads bowed for their prince.

All except for her.

“Have lunch with me,” he said. It wasn’t a request, nor was it a blatant order; it was just a statement, one that he expected her to agree with.

And she did agree with it, because why wouldn’t she? Lunch was better than whatever Chani wanted to do to her now, and she wasn’t about to pass up the opportunity to relax with Gan.

Finally, at the thought of food and friendship, a smile tugged at her lips. “I would love to.”

She returned her training spear to its place as the others finally stood again and did the same, their teacher speaking with Ganondorf as he waited for Ilula. When she looked across the arena and saw them standing together, she rolled her eyes. He was already the same height as the instructor, who was a tall, muscular Gerudo with bright pink hair and a severe expression. Normally, she looked absolutely terrifying, but she seemed much less threatening standing next to Gan for some reason, even as Ilula approached them.

“You did well today, Ilula.” She said, looking down at the young vai. “The prince and I were just speaking of your victory.”

Ilula tried to hide her scowl. She knew that she was only being praised because it was Ganondorf. He had no doubt brought it up himself, and the trainer had no desire to anger him by disagreeing. Winning a sparring match was nothing to boast about, even if it was impressive for her, and she was proud.

“Don’t be so bashful, Lula.” Gan flashed her that smile that she had grown to love over the years and she felt her spirits lifting. “It was clever, what you did. And you’re so light on your feet, you make me look like a moblin.”

Her cheeks flushed and she looked down sheepishly. “It wasn’t that great…”

“You are the quickest out of the bunch.” The trainer nodded sharply. “Chani would do well to remember that she is not guaranteed a victory over every opponent.”

At the sound of her rival’s name, Ilula glanced back up. They were really praising her, weren’t they? It wasn’t just Ganondorf forcing everyone to be nice to her. The trainer’s voice was still as harsh as always, her eyes hard, and if the prince had ordered her to be kind or face his Royal wrath, one would think that she would try a bit harder to seem friendlier than she was. As she looked down at Ilula, there was a seriousness there that told her she was being genuine.

A small smile crept onto her face, and as she took the hand Ganondorf offered her and followed him away from the training grounds, she felt like she was soaring.

“You were great,” he said, nudging her.

“So you were spying.” She snorted a laugh. “I should have known.”

“Can’t I watch you from time to time?” He asked. “You do train just outside my window, after all.”

“Some might consider that unsettling, you know,” she smiled.

He paused, letting go of her hand. “…do you?”

“Not really.” She shrugged as she continued walking ahead of him. “Not when it’s you.”

Ganondorf felt his heart leap and he swallowed nervously, his mouth suddenly a bit drier than before. The midday sun usually didn’t bother him much, but…was it a bit hotter than normal today? He felt his face growing warm as he watched his best friend walking away, unsure of what exactly he was supposed to be thinking. This was confusing. This was Ilula! He had known her for a decade. She was his closest companion, someone who was always there for him, tucked right up against his side. He got along with her better than he did anyone else, and at the end of the day, there was nobody he would rather relax with than her.

He was trapped, frozen in place as he watched her and realized that at some point, his feelings for her had grown beyond friendship. He was impossibly sweet on her, more than he had thought, and he had no idea what to do about it.

“Hey, are you coming?” She asked over her shoulder. “You said we were getting lunch.”

Ganondorf shook himself out of his stupor and forced a lazy smile on his face. “Yeah. We are. What do you want? Your choice today.”

“Something refreshing,” she said as he caught up to her once more. “I’m boiling out here.”

“Then let’s get inside and send for some fruits,” the prince suggested, taking her hand in his again.

She smiled up at him and he thought his heart might stop. “I’d love that.”

-0-

Lunch was spent in the palace, the serving staff bringing them platters of fresh hydromelons, cool wildberries from the highlands, and even some volt fruits to snack on. Afterwards, Ilula enjoyed a nice nap while Ganondorf sat next to her and busied himself with a book, though his mind was decidedly elsewhere. He couldn’t focus. He couldn’t do anything. His attention was usually at least partially on her when she was nearby, but lately…lately, she seemed to demand all of it, all while never trying. Gan was, for once in his life, unsure of how to handle his new feelings, and as he pretended to read, he debated keeping quiet. Never one to hide, though, always bold, he made up his mind to do something about it, and by the time she had woken up, he was already pulling her to her feet.

“Gan?” She asked, still half asleep. “Where are we going?”

“You’ll see,” he promised.

Ilula offered him a sleepy smile and let him half-drag her away from the bed. She trusted him completely, fully, with every fiber of her being. She was used to the way he so often whisked her away, but this time, he didn’t appear to have the city walls or the fountain in mind; instead, he led her out of the palace and out to the sand seal pens, and soon, they were off, racing through the desert.

Their destination, it turned out, was a small oasis. Lush greenery grew around a clear pool, the leaves of the tall palm trees casting a welcoming shade over the water. As she craned her neck and looked up, Ilula could see palm fruits growing at the tops, a few birds perched among the fronds. It was tranquil, a beautiful, verdant little place amongst the constantly shifting sands that seemed so untouched and so frozen in time.

“Do you like it?” Ganondorf asked as he watched her.

She turned towards him with a bright smile on her face, and it made his heart leap. “I love it.”

He stared at her, just taking in the sight of her for a moment before he smiled as well. “Good. I had hoped you might.”

“How did you find this place?” Ilula asked, walking towards the water.

Ganondorf shrugged as he followed her. “I explored and ended up here one day.”

“Really?” she asked skeptically, glancing over her shoulder back at him. “This is a bit far from town for that…what were you doing all the way out here?”

He wasn’t sure what to say.

“I…” he cleared his throat. In truth, he had no idea why he knew about the oasis. It wasn’t on any maps, because it was so small, and it did sit a considerable distance from anything resembling a settlement. He had never done any exploration. He was far too busy learning how to be a king for something like that, and he was under constant supervision when he wasn’t off with her.

So how? How did he know where to find such a perfect little place?

He just knew. He knew as if he had been there before, just as he knew the desert so well, as if he had lorded over it in a past life. The oasis was familiar to him, and it was comfortable, and he wanted to share it with her and her alone. He wanted it to be theirs.

Ganondorf cleared his throat, searching for an answer. “I just…found it.”

She raised an eyebrow at him. “Really?”

He shrugged a bit sheepishly, and she just laughed.

“You’re amazing sometimes. You know that?”

And he felt his heart absolutely soar.

“It can be a place for us,” he said, catching up to her as she made her way to stand at the edge of the water. “I can bring some supplies out here, and we can come here whenever we want. Just us.”

Ilula slipped her shoes off, setting them aside as she sank down to sit in the sand. “Just us?”

Ganondorf mimicked her, sitting with one leg outstretched, the other bent at the knee. He leaned back on his hands, stretching out some in the shade. “Yeah. No one else.”

She leaned against him. “I’d like that.”

He felt his chest tighten and then release, and he looked down at her. Her, his best friend. The vai he got along with so well that he never wanted to leave her side. The vai he was so completely, incredibly head over heels for.

His Ilula.

#flying on wings made from feathers and wax #ganondorf #ganondorf x oc #botw #gerudo #gerudo ganondorf #gerudo oc #the legend of zelda

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