-Ganondorf-

The month Ganondorf Dragmire stayed in Kanyou was not wasted, despite his selfish desire. He stayed out of their internal matters but he did spend as much time strengthening the foreign relationship between Qin and Majora, and Fae and Majora, as he did exploring every street by his sharp nose, touching every fabric, viewing every color, tasting every dish, and hearing every instrument.

Zelda and he butted heads on a daily basis on matters of principle and philosophy, seemingly driven by their difference in culture. He was raised in a community social structure based on individuals and she was over an individualistic social structure based on community. One would think they would have much in common, but in reality, they were polar opposite in principle.

The fights were so commonplace that it united Ryo and Impa on a singular thought: Just how had the two had not tried to kill the other yet?

One thing was for certain, the palace was lively. Yet for the constant friction, Impa could not help but notice the arguments made Zelda sharper, more confident in her decisions after having argued them with the man, and rather than drain her of energy, it seemed to inspire her and give her more energy. So for the month, Impa kept a distant watch, but did not intervene in their daily butt-of-the-heads.

Ganondorf Dragmire departed for Joket at the end of the month. Upon his arrival his wolf, Kagami, came bursting out of the gates and jumped him. Ganon laughed, allowing himself to be knocked down onto his back. Most pets of the dog family would lick their master's face. Kagami was not this way. He curled up and forcibly plopped down on Ganon's chest, effectively pinning him to the ground. Ganon tried getting up, but Kagami growled. Ganon relented.

"It is good to see you, as well, Kagami." Ganon chuckled. "I am sorry I sent you away. I missed you greatly, but you must understand... I didn't know how Qin nobility would take an animal. I may be used to having you sleep against me, but Qin? Who is to say." Kagami huffed, growling deep in his throat. "Or don't understand, that is well too. I won't have you leave my side again, unless I am visiting Qin nobility."

Kagami turned his head to Ganon, seemingly rolled his eyes, and stepped off Ganon. "Your forgiveness is appreciated." Ganon said. Kagami turned away and flicked his tail. "Okay... not forgiven then. You'll get over it."

They entered Koget. The first stop Ganon made was into the Lon Lon Inn, mostly to avoid entering the governor's mansion yet. Malon cheerily waved to him from where she was helping her mother, and while Ganon saw Kuroko Dragmire visibly tense at the sight of him, she did not show any defensive or offensive signs. Her husband looked at him worriedly from behind the counter. Everyone else in the lobby of the inn eating and drinking stopped to notice him, and a few being Majora stood at their table, as was polite. Ganon waved them down.

From what he saw the shop was prospering. There was no signs of damage, and the mingling of Majora and former-Qin the same roof under a Dragmire pleased him. He did not know how, but Kagami Dragmire seemed to have found a way that neither him nor Zelda could. It spoke much of her and he found himself seeing her with more respect than even before.

She was a strong woman fitting of the Dragmire name. Worthy of being a chief's wife, should her husband fall to an unfortunate fate. Plus he did not wish for the Dragmire clan to fall, but be restored once more, and having her as wife would make it that much easier and more pureblood.

He put such thoughts to the back of his mind to consider for later.

"I just want something simple after my travels." Ganon took a seat. Kagami sat by him. "What is simple fair here?"

Kuroko finished her task and approached, "Lord Dragmire, we-"

"None of that. We are family. Just call me Ganon." Ganondorf waved it aside. "I insist."

"You honor me, Lord Ganon," Kuroko compromised. Her smile was tired but genuine. "Here the simple fair is steamed rice and fresh vegetables or onion soup."

"Much simpler than what is at the palace." Ganon mused. He looked at Malon and smiled. "What do you think is better, young one?"

"Onion!"

"Onion soup it is, then." Ganon decided. "I would also like milk for myself and for Kagami."

"Kagami?"

"My wolf partner." Ganon explained.

"Oh, right." Kuroko smiled in embarrassment. "I will take your order back to the kitchen."

"Mhmm." Ganon hummed.

As Kuroko went to the back, Malon stuck around. At first Ganon was curious what the little girl had in mind. He found himself quite fond of her, despite having only met her once. She was clearly a lively, hardworking one and was very much attached to her mother. He also considered her precious for what she represented, as a child of the Dragmire untainted by hatred or demon-worship. He hoped she would never need to learn to hate as he did. He hated people as a whole.

To his surprise, Malon walked up, and put a hand on Kagami's head cheerily. Ganon about leaped out of his chair to grab her, for Kagami was an aggressive wolf who did not hesitate to tear and kill, but to his further surprise, Kagami didn't move. The young girl patted his furry head and made noises as if to a puppy, and Kagami just sat there and took it. Not a growl left him.

Oh, this was too good.

"I take it you know him?" Ganon smirked. Kagami turned just enough to give Ganon an evil eye.

"Yeah! He comes by all the time!" Malon exclaimed cheerily and bright, "He likes me and mother lots! Father not so much... Think it's the hair. We have hair like you. But we no know his name before you tell us! I always call him Wolfy."

"Did you now?" He smiled wickedly at the sight of Kagami being treated like a puppy, and obediently taking it. He was not going to let his wolf forget this moment for a long time. Kagami's ears flatted backwards in fear. The wolf was smart enough to know Ganon's thoughts. "So, Malon. Tell me, has anything exciting happened in the city while I've been gone?"

Kagami glare at Ganon with an expression as if to say 'Don't give her a reason to stay!'

"Yeah! Lots of stuff been happening I hear about!"

"Why don't you tell me about it." Ganon suggested.

Malon did just that. Kuroko was called back to the kitchen to pick up his food and presented it to him. It was a quick thing to fix and he ate as Malon talked excitedly about anything and everything she could think of. The soup was warm and smooth, and while having basic ingredients was pleasurable. The combination of items worked well to create a simplistic, satisfying flavor. Kuroko seemed to have reservations about Malon being around Ganon, but after a while seemed to ease up and merely keep a motherly eye on her daughter.

Malon talked about all kinds of things. She talked about her friends, herself, her family, the inn, the guards, the weather, the people on the street. It was amusing in and of itself just how many things Malon paid attention to. Most of it Ganon listened to out of politeness, since it was inconsequential and he did not wish to be impolite and ruin the atmosphere since she was so full of excitement and energy. But there were things she said that struck Ganon, things he actively paid attention to.

The picture she painted was convoluted, but by the time he finished and left, he figured he had a good idea of what had happened.

The tension between Qin and Majora had not lessened. In fact, it was growing worse. The former-Qin felt oppressed and wary, and this wasn't helped by the tribute. The tribute was mostly weapons and tax money, but it was a hefty tribute being placed on the city. Ganon felt it was well, since the city was an exceedingly wealthy one and despite the expected norm in history, he had shown extreme mercy. The woman were not raped, the young girls and boys were not taken away as slaves, the men were not rounded up and killed, their jobs were not taken, their churches and homes were not burned with them in ot, their priests were not flayed alive, and the streets was not red with blood. If anything, he spurred the blacksmiths on with additional paid work. The only way they were hurt was in their change purse and their pride. By all reason they should be basking at his feet for the mercy given in this bloody age. Ganon believed they felt oppressed by it out of principle or there were rabble-rousers behind the scenes.

Such rebels were not unexpected, and unless it grew, Ganon felt they would blow over.

But these two things would not specifically be causing the relation to be growing worse. Ganon believed the woman he left in charge was a stern, but fair, leader. While she would naturally favor Majora's agenda, she wouldn't go out of her way to make things worse. So while the former-Qin might feel oppressed by being handed over to them, and placed under tribute, such feeling of oppression would naturally ease as the Majora showed themselves to be peaceful with them.

The problem was a number of former-Qin were disappearing... and it was rumored the Majora were behind it. So the Majora and former-Qin never traveled anywhere alone, and the Qin were pushing for the Majora to allow more Qin guards on the streets. Right now the guards were mostly stripped of their position and replaced with Majora to keep the peace... but that was perhaps a poor choice now.

Ganon felt the fear in the air as he walked to the inner mansion. It was in the way the former-Qin looked at him behind his back, how they hurried out of his way, how they looked guarded and afraid when he neared. It was more than what was present before... and more than that there was something hidden just beneath the fear. Something he knew well... a hint of hatred.

Ganon entered the mansion complex. The smell of anger and hate in the air clung to him like an old addiction. His steps became incensed and with each stomp he became more livid. He knew the Majora. He knew them well. They felt discriminated against, having been pushed out of the planes years ago, but he knew they wouldn't go so far as to outright murder.

Most of them.

He had two at the top of his list that would be willing to do it, had the power and means to make people disappear without bodies, and had the gall to not consider themselves subject to his absolute authority in his absence.

Servants scurried away from him as he entered the inner complex. In one shove he threw the mansion doors open and bellowed, "Where are they!?"

"M-my lord Dragmire-" A servant squealed. The servant stopped when she realized she made a mistake in being the one to speak, as it drew Ganondorf's sharp attention and his towering presence over her.

"Where are my mothers." Dragmire asked. Polite as he tried to be, filled with self-restraint, his mouth still breathed steam, his eyes were still red, and his hair still glowed like fire, and he couldn't help he was a large man.

"Up-upstairs... Third floor." She whispered, her eyes wide.

Ganon swept past her and ran up the stairs three steps at a time. Kagami bounded after him.

"You old hags have some answering to do!" Ganon exclaimed as he entered the only room with a closed door on that floor. His twin mothers were named Koume and Kotake, and despite being their adopted son, there were times he couldn't tell the difference at all between them. The differences were so incredibly subtle. The only real difference was in their magic, as one used Twilight and the other used Divinity of Din.

Koume and Kotake jumped from where they sat near the window enjoying... something. Gossip maybe? Ganon didn't give the slightest damn what it was they were doing.

"Dear, you have returned?" One asked.

"You look to be in good health." The other said.

The two were startled but calm.

"Nevermind my health," Ganondorf grunted. "I have a story to tell you from my travels."

"You came just to tell us a story?" Koume asked.

"This is most peculiar." The other said. "But what-"

"does this have to do with 'answering'?" The first finished.

Ganondorf smiled darkly, baring his teeth. He started to pace with his hands behind his back. "You see, I was on a visit to a faraway land on behalf of our people. While there I saw many wonders and curiosities. I ate fruits I have never known that were so sweet I feasted until the juices ran down my chin. I gazed on and worshipped at the feet of an idol of Din, Naryu, and Farore that would make our own priests humble. I saw politics at work on a scale so large yet with an intrigues for detail that would boggle the mind and test the wisest's understanding for a lifetime... and I have clashed with powers that for probably the first time... rivaled my own."

As Ganon spoke he pulled items out of his sack. Some fruits and dried meats, a letter from the newly appointing priests at Kanyou for the Majora priests, and finally a helmet.

Ganondorf Dragmire thrust the helmet of Zant down on the table between them. They looked at it curiously, and with appreciation for the work put into it.

"This man had powers of the Twilight and was filled with madness. He came as the night wind, silent and lethal. With his power he came upon the princess as a snake, and even with powers clashing against him that are born of the divine, he very nearly succeeded. But from my understanding, he was but a simple Shiekah once before he disappeared. And in that time he lost his inner mask, only to gain one... with Majoran symbols on the inside."

"Majoran!?" The two woman both screeched in surprise, outrage, and confusion.

"How dare they put our filth on this! This is the work of an amateur! No wonder he was mad! Take it away before it makes us mad as well!" Koume threw the helmet off the table. Zant's helmet clattered across the floor. Immediately Koume and Kotake bickered over who could have possibly done such a thing.

Ganondorf hesitated. He had come in expecting these two to be involved, but their surprise and outrage were genuine. He considered himself good at reading people, and having been raised by them, he knew theml. More than that, the sheer fact that they were twins trained his eye in the ability to discern even the smallest difference in order to distinguish between them, further allowing him to read people with ease.

They were not the ones to give Zant power, nor do they know who did.

"If you did not give him power of the Twilight... then who did?" Ganondorf inquired.

"Oh, he always had that!" Koume waved his question off.

"Pardon?"

"He is a Sheikah after all!" Kotake added.

Ganon looked between them as they continued bickering. He pulled up a chair and sat before them. "Explain." He ordered.

Koume sighed. Kotake said, "Depends on the question."

"Why is it you say he is this way because he was Sheikah. Why is it you see the markings of Majoran, yet call it amateurish and is what drove him mad? These are symbols unlike any I have ever seen."

"We never did tell him, did we?"

"I think we did not."

"Not tell me what?" Ganon pressed.

"At one time the Sheikah and Majora were one." Kotake said. "It was hundreds of years ago, but true. The Majora were a subculture of the Sheikah, renowned for our skills with runes. As you know, the Majora separate ourselves from the powers we control by these runes, turning them into tools and weapons. We only expose ourselves to the powers with masks. These same masks give us power, but also give us safety, as we can just as easily separate ourselves once more from them. The Sheikah, though, had no such separation. They create a barrier with self-discipline, faith, absolute assurance. Sheikah did not openly expose themselves to Twilight, but when they did... there was no turning back."

Koume continued on, "In times of conflict, a champion would be chosen as a living sacrifice to Twilight or Divinity, whichever would answer. The champion would gain great power, and would kill until finally the power they wielded had consumed them."

"He would have died on his own?" Ganondorf asked.

"It was only a matter of time, yes." Kotake assured him. "But never wait for time to kill such a zealot. As you said, he proved your match. The zealots were known to not fall until they had slain tens of thousands."

"The runes were most likely of his own design." Koume added. She and Kotake both spit in the direction of the helmet. "As you do know, the Majora and Sheikah were briefly reunited under King Sho of Qin, and we shared our knowledge with them."

Ganondorf nodded. He leaned back in thought. He did know of the information exchange. The pieces were falling into place.

"And this man with the helmet, how did he meet his end?" Kotake asked.

"The princess killed him." Ganondorf said.

The two woman looked at each other in shock. "That feeble girl?!" "Killed him?!"

"It is true. That is not to say it did not take several of us to tire him, but she ultimately was the one to stand against him in a duel and kill him."

"Most impressive!" The women exclaimed. "There is more to her than meets the eye!"

"A girl that young that can slay a Twilight consumed zealot Sheikah where thousands cannot!"

As if Ganon could not be more surprised by these turn of events, this was proven wrong as he witnessed his twin mothers gain a form of respect or admiration for the girl's strength.

"A dangerous one she is."

"We must be careful in our dealings with Qin."

"Peace or war, whichever we follow in the coming years,-"

"-this girl will be the axis of our fate. We must either be prepared to throw our lot in with her-"

"or kill her."

Ganon nodded. "I agree. Thankfully, I have already made my mind up on this matter. For now it benefits Majora greatly to be with her. We have been given a gift of weapons for war."

"Ohhhhh." the women giggled cheerfully. "Goody!"

Ganondorf Dragmire stood and looked out the window toward the west. "My eyes are cast once more to the mountains, mothers. I will return to the mountains and cliffs that caged me... and I will break it under my hands and tame it all."

The old croons cackled joyfully.

"On another note..." Ganondorf changed the subject. "A number of Qin have been disappearing of late. Might you two know something of it? I have half a mind to say you are involved."

"We do know of it." Kotake replied.

"But it is not us, Lord Ganon." Koume added.

"The one to do it is a man of Qin."

"Man of Qin?" Ganondorf inquired.

"Yes. We hear of him. He is a crafty one."

"His work is admirable, skilled, artistic even."

"Do you have a name?" Ganondorf asked.

The women hummed in thought, and looked at each other. "Chi Chi?" One wondered. The other nodded. "Sounds almost right."

"Cheechee?" Ganondorf huffed. "I doubt it. But if you two knew of it, why say and do nothing?"

"Why should we?" Kotake said.

"This is Qin against those of Qin blood." Koume added.

"It has little to do with us! We are Majora! Their problems are their own! Let them bicker and squabble in their own filth!"

Ganondorf thought to rebuke them, but he found he could not. Perhaps it was something about the times, but he found deep down the separation of Qin and Majora was still prevalent in his heart. He understood the vision Zelda wanted to achieve, but until she could tell him how to make it achievable, all he felt he could do was go by the old ways. He knew of no other way.

Ganon decided, "At the very least, let us ensure the man is brought to justice for stirring chaos. It shows greatly on us and our ability to rule if this vagabond is allowed to continue freely. The trouble out there will follow us to our doorstep if we do not stop it. Let us put in token effort, for the sake of goodwill, at the very least, and afterward leave the former-Qin governor with what he requires to ensure the people are happy in our rule."