Chapter 22 - Interrogation

Story by darkflamewolf on SoFurry

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#23 of Zelda's Honor

This chapter was solely based around one huge reveal; so I made damn sure that I built up to that reveal by prolonging the interaction between these two characters until it was finally discovered. I may have hinted at it several times over the course of the story, but here is where it is outright said, the blunt truth. This becomes a factor in future relationships in the coming acts, specifically act 3. I also wanted to keep the player guessing as to what I was doing with Ganondorf; he is a crafty tactician and not one for making decisions rashly or without prior research. Like chapter 9 before it, this is mainly a character piece, but a lot of exposition is revealed here.


He had no idea how long it had been since he was placed in the cell. It was cold, lifeless and dry. His throat was parched at the lack of water he had received. He had tried railing against the bars the instant they tossed him in here but they were thick metal poles unyielding to his strength. With one final gasp of exhaustion he slumped to the ground and slowly watched the fading light of day cast its shadows across the room from the tiny portholes carved into the brick.

It was like reliving a nightmare he had long since forgotten, a slight constriction in his chest started to form as panic began to set in. Would he even be able to escape this time? Memories came flooding back at the treatment he endured so many years ago, the only time they were remotely nice to him was when they forced him to their beds. Once they were finished with his body they'd cart him off only to dump him back into one of the cells, awaiting the next time he was needed in that way.

One woman fancied him more than the others and kept asking for his company almost weekly. He wasn't stupid. He could tell the difference after a time between the women in their internal caste system. This woman was definitely of the highest tier in their society and was far more loving than the rest of the women who had used him. What was strange about her was that after copulation, instead of immediately sending him off to the dungeons, she would ask about his life and how he lived outside of their fortress. She seemed utterly fascinated about what lay beyond her borders but was powerless to actually go out to achieve it.

Over time her swollen belly began to emerge as it was clear their carnal evenings had produced a baby. The nights with the woman were some of his more pleasant memories of this place; she actually treated him like a real human being. Pregnancy was never an issue and was actually desired among the Gerudo. Although Ganondorf was in power at this time and had access to any of the woman as he pleased, each Gerudo was secretly hoping for another boy to carry on the lineage of the king.

They would spend nights talking about what it would be like in the 'outside' world raising the new unborn child. The woman would continually ask questions regarding how one would live on a ranch, tending to animals she barely had any concept of. When they had finished their talks, they would make love once again and then have him sent on his way back to the cell. He tolerated the jibes and abuse from the other women as long as he knew he had a supporter.

One day the child was born, it was a girl like the rest of the children birthed to the Gerudo. She had slightly tanned skin but it was clear some of the paleness came from the father. The baby only had a few wisps of hair but it was evident she would follow in her mother's footsteps with a brilliant mane of red tresses. Once the child was born, he was denied access to the woman from then on. His task accomplished, he was transferred to another woman to impregnate.

The nightmare descended again as the mistreatment from the other women increased tenfold. It was almost a year of spiraling madness before he was summoned to his child's mother, it was a clandestine meeting. She wanted to show him the beautiful child they had produced and give him some small solace that what they had done together was not in vain. He passionately expressed his distaste to leave his daughter in a society that would condone such abhorrent, deviant behavior. The woman merely shrugged, it was what they've always known; it was how they survived.

After bedding him one last time, instead of sending him off, she finally let him sleep beside her that night. It was long after she had fallen asleep in his arms when the idea sprouted in his head. He gently slipped out of the furs and walked over to his baby girl. She needed a life that was better than this. Crooning softly to the child as he cradled her in his arms, he quietly exited the room and rounded his way through the corridors. He had very slim hopes, if at all, that he would actually escape but he had to try. He was also certain that if he were caught escaping with one of their babies he would most certainly be killed; he was willing to take that chance.

A sudden unlocking of the bolted door at the end of the room jerked him away from his memories. He remained where he was, watching the three women enter the chamber. Two were leading a third with one of them carrying a wooden chair while the other had a loop of rope. They unshackled the chains and lock around the prison door as they swung the bars wide with a squeak. A candle was lit by the third woman as the light played across her face.

Backing up involuntarily as he recognized the face of the third woman, it was the mother! What new devilries was he going to be subjected to now? The two servants set the chair in the center of the cell as the other roughly grabbed him up off the floor. They pushed him down onto it and started tying the ropes around his body securing him to the chair. With a quick snap of fingers, the leader of the three directed them to wait outside the door to the chamber.

As the wooden door shut with a crunch, the woman gracefully walked up to him. She had an air about her of grace and majesty. If she wasn't a Gerudo and the implications that name held, many a man would literally throw themselves at her; not that she'd mind he wagered. She grabbed a lock of her long hair and gently swirled it around in front of her before finally letting it rest on her breast. Was she actually trying to entice him? After all this time?

"Mmm...Talon, you've really let yourself go." Nabooru smirked as she looked at his plump body.

"Humph!" Talon seethed, "I had nothing left ta live fer! All I had was my daughter. She was all that matter'd!"

Nabooru crossed her arms in contempt, "Is this how you treat your benefactor? The one who enabled you to escape with our daughter? Don't you forget that I gave birth to her, you ungrateful wretch."

Talon turned away from her face, "At my expense! Ya didn't ask what I had want'd, ya simply took!"

Nabooru grinned but did not move, "It is what we do. We need children to keep our society alive." She quivered slightly in disgust at the next thought, "Ganondorf can only be in so many places at one time." She finished with a grimace. She always did hate their visits together.

Talon remained staring off into the corner as he flatly questioned, "So why did ya help me escape? What did it serve?"

"I saw something different in you, something I still can't place. An inner furnace that warmed me to the core, most men would be clamoring to be in my robes before the day was done. But not you. You did it because you were forced to."

Nabooru stepped up to him and with a finger to his chin guided his eyes back to hers as she softly whispered, "It wasn't until I asked about your true desires and pleasures in life that your attitude changed with me. Over time I grew to respect the man who now sits before me."

Talon's demeanor did not change, "Ya still haven't answered my question!"

Nabooru's eyes softened, "I guess a part of me wanted our children to live out there in the world. You convinced me of something I never thought possible. So I helped you."

A glimmer of hope emerged in Talon's eyes, "So will you let us go if we ask?"

A charming laugh erupted from Nabooru's throat at his outrageous suggestion, "Oh, Talon, you are hilarious." With a deft movement she was on his lap, legs wrapped around his waist as she breathed in deep his manly scent barely inches from her nose.

"What are ya doing?" Talon exclaimed, surprised at the sudden change in Nabooru.

"I was willing to let you go that first time Talon. However coming back of your own free will? I don't think I have any choice but to keep you here. With Ganondorf back, I don't have much clout in setting you free." Nabooru hummed, gently nibbling on his ear.

Talon saw the conversation going south quick, "Nabooru! I'm not the man I once was...I-"

She leaned back to admire him, "Mmm...you're right about that." She sniggered, "I've never been with a fat man before but I'm willing to try new things."

Talon blushed furiously at her laughter, "That's not the point! We were on a mi-"

She silenced his protests with a rushed kiss. She grabbed the back of his head and pressed in with her lips, tongue slightly invading his mouth as she reveled in the feel of his body pressing up against hers. She withdrew briefly, "It has been a long time," she began huskily, a primal urge slowly taking over, "we can talk later."

Talon was quickly being silenced in the overbearing heft of her feminine wiles. He almost wanted to give in to this but knew his daughter came first. He shook his body as violently as he could against the ropes holding him still. Nabooru let out a note of disgust at the interruption as she glared at him, unwilling to let him go.

"What man?" She demanded.

"I refuse ta be a prisoner again!" Talon heaved, "I would rather die than become that!"

Nabooru gazed at him a moment considering something, "You know," a guttural tone slipping back in, "I can probably get approval from the other elders to make you my personal manservant. There is precedence for such a thing." She began to kiss his cheeks once more and licked his lips, "All you have to do is ask and you belong to me. No one else will dare touch you and all children we make would be ours."

Talon was being overrun with her female urgency, it was all he could do to keep himself above the depths of his own passion. It was just a simple thing to just give in to her and embrace the oblivion of pleasure. She reached down with one hand and felt his pining member and moaned in anticipation of what was to come. She deftly started unbuckling the belt around his tunic as she kept one hand pressed on his head forcing him into the kiss, tongue reaching in to caress his, the feel of his mustache tickling her nose and exciting her further.

It was like a bolt to the heart as an image of Malon's face flashed through Talon's mind, he knew what he had to fight for. He jerked backward so hard that the two of them fell backwards as the chair thumped against the ground. Nabooru rolled off with a cry of fury at his insubordination to her needs. She leaped atop him and expanded her hands ready to rake her nails across his face.

"Tell me why I shouldn't kill you right now for insulting me!" Nabooru breathed heavily, rage apparent on her face at having been denied the carnal pleasures of the flesh.

"If ya kill me, ya'll never receive the love of our daughter...ever." He stated it plainly, it was a clear threat.

She relaxed the grip on his throat as her clawed hand descended slightly, "Is she here? Was she one of the four children you brought?" A look of worry glossed over her face.

Talon coughed a bit as she released his throat entirely, "Yes, and her name is Malon."

Nabooru leaned back against his knees as a slight tear trickled down her cheek, "And you brought her back here..."

Talon merely nodded. Nabooru's voice was shaky with an oncoming grief, "You foolish man. I thought you would have left her to live her life out there." She gestured to the windows, "Now that she is here, there is no possible way she can be free. She will most likely be inducted and become one of us."

He softened at her despair of hearing the news, "I believe ya can still fix things and bargain our release. We need ta get away from the Nevachrean army."

His reference galvanized her senses, "Yes, the army." She nodded her head, wiping away her tear. "Why did you come here with four children? Who are they?"

Talon, slightly uncomfortable with her still sitting on him, shifted, the weight of them both was pressing his knuckles hard into the brick floor. His hands were slowly becoming numb. "They were children placed into my charge ta take care of. We were directed ta seek refuge here with the Gerudo."

Nabooru looked down at him in astonishment, "You were told that? Did they not know who we are?"

Talon grunted, "I thought the same thing; but she was adamant."

Nabooru grinned, "She?"

He shook his head, "Not like that. She was a Sheikah. She was planning ta meet us here after we had been secured safely behind your borders."

"Where is she now?" Nabooru asked.

"I haven't the foggiest." Talon admitted.

Nabooru regarded intently his eyes as she asked, "And of our daughter? How is she?"

Talon smiled at describing the light of his life, the one good thing to ever happen to him. "She is the most beautiful angel! She loves animals more than anything and has aspirations ta become a horse trainer one day. Her long, red hair is such a delight ta gaze upon...reminds me of..."

Talon stopped his reminiscing as he noticed Nabooru placing a hand to her lips in dismay, she whispered, "So it was her."

"What?" Talon was befuddled.

Nabooru rose up off of him and brought his chair back onto its legs. She quickly untied him and released him from the chair. Swiftly crossing the cell, she re-shackled the prison bars before he had a chance to catch up with her. She gave one last look at him, her feelings evident in her eyes.

"Thank you Talon. I am going to see _my_daughter." She smiled wanly as she left him.

Talon pounded against the bars as she whisked by the lit candles; flames wavering in the wind of her passing. "Nabooru! Don't you dare touch her! She will never be one of you! Get back here! Nabooru!" He yelled after her, but to no avail. He sagged to the ground weeping at what was to become of his daughter. He felt his life was over yet again.

Nabooru gently shut the door behind her, blocking out the ravings of the man she had once known intimately. She glanced to the sides and realized the guards she had placed outside the door were no longer there. She had little time to ponder the thought when a hand grabbed her by the throat and slammed her against the door, jarring it on its hinges. The deadly grip lifted her off the ground as she blindly kicked the air trying desperately to remove the hand strangling the air out of her.

"You always were a troublesome woman, Nabooru." A voice churned in the darkness.

Her hands feebly grasping at his fingers, Nabooru croaked, "G..Ganon..dorf!"

He stepped into the light as the flames played across his features, his crook nose casting evil shadows across his cheeks. Sidling up next to him was his personal whore, Apolloni. They flashed each other a glare of loathing before Ganondorf's grip redirected her eyes back to his. Apolloni merely smiled at the mistreatment of her fellow elder. They were never on good terms and had always disagreed at council meetings. The fact Nabooru was their de facto leader when Ganondorf was gone infuriated her.

Ganondorf cocked his head at Nabooru, "You never were one to follow the rules, always tweaking them so that it suited your needs." His grip tightened around her neck as she choked, "Must I remind you who is king of the Gerudo? I am your master and you obey the laws I set down! Do you understand me?"

His rage blasted into her face like a hurricane, she could do nothing but weakly nod. His grip loosened as she slid down the wall, coughing as she gasped in precious air. Apolloni moved forward to hurt her as well. Ganondorf merely stretched out an arm to prevent her. Nabooru realized her error and there was no point in making her suffer further. Ganondorf tolerated his subjects far too much he knew, but they were all still family. Like any family there were several members you had to bring under your heel.

"Nabooru." Ganondorf demanded with a quiet menace to his voice, "Did you discover anything from that man?"

Recovering with one final hack she looked up into his eyes with lethal intent. She knew that he outmatched her, but it didn't stop her from glaring at him. "Yes...they were sent to seek refuge here by a Sheikah."

"A Sheikah, you say?" Ganondorf mused, "That explains the disturbance I felt amongst the sands tonight." He chortled, "Funny how she would consider us as being a viable alternative."

"What shall we do with them, my lord?" Apolloni gleefully chimed.

Ganondorf's gazed flickered to Apolloni. She was a striking woman in her own right. Not as gorgeous as Nabooru, but her brunette hair was intoxicating to him. It was rare that any Gerudo was born with anything but red hair. Apolloni had risen through the ranks quickly and was rival to many of the other elders in her sword skills. She was second only to Nabooru, a fact which broiled her rage to no end. Her only flaw in Ganondorf's eyes was her hot-headedness. She would jump to action before it was prudent to do so.

"Release them." Both women were frozen in shock at this unexpected command.

"My lord?" Nabooru questioned.

"Release them, but do not let them leave the fortress. They may be prisoners, but they are also my guests." Ganondorf explained, his tone implying that he should not be questioned.

Apolloni's anger started bubbling, "I don't understand! We never released anyo-"

Ganondorf struck her to the ground with a backhanded slap, "Do not question my intentions again!" Nabooru simpered as Apolloni clutched her cheek in shock, "They will have proper quarters established and will have limited range of movement. I will direct later the places in which they cannot go. For now, see to it that they are fed and taken care of."

Nabooru bowed low, eager to get back into Ganondorf's good graces and to spite Apolloni further, "As you wish my lord. Why the sudden change of heart?" Nabooru dared ask.

Ganondorf considered a moment before responding, "The enemy of my enemy is my friend."

With a gruff parting he paced down the hall, receding into the darkness.