Night fell over Gerudo Valley but it was still hotter then Hell. Tantari, widowed First Wife of King Ghabriel, stood in the shadows off the fortress, trying to cool off. A full moon smiled down upon her and the Gerudo woman was not surprised. According to the beliefs of her people, only events of great importance took place under a full moon. Like the birth of a future king. Inside the close chambers, Shafali, third and most despised wife of the late Ghabriel, labored. Tantari pitied her not. In the society of the Gerudo, Tanatri carried more status than Shafali. Both had been married to the king, yet he had only wed Shafali on the words of an oracle. Tantari he had cherished, Shafali was only a vessel to carry the valuable son. Ghabriel had not had a choice. Without a new male, the Gerudo blood would thin and run dry. The king hadn't liked or trusted Shafali. Before his death he had confided in Tantari and told her his worst fears of what Shafali might to do his last child. And Tantari who had seen both Ghabriel's wisdom and Shafali's wickedness before, had no reason to doubt her husband's words.
Being the only one present with any medical skills, Tantari was required to help Shafali throught the birth process. There were many things she knew of that would ease the pain and hasten delivary, but Tantari was unwilling to squander any of her knowledge on Shafali. She knew the woman's true colors, and concerened herself only with the welfare of the child.
Tantari believed that somehow, Shafali had tampered with nature's odds, putting her in favor bearing a son. That kind of power, Tantari knew, was not beyond Shafali, and thats what made her so dangerous.
A young girl came up to Tantari and bowed, "Ma'am, Madam Shafali has been calling for you."
"Alright. I'm coming."
Shafali had been in labor for nearly two days and was not handling it well. It was her first pregnancy and Tantari vowed it would be the woman's last too. Shafali writhed and cursed. At the other mid-wives, at the Goddesses, and when she saw Tantari, at her as well.
"Where have you been?" she snarled.
Tantari didn't bother answering, she walked around the bed to peer between Shafali's drawn up knees.
Shafali snarled openly at the First Wife. Obviously disgusted by the intimacy of the examination, "get away from me, bitch."
Again Tantari ignored her. And although it did not show on Tantari's smooth coppery face, she was disgusted too.
"You're fully dialated." She reported blandly, "he should be crowning soon."
"You said that two hours ago!" Shafali growled through gritted teeth. Her bloodshot eyes fastened murderously on Tantari's own calm gaze, but the First Wife did not flinch away. She understood who Shafali wished was attending the birth in her place. The dark ones who gave her the power. Koume and Kotake, the old sorceresses. They disgusted Tantari as well.
Bending low so only Shafali could hear, Tantari whispered, "and you'll not be calling on those witches to help you, not here. This is a holy place. My place." The two females locked challenging stares, but Shafali was forced to look away as another set of contractions hit her. Tantari stood by silently, counting seconds. She though of Ghabriel, and wondered if he was was watching them. Where ever he was.
Judging the time to be right, Tantari looked down at Shafali again. Dark blood welled with clear liquid. It was finally time.
Tantari nodded to Shafali. "Here he is. Start pushing."
The whole process of birth had always amazed Tantari. Weather it was her own child coming into the world, or someone elses. To her, there was always a feeling of mystery. Holiness. Touching newborn flesh and looking into misty just-opened eyes, was to Tantari, like looking upon her Goddesses.
Shafali strained, veins standing out like snakes beneath her damp skin. As the tension built, chanted prayers to Farore were offered ny the mid-wives. Involuntarily, Tantari's lips moved with the ancient words. The old magic seemed to work and the tension broke as the child crowned.
An almost girlish cry of joy escaped Tantari, she was wiping his face quickly and turning the slippery body, helping his shoulders to ease out. The rest of the infant slip out with a pop, and Tantari could confirm it was truly a male. She held him up, still attached to the umbilical cord, so the others could see him. Their reactions were silmiliar to hers- joy, and several of the girls ran out to speard the word through the Valley.
He was wet, bloody and coated with the waxy substance all newborns are. Tantari smiled down into his tiny face and whispered, "welcome, son of Ghabriel." In his curious amber eyes, she could indeed she the old king's reflection, and Tantari's heart contracted painfully.
As the other mid-wives attended Shafali, Tantari busied herself with the removal of the infant's naval stump. It was then she got a could look at him and realized that he was too thin and yellow, and his cry wasn't as strong as it should have been. Tantari glanced at Shafali who was smiling smugly, and she wondered what he had been exposed to.
It is said that while in the womb, a child knows everything the mother knows, feels everything she feels. Shafali never denied walking the Black Road, and apparently she had taken her son down along it with her. Well, no more of that, Tantari thought as she gazed down at Ghabriel's last child. I'll protect you princeling.
"Give me my son." Shafali demanded from the bed.
Reluctantly, Tantari handed the newborn over. The satisfaction on the other woman's face came from no motherly love. Shafali's eyes gleamed with dark ambition. This child was her key to bringing the Gerudo Nation to it's knees. This was the future Shafali envisioned as she looked at her son, this was his future.
"What will you name him?" Tantari asked, cutting into Shafali's dark reverie. "Ganondorf." Shafali snapped.
Tantari balked slightly. Ganondorf? What an awful name, she thought, not even fully Gerudian. Ganon, she knew meant fair. Hardly a name for a Gerudo prince, soon to be king. But it was not her choice. With a last tender look at the infant boy, Tantari slipped out of the room, wanting nothing more than to be alone with her doubts.
Down deep in the heart of the Spirit Temple was the Mandrag Hin'inasa. Literally- the King's Tomb. It was the resting place of all the Gerudo's greatest kings. Each lay perfectly preserved by Gerudian mumifacation techniques in a crystal coffin. Only the First Wives of the Kings, eldest daughters, and high priestesses were allowed within the Mandrag Hin'inasa.
Tantari stood before the newest crystal box with moist eyes. Ghabriel looked as he he did in life. His broad features still radiated the calm wisdom the Gerudo king had been known for. Tantari touched the crystal over his face. Seven months had not done much to diminish her heart-ache, but here with the man she had loved, Tantari felt peace.
"Ah, Gabe," she murmered. "You know you have a son. Ganondorf, Shafali's calling him." Tantari sighed and shook her head. "An ugly name it is. I wish you were here. Everything's changing, Ghabriel, and I don't like it at all. I thought I'd accepted decades ago that I'd out live you by centuries, but now...Now if it weren't for my promise to watch over this new one, I'd be rushing to join you. All our children are grown. Elisheba is an excellent leader and her little Nabooru will probably grow to be just as competent. I just don't feel like I belong here anymore."
Tantari leaned forward and rested her cheek on the cool crystal. A sensation of love and understanding filled her suddenly, making her understand that Ghabriel was still with her. She closed her eyes, but as she did, a soft wind blew across her cheek, like a puff of breath. Then a voice whispered into her ear. "He needs you Tari."
Startled, Tantari sat up. She looked up at Ghabriel, but his face was still set in the peace of death. Confused, she glanced around the crypt, knowing no one else would be there.
"Tantari! Are you there?"
While, no one in the crypt could have possibly been calling her, a voice in the temple's upper chambers was. Tantari left the Mandrag Hin'inasa to find a young novice priestess waiting for her, not daring to enter the Tomb of the Kings. "I'm here, what's wrong?"
The young girl's eyes were tearful. "It's the prince, madam. He is ailing!"
