In a small building in Hyrule square, Hylians watched in amazement as two women preformed on the stage. One woman had a very serene beauty about her as she played her harp, singing an enticing melody that harmonized perfectly with the notes she played. She had her blue hair loosely flowing down her back while her blue eyes watched, not her harp, but her preforming partner. The dancer was the one men couldn't help but notice. Unlike her friend, this girl's beauty was a firey one, with her tanned skin and bright red hair. She danced to the soft music that played throughout the room. Though the dance moves themselves were slow and tame, they held a hint of passion in them that drove the crowd crazy. It was no surprise to anyone when the music ended that the building shook with the thunderous applause for these two beauties.

Two people sat at a table in the club, "It looks like we've found them," a deep male voice resonated from the taller of the two.

"They couldn't run forever," the other one spoke, a seductive female voice that a few men close by turned to. "Din and Nayru will be ours forever this time."

Meanwhile, the two friends were drinking some steaming potion as they spoke to their manager: "I think we did our best tonight," Nayru smiled as she tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear.

Din shook her head, the hair in her high ponytail shaking with it, "I hate doing these slow songs. Why can't we just do something a little faster than a dead poe?" Din put a hand on her hip, and looked at their manager, "When we were just preforming in the streets, it was a lot more fun!"

The manager had green hair pulled off her face in two pom-poms on top of her head, "I know what you mean Din, but we'll be preforming for the royal family soon and they'll want something a little less exciting than what you enjoy. I promise that you can do a different number when we go to Kakariko."

"Aren't we supposed to do our best for the King and Princess?" Din challenged. "You know better than anyone Farore: I dance my best when I'm twirling and leaping. This calm stuff is smothering me!" Din snorted and walked off.

The pub's owner approached Farore and Nayru worriedly, "Will she be okay?"

Nayru laughed, "Don't worry, she's just running away." The pub owner's jaw fell to the ground. Before he could say something, Nayru spoke again, "She'll come back in time for tomorrow's preformance."

"B-b-but, the streets of Hyrule can be very dangerous! What if she's abducted, or raped, or-"

"It's okay," Farore smiled the man before grabbing some papers and reading them over. "If we tried to stop her, Din would just be gone longer. I've been Din's manager for a long time, and her friend for a longer time. If anyone tries to hurt Din," Farore looked up from the papers, "They'll be the ones to suffer in the end."

As she said this, Din was already facing the first of many drunk men to try and get some. "Back off," Din growled as she narrowed her red eyes. The man either didn't hear her, or was too drunk to care because his hands reached for her chest. In a second, Din had ducked to the ground, her feet rising as she fell to kick the man squarely in the jaw. Since the man was more intoxicated than the average joe, he blacked out quickly and snored as he layed on the ground. "Amature," Din flipped her hair and strolled out among the market. She brightened up quickly when she saw the masks for sale. She let her hands glide over each mask before landing on one of a fox with flames carved into it. "How much?" Din asked the shop owner.

"100 rupees," the man snapped his fingers as he recited the price, Din face fell and she opened her purse, counting up much less than 100 rupees. You'd think dancing made more money than this... "Or, if you'd rather..." the man held a glint in his eyes that didn't need words to convey its meaning. Din narrowed her eyes, prepared to have to resort to violence again. Then, Din remembered was Nayru and Farore told her a million times: to try and not bring bad publicity to the two of them. So, Din simply turned on her heel and decided to look for clothes instead. After all, many of Hyrule's women were wearing dresses, but Din was in her one-piece bright red dancing suit (AN: I know it's pink, but red's better XD)

Din saw a small and quaint little shop selling some clothes. With a smile, Din opened the door, gasping at what saw. The shopkeepers were not Hylians like Din expected, but Zoras. Din wasn't the type to really care who she bought stuff from, but she knew that the Hylians tended to dislike Zoras, Gorons, and Dekus and wouldn't ever shop from their stores. That was probably why this store was so small, but Din noticed that the few clothes the Zora women had were of a very fine quality that people would die to have if they could look past their noses.

"Hello," Din smiled at the two Zora women, "I'm looked for something that would be classy, but good to dance in."

The older Zora seemed surprised that Din spoke to her in such a friendly manner, but the younger Zora just smiled brightly, "I know just the thing! I made it myself!" The Zora, no more than a child, led Din to a burgandy dress that looked like it was made of pure silk. Din knew she could never afford such a beautiful gown, but couldn't resist the temptation to try it on. She took the dress into the only dressing room and tried it on.

The dress seemed to be made for Din. Although Din wore no corset, the dress attatched perfectly onto her slim frame. Beow the waist, the dress faded into a lighter shade of burgandy until it turned into a pale pink at the foot. The bottom half of the dress was very loose, allowing Din to lift a leg up to a 90 degree angle without becoming too tight. The sleeves of the dress were also loose and only went to her elbows, letting her large bracelets remain in their usual place. Din stepped out of the dressing room, wanting a second opinion from the Zora women.

The older Zora looked at Din thoughtfully, "You have a very rare coloring. I have a feeling that dress couldn't look half as good on anyone else as it does on you right now." Din smiled, even though she knew that many shopkeepers would say the same thing to every woman that tried on an outfit. However, this Zora was honest in her work, and Din trusted her. The Zora child just clapped her hands and jumped up and down happily.

"How much?" Din asked as she reached for her purse. She was prepared to work day and night in order to have this dress. Din wasn't the sort to obsess over fashion or clothes, but no outfit never seemed as perfect on her other than her usual dancing outfit.

"10 rupees," The Zoras both smiled as they told Din the price and held out their hands.

"No," Din told the Zoras firmly, surprising them. "This dress must be worth at least 50 times more than that."

"A Zora made it," the Zora woman told Din with a hint of sadness, "It is practically worthless."

"I could buy 6 of your dresses easily!" Din argued, feeling her temper rise again.

"Ooh! Will you?" The Zora girl jumped up and down, missing the point completely.

Din pulled 50 rupees out of her purse and slammed them on the counter. "I'm paying no less than 50 rupees for this dress. It is a masterpiece, and I'll make sure everyone knows you made it." With that, Din grabbed her dancing suit and stormed out of the shop, ignoring the protests of the Zora woman and the excited squeals of the Zora girl.

Needless to say, Din was pissed. She stormed ahead, not noticing girls looking enviously at her dress, men lookin hungrily at her form, or... whoever it was she just ran into looking at something that wasn't Din. Din looked up in surprise at the man whose chest she collided with. He was wearing a strange green tunic with matching hat and had blonde hair that swept over his bright blue eyes. Those eyes were currently narrowed at Din in disgust.

Din took a step back, for the first time in her life intimidated. Why is he so pissed? All I did was bump into him! Maybe he's had a bad day or something... Just when Din was about to apologize (another first mind you) the man spoke in a cold voice, "I'm not interested. Find yourself another sugar daddy."

Din stood there for a second, processing what the guy just said for any other possible meaning. Nope, there is none. He really just called her a... OH SNAP! "What makes you think you're so high and mighty that every girl beneath you is some white trash!?" Din lifted up her hand to slap the guy across the face, but he grabbed her arm the moment it was a mere centimeter from his cheek. Din gasped as her red eyes clashed with his blue ones, there seemed to be something predatory in those eyes. It wasn't lust, or desire for blood, but there was something he was hunting for... something too good for words. Din was left speechless as the man let go of her wrist and walked off. "What... what the hell was that?"

Din stood there for a moment, before becoming overcome be rage. That guy actually had the nerve to accuse her of being a prostitute, and then walk off without even an apology. Geez, just because he was so handsome and cool, he thought he could get away with anything. Wait... what am I thinking! Din clenched her fists. That "something" she thought she saw was probably just some girlish fantasy that she got caught up in and let distract her. And then he thought she was some kind of mental girl and walked off... Asshole.

Din stormed off towards the pub, not noticing the figure from the mentioned pub in the shadows grinning, "You're just as lovely as ever Din. I'll make you mine forever this time..." the man licked his lips in anticipation.

When Din arrived at the pub, a few fans tossed out a couple of compliments. Din politely thanked the men and women for their words, and went up to the room she shared with Nayru and Farore. "You all can stop crying! I have returned!" Din joked as she walked into the room, tossing her dance outfit on her bed. Farore was looking over some schedules for future preformances while Nayru hummed a melody as she read a book.

Farore looked up at Din and smiled, "Nice outfit. Where'd you get it?"

Din remembered the two Zoras and was angry again: "Two Zoras own a shop in Hyrule, and one of them is just a little girl! They must have the best clothes I've ever seen, but they'd consider themselves lucky to make 10 rupees off this dress alone." Din crossed her arms, "Why is it that everywhere we go, people are a bunch of self-riteous anal assholes?"

"Don't be so cruel," Nayru told Din as she layed the book down. "Remember that kind old woman who helped us when we were little? And our friends that made sure we escaped from the orphanage?" Din was silent, remembering the past. Farore, Din, and Nayru were all unwanted babies, dumped on the orphanage stoop. Because they were so close in age and named after the goddesses, the three girls were very close. It soon became apparent that both Din and Nayru were artisticly gifted, and Farore was naturally organized and perfect for being a manager. The girls were pretty popular among the other kids, so they helped them escape from the orphanage to try their luck on the streets. They were street preformers for a while, but an old woman who owned a pub let the girls stay as her daughters and preform every night. This helped everyone develop their skills. But the town the girls lived in was raided by the soldiers of a power hungry and the girls were slaves to be sold anywhere. After so much pain and suffering, they were able to escape and try to start anew. Din could only remember the pain, Nayru tried so hard to remember the good things, and Farore simply didn't linger on the past. Din often suspected that this had something to do with being named after the Goddess of Time, but she didn't dig too deeply into the subject.

"There are very horrible people too," Din whispered, "more bad people than good people. Everyone here thinks a woman wants to sleep with any man." Din shuddered at the thought. She could never understand why so many girls spoke of sex as though it was something wonderful, she could only assoctiate it with pain, fear, and a man earning his dominance over a girl.

"Regardless of whether or not the world is bad," Farore layed her papers down on the small wooden desk, "We do have a preformance tomorrow." Farore smiled at Din, "Since you have the slow songs down so well, you can preform the song Nayru's been working on."

Din's eyes welled up and she tackled Farore in a hug. "There may be bad people in the world, but you aren't one of them!" Din declared happily as she hugged the life out of Farore.

Farore laughed at her friend's immaturity, "You're such a drama queen, Din."

"She's just happy," Nayru laughed as well, "if she didn't get this happy, than her temper tantrums would make her a tyrant." Din crossed her arms with a small "humph" that made both of her friends laugh.

The Next Night

Everyone in the bar was tense with anticipation as they awaited the two beautiful preformers that even the most rough man would be transfixed by. The pub was more crowded this time, but the two people who were so intrested in Nayru and Din the night before were nowhere to be seen. With the money that Din paid for her dressm the two Zoras were able to get into the pub to watch the show, as long as they stayed out of the Hylians' ways. Three firgures in cloaks were at the table closest to the stage. Even though their faces were impossible to see, it was obvious that the shortest one was excited, the tallest one was also excited, yet on the watch, and the last one seemed as though he'd rather be anywhere but where he was.

A hush fell over the crowd as Nayru and Din entered the stage. Din was in the dress she bought, and Nay-ru was in a pure-white dress that gave her a celestial air. There were a couple of wolf-whistles from the crowd, and a surpressed squeal of delight from the young Zora, but otherwise no a sound was made. Nayru strummed the first few notes on her harp, sad and beautiful notes that silenced everyone. The three hooded figures, even the last one, watched the stage with expectancy.

All of this was lost on Din. As the music started to flow from Nayru's harp, all else ceased to exist. When Nayru started singing, Din rose to her toes and began to dance.

At first, the song spoke of pain and sadness, and Din't movements were the same. She made large steps and kept her head down as she tried to convey to everyone the pain most of them felt at some point or another. The two Zoras started to cry lightly as they thought of the fruitless hours they put into the work they loved so much that would never be worn be more than a handful of women. A man in the back wept in the memory of his daughter, long lost in the wars. A woman was crying for the man who left her for a younger woman because she was "used goods." Even the pick-pockets and prostitutes had eyes shining with tears.

Then, so quickly that people almost jumped, the entire mood changed. Din lifted her head and opened her eyes, a determination shining in them. She lept into the air and twirled, her dress flowing with the music. Everyone smiled, now they knew. While the moment before was a painful one, this time it was a moment of truth, a moment of hope. There was so much effort and work into the dance, and it was sucessful. There would be life after the pain. The prostitutes smiled, not the flirty smiles they gave customers, but the smiles of real girls who were really happy. The man who lost her daughter pulled out a picture of her and smiled, remembering her laughter. She wouldn't want him drinking his troubles away like a hopeless fool. The woman who lost her fiance' glanced around, noticing for the first time that she wasn't to be blamed for the assault on her, it was the fault of the man, and there had to be someone out there who could see that she wasn't a tainted dove; she was a beautiful swan. The two Zoras clutched each other's hands and decided that no matter how many dresses were bought and sold, they would never give up on their dreams.

The song and dance ended on a high note of joy, and Din lept just as high. everyone gasped as she rose into the air, almost flying. Now there was a wide smile across her face and her eyes seemed to tell the crowd, "I followed my dreams, now it's your turn." The building shook with wonderous applause, and Nayru and Din both gave bows of gratitude. The looked up and smiled, before their mouths opened in amazement. Everyone else in the pub was silent too. The smallest of the hooded figures stood up and took off her hood, revealing a beautiful woman with bright blonde hair and bright blue eyes. A tiara placed delicately on her head would have revealed to even the lowest of the low that she was Princess Zelda.

"Thank you for your preformance," Zelda spoke, her voice as beautiful as her appearance, "I hope you'll do just as well when you preform for me and my father." Din and Nayru just looked at each other in amazement, before blushing a bright red and nodding at the princess, smiles plastered on their faces.

It was hours since their preformance, and everyone had left except for Princess Zelda and her two guards. One of them took of their hood and introduced herself as Impa, represenative of the Sheikah tribe. Once, the tribe was nearly wiped out, but under the protection of the royal family they had flourished once again. The other one refused to remove his hood, but he would ocassionaly make some sort of comment about whatever was being talked about. Din couldn't help but feel that she met this man somewhere, but she couldn't put her finger on it.

Din yawned loudly, "I'm sorry, I'm pretty tired. I needed to come up for a finale for the dance last night, and I'm pooped. I'm gonna hit the hay," Din waved at her companions and started walked to the room. Before going into the room she shared with her friends, Din walked outside for a moment and looked beyond the castle gates at the wide plains that were home to many mysteries. Even though she traveled through Hyrule Field innumerable times, it never ceased to amaze her with some secret or another.

"This isn't a safe place to sleep," a male voice commented dryly. Din turned quickly to see Zelda's escort standing there, his hood still hiding his features.

"I can't sleep without seeing nature," Din responded, unembarassed about her unusual need for life. "If I don't come outside for a moment beforehand, I can't sleep."

The man stood there, silent for a moment. "I understand what you mean." He walked closer to Din and stood next to her, looking out to Hyrule Field as well, "I'm not truly Zelda's guard as much as her friend." Din looked at him, listening to his words in silence. "To be honest, I'm more of a wanderer than anything. Though the Royal Family has offered me a permanent home in Hyrule, as well as a position as Commander, I'm only at ease when I'm sleeping in the open."

Din nodded in agreement, "A bed and some shelter is nice, but I sleep best when we're in our rickety old wagon that is drawn by a stubborn old mule and more stubborn old man." Din laughed, and was surprised to her the masculine laughter of her companion join in. Din smiled, "You're a lot nicer than I thought you were."

The man turned to her, "I wish I could say the same. You're not as nice as I thought you were," Din turned red with anger and turned away quickly from the man, attempting to cover her embarassment. "Perhaps I should clarify: you are more intelligent, more interesting and all around better to be around than I thought you were." Din turned to the man in confusion, and noticed bright blue eyes peering out from the shadows the cloak provided. They were beautiful eyes, but they were also animalistic.

Din's eyes widened as she realized that you only person anywhere with eyes like that had to be: "YOU!" Din pointed directly at the man's face, her mout agape.

The man lowered his hood, showing that Din was right, he was the man from the day before. "I am Link. Hero of Hyrule." Din noticed that the cold anger in his eyes before was gone, and replaced with someone that could only be called respect. "I apologize for my behavior earlier, it was wrong of me to treat you like that."

Din rose an eyebrow and placed her hands on her hips, "Put you hood back on," she told Link, "you talk like an idiot with it off."

Link smirked and Din felt her heart skip a beat, "How's this: the only reason I thought you were a whore was that women were throwing themselves at me so much that I'd have broken bones if they made any impact." Din laughed, knowing from what she saw alone that he was right. "So," Link crossed his arms and leaned against the railing of the building, "you seemed to communicate quite a bit into your dance before," Link looked out to Hyrule Field again, "I remembered things I've forgotten for a long time..." Link sighed, "I'm not sure if I should thank you or ask if you have a remedy dance." There was a hint of dark humor as he said this, and his eyes, though not looking at Din, reflected the pain she worked so hard to convey in her art.

Din gave a sad sigh and looked at Link, "Faroe always seems to know what to do with time. She learns from the past, lives in the present, and plans for the future so perfectly." Din placed a hand on Link's shoulder, "I know enough to know you can't run from the past. It's a part of you." Din's eyes flashed for a second at her own past suddenly appeared in front of her eyes, before shaking it off. "If it wasn't for Nayru and Faroe, I'd probably be a mess."

"You three are close, as close as real sisters," Link looked at Din. "It almost makes an outsider feel jealous."