Dora did not question his order, but prepared for pain, a lot of pain. "Yes, my lord."

Her sacrifice did not go unnoticed by him. While being arrested changed his plans slightly, the part where she pulled the Master Sword to unlock the Sacred Realm did not. No one would suspect that she would be capable, but he knew that she could. What he did not know before that day was that she was sensitive to the light, indicating there was darkness in her heart. Pulling the blade of evil's bane from its pedestal would cause her great harm, possibly fatal, and he recognized that. She did not question him, nor defy him, and so she was to be praised for her obedience.

The great mass of the Door of Time shook the entire temple as it slid slowly open. The moment there was enough room to squeeze her body through Dora was inside the next room. Before she could even lay her hands on the hilt of the sword she was thrown to the side with such force she hit the wall and collapsed to the floor. She stood as quickly as she dared, and after the world spun for a second she turned to complete her mission. She wrapped her hands around the hilt of the Master Sword and through excruciating pain yanked with all her might to pull the blade from the pedestal. She screamed in agony and was blinded by pain. There was no giving up or quitting. This needed to be done.

At first the sword did not budge and her task seemed impossible to complete, until she felt a great shift and it began to emerge inch by inch. The seal was broken. Three blurs of golden light flew by and startled her. She dropped the sword beside the pedestal with a terrible clang and leaned forward on her knees. Sweat dripped from her face and she breathed so heavily her chest heaved greatly. There was no time to waste though. She turned her head and watched as Ganondorf dropped to his knees suddenly. He needed her, whether he knew it or not, so she struggled to her feet and stumbled through the door way with her entire body protesting her efforts.

Ganondorf lost all breath when what felt like a boulder hit his back side. Before he could react, shackles of light bound his arms and a chain wrapped from one wrist, tightly twisted around his torso, and attached to the other wrist. He looked up to see that his new bindings were put there by the sages. There were six of them, their forms a white silhouette with almost no features. These bindings were stronger, which made it impossible for Ganondorf to move. He was a grand sorcerer, but only the Triforce could give him the strength to compete with a sage. The sages forced him to his knees. He burned with rage to wipe the smug smirk from the King of Hyrule's face. Suddenly, Dora was screaming in agony. A strange sensation overcame him and he was curious, until a little golden triangle flung itself straight into Zelda's chest. The mark of the Triforce showed brightly on the back of her hand. That was when he knew that, although he did not have the full Triforce, he had the mark of power, and she the mark of wisdom. Until he could grasp its full power, he was still in a bind.

Dora realized that everyone was in a state of shock at the Triforce's escape from the Sacred Realm, so she took advantage of it. What she did not know was that everyone watched her. She hastened to Ganondorf's side, and grabbed the chain to try and free him. The pain emerged again, as if fire burned through her fingers, up her arms, and into her shoulders. She was determined to free him and so she continued to suffer.

"Release the chain, Dora," he ordered through gritted teeth. It was fortunate that she was alive, or that she had completed the task given to her at all. There was no need for her to cause further harm to herself or die unnecessarily when he still needed her.

She looked up to see his contorted face, and let go immediately. Why would he give her that order? She could have saved him, and if not, died honorably trying. Though she panted heavily, she glared at the King, the Princess, the knights, and the sages with pure hatred. Oddly enough, they were all staring at her with bewilderment. She wiggled her fingers until the pain passed and feeling returned. She said, "What do you plan to do with my King?"

One of the sages responded, "He will be executed. He has dark powers and dark intents."

"I won't let you do that!" Dora shouted. "Take me instead."

Daphnes was stunned. "What?"

"Take me in place of him," she said again, almost begging.

"Do you believe that your sacrifice would stop the King of Thieves from fulfilling his evil plan?" asked a different sage.

Dora looked over at Ganondorf. She could hear his labored breathing to try to bear the pain. Her chest ached with him. "I do not, and I would not ask him to."

"How did you pull the Master Sword from its pedestal?" the King of Hyrule questioned.

A sage responded, "Only a descendant of the hero can pull the sword. By some divine prank the essence of the hero must have passed into her, though she has failed to meet the expectations of the goddesses."

Dora looked at the back of her hand and understood what he referred to. Ganondorf and Zelda both now housed a piece of the Triforce. Where had the third one gone? She would not show her uncertainty. "How would you know the will of the goddesses?" Dora snarled.

"You are no less evil than he is," the Princess exclaimed.

Agreeing with his daughter, Daphnes ordered, "Arrest this thief."

The knights immediately jumped into action, their swords out, and were unexpectedly met with force. Dora combatted them with an animalistic ferocity. Her sword swings were deadly accurate. Before they could subdue her she killed three of the twenty knights. It was only when all of them attacked her at once that she was overwhelmed enough to be subdued.

Ganondorf watched her fight valiantly. At first, only two knights approached her and within a minute one was dead. Three more joined the fray and one more was killed. The remaining fifteen rushed forward but she was able to kill one more before they forced her roughly to the ground and shackled her. By comparison, she was the most faithful Gerudo in his legion. Could he really continue to fool himself and believe that she fought for him out of duty, honor, and respect? There was something else fueling the fiery spirit inside her, but he dared not imagine it. Her eyes found his gaze as a knight pressed her face roughly to the cold stone floor. He looked away, uncertain, and unable to watch the pain on her face.

Dora was ashamed of herself. As a thief it was a disgrace to be caught, and worse to be captured, but to lose a battle in front of the man she admired most was embarrassing and shameful. It was no wonder why he looked away. He was probably disappointed. The knights took hold of her by her arms and pulled her away. Still she fought valiantly, kicking her feet and struggling to break her arms free, even if it meant dislocating her joints. Even when her muscles burned too much to move she continued to fight. Before they dragged her out the door she yelled, "I will protect our people and we will avenge you!" An urge burned at the edge of her mind that for once, finally, she did not resist. "I love you!" If it was the last time she saw him, she needed him to know it.

Ganondorf returned his gaze as they dragged Dora through the temple, kicking and screaming the whole way like a beast. He knew that animal was only tame with him, in his protection, and wondered how it would be without him. That fiery side in battle always kept him wanting more. It turned into an addiction. That flutter in his stomach turned into a pit at realizing he would never see that fire in her eyes again. He would regret all those nights he forbid himself to call on her, and instead lie awake dwelling on the unknown emotions. His world had always been about him, his kingship and his desire for power, so the way he obsessed over Dora was alien to him. When she shouted those final words for all to hear that was when he recognized what the emotions were that he felt. Love may not have been a term he would consider, but since she came into his life he could not imagine his world without her. He said nothing, but stared after her with determination.