Dora was perfectly miserable. The nurses reassured her daily the baby would arrive any hour, but each day was as uneventful and disappointing as the last. Her activity level had slowly diminished to nothing since she was dizzy and out of breath just from walking up the stairs to the master bedroom.
The Queen of Evil had collapsed in her throne, her tired feet resting on an ataman. Sitting was all but what she wanted to do, only because standing back up was so difficult. It was better than being stuck in the dungeon, in those life sucking chains, sore because she could not move, tired because she could hardly sleep. The guards and knights possessed no compassion for her condition. Looking back, it was difficult to believe she and the baby survived that pregnancy. This time, she was sore because she tried to stay active, but the extra weight and large stomach made it impossible to maneuver with any sense of her usual grace. Servants were always ready to prepare whatever food she craved that minute, or make sure she was comfortable by rubbing her swollen feet. Most of all, she shared the experience with the father of the child, and only man she loved. Despite the trepidation they shared over the gender, the journey had been more amazing than she ever imagined.
The lightning flash and proceeding crack of thunder startled her. Dora jumped from her chair, forgetting her luggage, and hobbled toward the window in the western corridor. The rain dripped from the sky, and lightning approached from across the ocean. The storm was rolling right toward them, but Ganondorf showed no signs of ceasing his training. Dora leaned on the window sill with her head against her hand, and gazed dreamily at her husband, admiring his power. One day soon, she would be training with him again, but for now she would enjoy the splendor of watching him.
He had recently become obsessed with the trident weapon, and it had only taken him months to master it. He spawned the toughest minions in his army, the Darknut knights. There were twenty of them, practically surrounding Ganondorf, their swords raised to kill.
The rain pounding on the castle was deafening. Dora watched the way it soaked and flattened his long hair, and drenched his bare torso. When the lightning flashed, his muscles tensed and glistened. His menacing yellow eyes, searched his foes, and reflected the lightning bolts that streaked through the sky. The rain that ran down his neck, and dripped from his knuckles, enticed her. She wished she could be the rain that rolled down his back, and linger there forever. The rain that trickled over his cheeks and lips had her imagining his taste. She smiled, finding it silly that she was jealous of the rain, but any type of intimacy had been difficult the past few weeks.
Ganondorf shifted his feet, and adjusted his fingers around the trident in his right hand. The knights surrounding him were deadly, and well defended in their armor. This was the attack he trained to master, and it was finally perfect. He raised his trident above his head, and then tossed it like a boomerang. A burst of lightning bolted from his hand and connected his will to the weapon. The trident spun in a wide circle, colliding with each knight. His power connected to each one, dragging them against their will along with the weapon, until they were all gathered in one mass group where the circle ended. They all moaned and groaned from the wounds they suffered from the spinning of the trident.
The weapon obediently returned to his hand, and he began the second phase of the attack. He shifted his grip on the weapon to hold it like a spear and flung it across the training field. It impaled one of the knights in the center of the group. Before they could clamber away to safety, the energy collected within the trident exploded in blinding purple lightning. The bodies of the knights were flung all over the training yard, while some collided with the castle's inner walls.
Dora lost strength in her knees at his display of overwhelming power. This command he possessed over such devastating sorcery had always made him so alluring to her.
Ganondorf sucked the trident back to his hand, spun it around his wrist, and laughed at his incredible accomplishment. Then he was distracted by the sound of singular applause. He grinned at finding Dora watched him from the window of one of the rooms. He flexed his arm that carried the heavy trident, and she covered her mouth to hide a giggle. Suddenly, she shrieked, and looked at the floor. When she turned her eyes back up at him, she announced, "My water broke!"
He was only confused for a second, and then he realized what that meant exactly. It meant no more practice, no more talk, fatherhood was just around the corner. She screamed for the nurses, her servant Hanae, but he could see through the windows they were already rushing toward her. He was frozen, uncertain of what he needed to do. The nurses guided Dora by her arms toward her chambers. She yelled his name and it triggered his memory. He had promised to be at her side, because she said that was all she needed to survive the delivery. At last, he snapped his fingers and the trident disappeared. He focused on keeping a calm pace during his walk toward Dora's chambers, when he was actually nothing but a nervous, anxious mess.
Ganondorf stood at his wife's bedside, while the nurses diagnosed how prepared her body was to deliver. It was alien to him, except there was one part that concerned him. Dora was a warrior, but her body was clearly overwhelmed by some invisible pain. Every few minutes she would suddenly take in a sharp breath, scrunch up her face, and then exhale slowly.
"It might be a few hours still, until our baby is ready for birth. You don't need to hang around just to watch me suffer," Dora said, forcing a laugh.
He held up his right hand, forcing her to look at how she was latched on to him. "Does now seem like the time to practice being so selfless? It is not a trait that suits you," he remarked. "Even if you were sincere, the grip you have on my hand would prevent me from breaking free."
Dora had not realized she grasped his hand so fiercely during her agonizing contractions. Her nails had even left marks in his skin. When she tried to release him, he used his free hand to stop her. "You're right," she confessed. "I don't want to be alone. I don't want you to be anywhere but right here."
"You always forget that I know you better than you know yourself," he reminded her. Ganondorf reached over to her face and gently touched his thumb to her forehead, and his fingers on her cheek. He closed his eyes and connected to her, allowing her pain to flow to him.
When the next contraction came, he learned exactly what terrible agony she faced. His muscles from head to toe tensed, he doubled over, and struggled to breathe. He could feel how strongly her stomach and pelvic muscles contracted, working tirelessly to make adjustments for the baby's escape, though the change was barely noticeable. Her body worked in overdrive to expel the foreign being in the only way it knew how, and the delivery had not even begun.
Ganondorf cringed. If that was what she endured now, how bad would it be when the baby actually passed through? Dora stared at him, tired and weak. The shared experience had him watching her with sympathy. "It could be a few more hours?" he wondered.
She closed her eyes, but could not speak, so she only nodded. "Or longer," she managed, and stared up at him again.
He did not dismiss the tears shimmering in her eyes. This was pain unlike a sword wound, even that of the Master Sword, and much different from the power of pure energy. "Hanae will remain, but everyone else must leave immediately," Ganondorf ordered darkly to the servants in the room. He marched over to take a chair from the sitting table in the chambers and returned to the bed. By the time he sat at Dora's side, the servants had overcome their confusion and the room was vacant. He wrapped his arm around Dora's shoulders, practically resting alongside her in the bed. "There's nothing else that can be done for her pain?" he asked.
"Not without harming your child," Hanae answered.
"Ganondorf, I've given birth before without medicine, or luxuries, or very much help at all. I'll survive."
He glared at her for trying to be strong and refuse his help, which only came once in a great while anyway. "There you go again. You are not a prisoner this time, and do not take this for granted."
Dora was curious to know what he planned to do, so she stayed silent. He leaned toward her, and adjusted her just slightly, until their foreheads met. He closed his eyes and transported her consciousness away.