"Mom! Wait a minute," Din yelled, before Dora could rush out the door.
Dora immediately stopped at the door and turned around to meet her daughter's gaze. Her heart lifted as if it suddenly grew wings. It was a surprise to turn around and see a nearly grown woman, when she always expected to see her little girl. "What is it?" the queen asked gently. The guards who had been escorting her stood and waited with her.
"I wanted to ask you something. It's about a boy," Din answered timidly.
Her mother could not help but to grin. "Oh?" She waved at her guards and ordered, "Wait outside. I'll be there in a few minutes." Once they were all standing outside with the door closed, Dora said, "Tell me about him."
"Well, I haven't actually talked to him yet, or really know his name. I've seen him though, and watched him. He has dreamy blue eyes, blonde hair, and he seems so kind. A lot of girls like him, but I think if I just talked to him he might like me more than them," Din explained, maintaining an innocent tone. "I'm just saying that I'm sixteen now, so I want to start seeing him."
Dora raised an eyebrow, and her left hand settled on her hip. It was obvious there was more going on than Din was willing to admit. "Let's say I believe this hypothetical situation you've presented me," she started, grinning. "First of all, talk to him. If being a princess doesn't automatically win his heart, then your inherited spirit and power will. Secondly, don't give up."
Din smiled. "Thanks, Mom."
"What's his name?" Dora inquired.
"Lucien. It means light," she answered with an adoring smile.
"I thought you didn't know his name?" her mother asked with a sly grin.
"Oh, I heard the other girls talk about him," Din lied.
"Well, at least it's not Link," her mom said with relief. "Oh, and you know your father hates surprises, so we'll talk to him together before you decide to invite Lucien over for dinner," Dora added, and winked.
Din agreed. "You're right. I will keep that in mind."
Her mom opened the door to the castle to join her entourage again, and Din ran out into the village, but she did not stop there. She strolled passed the leather worker, the smithy, the bakery, the tailors, a multitude of shop fronts, the tavern, the homes, and finally reached the edge of the forest. She disappeared inside.
Nothing made Din feel more free than rushing through the forest, dodging trees, jumping over logs and roots, avoiding the wild creatures that were just going about their business as she passed by. On a daily basis she had to apologize to one creature or another for bumping into them, before rushing along. When she finally came to a stop to catch her breath, she stood by a tree with an intricate carving of a heart. The first name inside the heart was hers, and the second was Lucien.
He appeared from above and landed beside her. She instantly wrapped her arms around him and held him close. "Oh, Lucien!" He rested his arms around her shoulders and kissed her sweet forehead. "Mom said we should invite you over for dinner, but in a couple days, after we tell Dad."
Lucien just laughed. "I can understand why. That sounds great."
She looked up and smiled at him brightly. "There aren't many boys who would be so casual about meeting my father."
"Bah," he joked, "he doesn't scare me in the slightest."
Din giggled. "I've never had a real boyfriend before, but I'm glad it's you."
He slid his hands down her arms and grasped her hands tenderly. "I am glad you never gave up, but honestly you always had my attention. I am always happy when I'm with you. The weight of the world just melts away."
"Why do you always seem to be carrying such a burden?" she asked caringly.
Lucien shook his head. "I wish I could explain it. I've always felt, well, as though I was destined for something greater. You know?"
She wrinkled up her nose when she smiled and said, "You are. You are meant to be king!"
He laughed. "Enough about that. What are we going to do today?"
"Well, I was thinking we could team up and torment the moblins down by the boats," Din suggested.
"And then after, as long as we haven't gotten caught, why don't we go fishing?" he offered.
"Sounds like fun!"
That day, just like every other day with Lucien, was magical, and ended too soon. When evening arrived, just as the sun was setting, she gave him a goodnight kiss and returned home.
Din arrived at the castle before supper was served, which usually meant she was able to avoid most suspicion about where she was the entire day. She sat with her family at the long table, filled with enough food to feed them and all the castle's servants. For the entire length of the meal, Din contemplated all the right and wrong words to say to bring up the conversation about Lucien. She judged every scenario, and when she finally found the perfect words to say, she lost her courage. Before she knew it, dinner was over, and her father left the dining hall.
Dora raised an eyebrow and said, "You had better ask him while he is still in a good mood."
Din closed her eyes, and sighed heavily. "I know."
"Meet us in the throne room after the reports and you can try again," she suggested.
"I will," her daughter said eagerly, and left to practice in her room.
Dora departed the dining hall to meet Ganondorf in the throne room to receive the report for the day. The bokoblin from the shore had nothing new besides the usual childish mischief, the wizzrobe patrolling the mountain shared the same report from the day before, but the stalfos from the woods was silent when it came to his turn.
"Speak, minion," Ganondorf barked.
"The c-creatures of the woods have b-begun whispering rumors, your majesty, of a b-boy with a divine d-destiny," the monster stammered.
"Has the time finally come?" Dora asked aloud. "Has the hero of legend finally emerged?"
"Emerged, is a good phrase, your majesty, perhaps even a mystery, because no one has ever actually seen him."
"How can the forest spirits speak of someone they have never seen?" Ganondorf asked, impatient, but not angry. "This could be a myth whispered from the goddesses, to the sages, to the spirits, just to frighten us."
"Well, I regret to inform you of this, sire, but this is not the first I've heard of him. The same boy has been talked about all over Hyrule. The only reason I bring it to your attention now, is that the forests spirits have said he is making his way here."
Dora gripped the arms of her throne. The power surging through the room stole the air from her lungs. A crackling ball of purple lightning appeared in the air and darted straight at his minion. The stalfos was disintegrated before he even knew what hit him.
"Why did you do that?" she wondered curiously.
"He should not have waited until the hero was practically at our door step before bringing this news to me," he explained irritably. The other guards were already running out the door before he could order them to leave.
"You should tell Din in the morning. She was really looking forward to having you meet her friend, but that will have to wait," Dora said with a sigh.
"Friend? You mean a boy friend?" Ganondorf asked, scowling.
"Yes, I mean a boyfriend. She is sixteen now! If we don't let her start dating soon, she will continue to hide it from us, and then she'll be hiding everything," Dora argued.
He hated to admit when his wife was right, but she made a good point.
"I asked her to invite him over for dinner in a couple days so that you would have time to digest the concept of your daughter wanting to find love and protection from someone else."
Ganondorf sneered at the idea. "After all I have done for her, this is how she repays me."
Dora laughed almost cruelly at his naive words. "You cannot stop your daughter from growing up. All you can do is know that you have prepared her to the best of your ability to face the world."
He leaned forward, his words suddenly distant. "It's not the world I'm afraid of."
"Dad?" Din's voice came from the doorway.
The king looked up abruptly. He noticed the fearful expression on her face, and became both curious and worried. "Is something wrong?" he wondered.
"Well, I wanted to seek your approval," she began. "You see, I'm sixteen now, and I would like to know if you would meet a boy I'm interested in dating."
Ganondorf's jaw clenched. "As much as I desire to keep you single forever, I realize that is impossible."
Din smiled slightly. "His name is Lucien. May I invite him for dinner tomorrow?"
Dora interjected. "Din, I know we agreed to this, but it will have to wait a few more days."
"Why? What's wrong?" she asked, worried.
"The hero has returned," Ganondorf explained. "You must stay in the castle until I have handled this matter, and then we will meet your friend," he ended sourly.
"Are you sure?" she hoped.
"Yes," he said with finality.
"You will be important in this fight, " Dora encouraged. "You are well trained and I know we will need you."
Din smiled. "You're right. And who am I to stand in the way of Dad's victory? I want to be here when the Triforce is completed. I wouldn't miss it for the world!"