Din lay in her bed, sobbing uncontrollably. Her heart worried about Lucien, while her mind lingered on her life and the disappointment she caused her parents. Her realities were skewed between who she was meant to be, and the future she dreamed of having with the man she loved. Life seemed so simple with him, but her parents had a harsh way of reminding her that her life, at least, was a little complicated. Why did it have to be that way? What had she done to deserve it?

What had her parents done to deserve what she did to them? Disobeyed, disappointed, ashamed even. They were so mad at her, and she understood why. Did they have to kill him? He was not the same Lucien that caused all of that suffering in the past. It was clear he planned to follow the path of his ancestors.

Din wondered if perhaps she could convince Lucien to just forfeit the Triforce of Courage, and they could runaway together and live happily ever after somewhere else. After all, she deserved to be happy, and her parents would be happier without having to see her every day.

The tears still came in spurts, until eventually she was so worn out from crying she found sleep.-

Dora's eyes burst open suddenly, and she groaned at the sunshine glaring in her eyes. She held out her arm to block the light. Her mind was fuzzy, confused, especially since she woke on the cold stone floor of the throne room. The night's events came rushing back to her as she tried to stand and found her spine ached. She used the wall to support her. Her day was about to be entirely different from any other day. Dora was not queen anymore, but she remained in command of Ganondorf's army. Their only mission would be to locate the hero, kill him and bring the Triforce of Courage back, or capture him. She was crafty enough to orchestrate this feat, but how could she spin it to her advantage.

For the time, she was forced to accept and obey Ganondorf's decision. It would not be long before he roused from sleep, and appeared to give the order to the knights and minions of his castle, to spread them out and seek the hero. It was her duty to have them prepared to receive this information. Dora detoured to her personal chambers to dress for her position in her comfortable uniform that she had owned for years, and then arrived at the barracks for the minions.

They were rowdy, undisciplined. Dora had not given them the devotion they needed recently because of her responsibilities of being a mother. While they ate their slop, and stragglers filed into the mess hall, she stepped up on to the table to gain their attention. Whatever her job or position, she always did it with regal elegance. "Men," she shouted, and their eyes simultaneously turned to her. "This is disgraceful behavior! Who is in charge here?"

A tall, powerful moblin stood from one of the long tables and barked, "I am!"

"Not anymore. I am in charge now," she advised, dropping her bow into her hand, and nocking an arrow. Before the moblin could flinch, the arrow penetrated his eye. He collapsed to the floor, rolling in pain and screaming in agony. "Let's begin the day with a little exercise. Who would challenge me for leadership here?"

"You are the queen," a bokoblin interjected. "We will follow you."

Dora bit her tongue, and chose to allow them to figure out the truth on their own. "Even so, I have been absent from your training, and you all clearly suffer from a lack of discipline and physical refinement. Beginning today, after our king's orders, your training will be increased."

The majority of them groaned.

After a time of yelling at them to degrade them enough just to finally encourage them, they were assembled in uniform lines, based on species, and awaited Ganondorf's appearance in the training grounds. Dora walked from left to right in the front, guaranteeing they all stayed in line.-

Ganondorf donned his typical outfit that day, and secured his armor straps, since he intended to join the search. His cape billowed behind him in the breeze as he walked through the castle. It was odd that the halls seemed empty, except for a few guards. He stopped at the stables to retrieve his horse before gathering his soldiers. Except, the soldiers were already convening in the training grounds.

"Of course," Ganondorf snorted, and shook his head. He saddled his horse and prepared him, before entering the trainings grounds to confirm it was Dora in the front that had the minions in line. She glared at him though, full of such hate, it was almost enticing. He turned his eyes from her. "The hero has revealed himself, and he owes me a tremendous debt. Already he has deceived the princess, attempted to steal the Master Sword, and defied handing over what is rightfully mine. He has disappeared into the forest. Hyrule is vast, but we shall search under every rock until the hero is flushed out, and I have his head in my hands! With the Triforce, I can finally end this nonsense!"

Dora fought a grin, and tears, at the same time. The minions behind her cheered at his speech. All she felt deserving of was clapping along slowly. His enthusiasm was commendable, but more so was his alluring confidence. The team Dora had preselected split off from the group to begin the search. At night, they would return, report on their findings, or lack thereof, and the fresh group would continue searching.

Two days of relentless investigation, interrogation, and scouring every cave and dungeon passed, before Dora finally decided to rest. She had not seen Ganondorf, but he had his own methods of searching. The Triforce of Power, and of Wisdom, would help to direct him more accurately. It was said Lucien passed through this town or that, but it was becoming more obvious that they opposed Ganondorf's reign, and preferred to hide helpful information.

Overall, Dora had thoroughly enjoyed herself, and realized she had fallen away from the strong warrior she once had been. She knew what had taken precedence was important, but she had missed the adventure, and bossing the minions around all the time. Din had stopped showing an interest in Dora's teachings of leading the minion's training, had stopped wanting to explore the forests and mountains with her, and so Dora had lost interest in it too.

She laid in bed, remembering the countless joys of the last sixteen years, until she passed out.

It was dawn when she fell asleep, and the sun was already passed lunch when she leapt out of bed. The sounds coming in her window indicated that training was already underway. Dora exited her room, and walked to the opposite wing to visit Din. She had not seen her, which was not surprising, considering the argument from a couple days before. Hopefully, enough time had passed that they would be able to talk about the situation rationally. Dora knocked, and waited.

Nothing happened.

"Has she gone out?" she asked the two stalfos standing at her door.

"She has not exited her room since last night," the guard informed.

Dora knocked again more loudly and frantically. "Din! Open up, now. We need to talk."

Still, there was no response. She opened the door and entered, to find the room empty. Like a blur, she sped out of the room and searched the castle, the castle grounds, and talked to every guard, but not a soul had seen where she went. Finally, she rushed into the throne room and interrupted Ganondorf's meeting. She marched up to him, placed her hands on the arms of his throne, and stared him straight in the eye. "She's gone. Are you happy now?"

At first, his reaction was alarm. Her fierce gaze, strong features, and wild red hair was enough to make any man obey her. He quickly cooled off and said, "Yes. Good riddance to that traitor."

Dora refused to believe her ears, and said, "You will bring her back, right now."

Ganondorf stood up, forcing her to back away at his might. "You do not give me orders, general," he threatened, reminding her of her place. The expression of the minions in the room was ghastly.

"Fine. I will go after her, and when I find that she is with Lucien, I will kill him, and I will have the Triforce of Courage."

"And I will take it from your dead hands if I must," he shouted.

"Splendid! I'll die soon enough anyway," she said loudly, walking out of the room with quick strides.