Ganondorf sat on his horse at one end of the training ground. His trident was in hand, the reins of his stallion in the other. Opposite him was Dora, mounted on a horse with her sword at the ready. It was the same sword she had used since her training, always repairing it and upgrading it when she could, but never trading for something new.
They commanded their horses in unison, and quickly accelerated to a gallop. Not only were they training themselves, but also the horses to charge into battle without fear. Of course, it was up to Dora to handle this, since all of the other horses refused Ganondorf as a rider.
At the last second, her horse tried to veer off course, and she pulled it back with a sharp yank. Her eyes never left her opponent, and she was able to block his incoming strike. She slowed her horse to a trot, and returned to meet Ganondorf in the middle. While patting the horse's mane for praise, she said, "That was better."
"One down, nineteen more to go," he reminded.
"This is working out almost perfectly," she stated.
"You're not talking about the horses, are you?" he asked, joining her as she traveled back to the stables.
"The town is buzzing with talk of Din's execution," she said to clarify.
"The news of the obliteration of the group of traitors has caught on with the bards around here," Ganondorf added, relaying the words of a moblin from town. "They killed him on the stage in the tavern because he was singing about a hero that would slay the demon king." He delighted in Dora's cruel, rich laughter that followed.
"It's only a matter of time. I can't wait to get my hands on him and make him pay," Dora said eagerly, and clenched her fist around the horse's reins.
The horses reared simultaneously, nearly knocking the king and queen from the saddles. A brown horse, with a rider donned in forest green, burst through the gates of the castle's walls and darted directly between them. A trail of guards were far behind him.
"After him," Ganondorf ordered, rage darkening his face. Dora was already kicking her horse to gallop after Lucien. He tossed a lit bomb toward the wall of the castle that led into the throne room, galloped around the grounds to give the bomb time to explode, and then rushed in. Dora chased him the entire way to keep out of the blast range of the bomb.
Din was alerted by the sound of the explosion, and rushed to her chamber window from the third floor. "Oh no," she whispered. She beat her hand off the windowsill at his foolishness. Her armor was already equipped, since she had just come from patrolling with the moblins. As she rushed out of her room she snatched her sword, bow, and full quiver. She hoped none of it would be necessary, but Lucien had already made it clear he was looking for a fight. If that was the case, Din would not be able to save him.
Ganondorf followed Dora on horseback through the hole Lucien had kindly blown into the side of his castle. The hero leapt from the back of his horse and landed gracefully on his feet. He was already running when Dora dashed by and slashed at him, so she missed.
Lucien raced for the thrones, in between them, and under the table. Dora redirected her horse toward the back of the round throne room, her bow steady in her hand. An arrow pierced the air and impaled his right arm as he went to grab the sword with his left. As the horse galloped behind the thrones, she lunged from the saddle and tackled the hero to the floor.
Dora collided with Lucien, but he avoided landing underneath her so he could escape. He stepped on her arm when he darted toward the chest again, and she snatched his ankle to rip his foot out from under him. He avoided the table on the way down and landed on his side. That left her vulnerable to be kicked, so she was forced to rule out of the way.
"Lucien!" shouted Din's voice.
Ganondorf had dismounted his horse and approached from behind Lucien, but seeing Din in the doorway made him pause. He could hear Dora's words in his mind that urged him to take action, but he needed to hear the exchange between his daughter and the hero.
"Din! I am so thankful you are safe. I thought you were going to be killed," Lucien announced with relief. He climbed to his feet, ignoring Dora for the moment, and found Din entering the throne room with her bow aimed on him. The room was still, but filled with anticipation.
"You're outnumbered, hero," Ganondorf mocked, causing Lucien to whip around and see him there. "Three against one."
"Din, did you...? You're not really in trouble, are you?" he questioned, realizing he had been deceived.
"Lucien, I wanted to love you, but I know now that we were not meant to be. I was infatuated with your soft heart and courage, but so was everyone else. I was a fool."
"It is my destiny to protect you, my goddess. Would you turn against your hero chosen by the goddesses?" Lucien questioned, and feared her answer.
Din swallowed hard, cutting off her heart. "You are a hero, but not mine." Her fingers popped open, and the tension in the string was so great that the arrow appeared invisible as it hissed through the air. Lucien only found the arrow when it impacted with his left shoulder.
"No," he shouted, and ripped the arrow from his flesh. "I will prove it, by taking the Master Sword!"
Ganondorf and Dora lunged from the spots they were frozen to. Lucien snatched his shield and deflected the trident, and then tripped Dora with a low kick to the ground. Her feet caught his leg and she fell to the floor. As he came back up from his kick, he brandished his bow and an arrow. The arrow was illuminated with a golden light, and when it was released it impaled Ganondorf's leg.
He stumbled, his breath catching in his lungs. The arrow exploded with a white light that swallowed the King of Evil. He grunted in agony and was forced to one knee. Only clenching his fists prevented him from writhing in pain.
Dora considered the situation. To get to her wounded husband she would have to go around Lucien. Instead of running to his side, she rushed up behind the hero and ripped her sword from its sheath. She waited for the last second so that the sound of her blade would not betray her objective.
Lucien was not able to entirely block her deadly strike. He reacted instantly with his equipped shield, but the blade grinded against it, slipped off, and she struck his side just a half inch deep. With Lucien down, Dora rushed to Ganondorf's side to tend to his wound.
Din quickly approached, not wanting to stand on the side and wait to be useful. She was part way to her father when Lucien shouted in pain. In the next blink of an eye, he was on the floor with a hand pressed to his side, and her mother was beside Ganondorf. She did not stop though, because she wanted to be there to protect them if Lucien made a move.
Dora inspected Ganondorf's wounded leg, her face marked with fear and concern. The arrow was deep and pierced his muscle, so she would have to remove it. She yanked it out quickly, and straight, to avoid worsening the wound. The light invading the King of Evil's body was immediately eradicated. The wound alone was nothing without the magic of the golden light arrow to penetrate his dark magic. Dora immediately tossed the arrow away before it could infect her.
She saw Din take off suddenly, and saw what she raced toward. Lucien was painfully standing over the chest with the Master Sword, his hand already curling around the hilt. Din stopped short when he raised the sword above his head, and waited with dreadful anticipation.
Ganondorf laughed wickedly.
It only took another second for Lucien to realize the sword he held was not the Master Sword. It was brown and degraded, but the shape of the hilt was entirely different, and it lacked the Triforce emblem etched into the blade. He immediately dropped it, and unsheathed his own sword from his back. "Where is it, Din?" he asked, his determination unwavering.
"I had no idea. I thought it was the real one," she explained defensively.
"Oh, it was," Dora advised, grinning deviously, "until a few days ago."
"Din, please move," Lucien pleaded.
"No," she said firmly.
"I don't want to hurt you," he said, his eyes full of heartache.
"Then don't. Give me the Triforce of Courage, and leave."
"You know they won't allow me to live," Lucien reminded her, eyeing the king and queen.
Dora and Ganondorf prepared to intervene, when the Triforce of Courage on Lucien's hand resonated brightly. Lucien turned about, judging the difference in the way it shined based on which direction he faced. Before Din realized what was happening, he catapulted himself over the table, and back between the thrones.
Ganondorf reacted by throwing his trident through the air in a wide arc. It spun at a great speed around the room to catch Lucien by surprise, but he breached the eastern corridor as the trident passed the door way.
"He is looking for the Master Sword! Stop him," Ganondorf ordered. "The three of us will split up."
"No," Dora shouted, interjecting. "We stick together," she insisted.
He could not waste time arguing about it. There was a greater possibility of failure if they split up, but also that he would find the Master Sword before they found him. "Fine, follow me."
They rounded the corner into the first stairwell that Lucien ascended, only to be stopped short by a flying light arrow. Ganondorf managed to keep Dora back for the arrow to miss, before she bounded up the stairs with her own bow ready. He rushed Din ahead of him, and instead of following up the rear, he teleported into the corridor to intercept the hero.
Lucien abruptly halted when Ganondorf appeared to block off his path to the next hall. He turned around to retreat, but Din and her mother blockaded the stairs. He twisted back to Ganondorf to determine his next move. Two orbs of magic barreled toward him, so he ducked, and prepared a light arrow.
The soft reverberating of the string in Dora's bow made Lucien's ears twitch. The sound was only enough warning to register he was about to be struck. The arrow she released skewered Ganondorf's black magic, and was coated in it before it struck Lucien. He released his own bow string, but his arrow was misdirected.
The dark energy invaded his veins, and each beat of his heart was labored as his body tried to expunge it. He used the wall to stay on his feet, and found the pulsing of the Triforce of Courage had drastically slowed. He was going in the wrong direction, and needed a new plan. Before his enemies could attack again, he jumped through the window nearest him to the training grounds below. He landed with a gentle roll that broke the fall, and prevented him from being damaged.
"He is heading straight for the dungeon," Dora yelled down the hall.
"You two take the hidden passage and get the Master Sword. I will distract him," Ganondorf commanded quickly.
Dora wanted to argue, but knew it was the best plan, and they would only be temporarily split up. She took her daughter's hand and hastened back down the stairs.
Ganondorf leapt through the window beside him and landed on three limbs on the training field. The ground beneath him sank on impact, leaving a gentle crater. He stood confidently and shouted, "Fight me, coward!"
Lucien was already prepared with an arrow of light pulled tight against the string.
Ganondorf hesitated, and held up his trident offensively. "Where did you find those arrows?"
Lucien narrowed his eyes in response, and patiently waited for an opening to pierce his enemy's heart.
"Why do you need the Master Sword, when you already have a sacred weapon? For any real hero, that is all you should need," Ganondorf taunted.
"I do not underestimate my opponent, and if you hope to live you will do the same," Lucien warned.
"I have fought against heroes before, and I have always survived. Your fate has already been decided." Ganondorf attacked first, launching the trident across the grounds like a spear. Lucien released the light arrow, brandished his sword and shield, and raced in behind it. The black aura surrounding the trident absorbed the light arrow, and the light exploded from within. The two projectiles were shot in opposite directions. Lucien expected to take his opponent by surprise, but he was not prepared when Ganondorf appeared out of the explosion, viciously swinging two thick, great sword.
Lucien allowed himself to be tossed back when one sword collided with his shield. He landed on his feet to analyze his desperate situation.