Title: Desert Lily
Summary: We all know the rule: every girl falls for at least one bad boy. But this girl is in way over her head.

Warning: This story will skip time periods each chapter. You'll have a cliffhanger and then suddenly be yanked somewhere else. It'll make sense eventually.

Note: We all have our guilty pleasures. But flame all you want.

“Stand up straight, Zelda. An important guest is arriving and I don’t want my daughter to look anything less than perfect.”

“Yes, Father.”

The little princess stood up as straight as she could, flattened out her dress and short hair, and looked as proper as a nine-year-old could.

Today was very important. The King of one of the minor races of Hyrule was here to make peace, and it was quite essential things went well. Zelda made sure to be on her best behavior.

About twelve years older than she was a man dressed in dark clothing. His orange eyes were piercing and sharp, and caught Zelda’s immediate attention. All of a sudden she began to tremble and shake. Her palms became sweaty, and she wiped them on her dress as inconspicuously as she could. For some reason, her heart was thumping like a jackrabbit.

It was on this day that Princess Zelda first felt infatuation.

“Ganondorf Dragmire, King of the Gerudo, at your service.” The man kneeled before the king and princess, his eyes to the floor.

Ganondorf… Dragmire. The name bounced through Zelda’s mind, his voice echoing in her head. It was dark and dangerous, but velvety and smooth, like rich buttermilk. It was all she could do to not faint.

She barely listened to what was being said. Her head was dizzy, hands clammy, heart aflame.

It was with great strength that she took a step forward, her knees wobbly, when she heard her father say her name. She tilted her head down slightly and gave a small, elegant curtsy, just as she’d been taught. Dragmire’s eyes burned into her fair skin, and as well-composed as she seemed, she could not stop the blush that rose to her cheeks when she looked up and locked eyes with him. A small smile curled onto his face, the tiniest smile of amusement. She blushed even further. Her father was, of course, oblivious. She took a step back and put all her focus into standing upright, and not fainting.

It all seemed rather silly, she mused later on after Dragmire had left and she’d watched him leave with a heavy heart for as long as was proper, before retiring to the courtyard. She plucked a flower from the ground and sank onto the steps, twirling it in her fingers and then holding her fists to her still-pounding heart.

“What is wrong with me?” she wondered aloud. “Why do I feel so strangely?”

“My Princess, this is normal.”

Zelda turned her head up to see her nursemaid, Impa, standing over her. “Normal?” Zelda inquired. “How so?”

Impa sat beside the princess on the steps and rested her hands on her knees. “You’re at an age now where young females become attracted to men. Though… I quite wonder at your picking.” She chuckled. “I jest, Princess. You didn’t choose this for yourself. And anyway, Lord Dragmire seems… pleasant.”

“Attracted?” repeated the confused princess, a heated blush on her face. “What do you mean?”

Impa smiled and took one of Zelda’s hands, then pressed both of theirs to Zelda’s heart. Both could feel the steady pounding beneath their palms.

“This. This feeling you have. It is infatuation. Perhaps to blossom into love, or hate. Whatever the case, it is quite young, energetic, and tender. You’d best be careful not to wound it.”

Zelda didn’t understand what Impa meant and didn’t question any further. She dreamt many nights of Ganondorf Dragmire, though few were enjoyable. As time went on, they grew darker and darker, until she saw him no more, and the dreams stopped. She was beside herself. What was going on?

By the time she turned ten, it’d been seven months since she’d first seen Dragmire, and four since the dreams stopped. She hadn’t spoken to Impa or anyone of it since that day in the courtyard, until one day, shortly after her birthday, she had another dream. This one was filled with dark clouds, which were soon parted by a beam of light. At the center of the light was a green-garbed boy holding an emerald stone, with a fairy floating by his side. She told Impa immediately, who suggested perhaps it was a prophecy. Zelda then told her father, who listened intently, but doubted any prophetical significance.

Zelda had been doing a lot of thinking. She had more dreams and became fearful, and thought her infatuation long over.

Then, finally, Dragmire returned. Zelda instantly knew, the moment she saw him, that her infatuation was anything but over.

Not long after he arrived, that same day, as she was gazing at him secretly through the courtyard window, a young boy in green, aided by a fairy, cleared his throat. Startled, she turned around, and her hand flew to her mouth in a horrified gasp.