[Darin senses Zelda's instant of hesitation and that's all it takes for doubts to form in his mind. Did he misread her feelings? Did he take things too far? Of course she would hesitate...what is there to like about him? He's everything a princess should never be with. He's a monster. He's just some blacksmith from a port town. He's no hero. She deserves—]
[I see. I know now why I was drawn to you. Your fears are mine own. A humble man from a humble background, made to believe he can never be anything more than what his peers proclaim him to be. And yet she is here. Now. With you. Not with a prince or a lord. Not with a hero or a champion. She's here with you. Can you not see the way she looks at you? Can you not see the adulation brimming in her eyes. The smiles she gives you and no other? I watched you for moments but even I could see it. You don't see it because you choose not to.]
[Hector's words wrack Darin's very core. Was he wrong? His mind reels as it plays back every moment. How he stayed by her bedside when she was in her deep slumber. The way they almost kissed after Ganondorf's attack. The nights and days they spent together working side-by-side. The way she'd leap, unbidden into his arms as if it was the only place she ever wanted to be.]
[The fight with Ganondorf, the resolution he'd made to himself to die for her if necessary. The Starmetal Forge and how she would not give up on him even though he tried to push her away. She wanted to remain with him, even knowing what he was. The picture in the skies over the Naughtilust the evening he pledged to be her friend.]
[The moment that he caught that tree and saved her life. When he stood, unbroken against a storm of wind and fury. The moment that changed his life.]
[Superimposed over it, the image of a raven haired knight defending his lady. Sword and shield raised on the deck of a ship against the tendrils of a sea beast. The brackish water spraying about. The moment their lives were irrevocably changed as well.]
[But what if I change? What if I let her down?]
[You can't. Because she would have to lose her hold on you to let you down first.]
[In that moment, Zelda deepens the kiss. She snakes her arms around his neck and shoulders to lock them behind his head— she pulls herself into him...and all other thoughts fly from his mind. His hands similarly move from her hips to her back...and the void left where his thoughts once were become filled with the sensation of her. How perfectly her lithe frame fits against his. And he can swear he feels her heart pound against his as they hold each other chest to chest.]
[Elise and Hector have made their vows. Darin can feel them. And he intends to make sure their vows are fulfilled. But first, he needs to address the beautiful woman in his arms.]
[His lips curl into a smirk and that little laugh of hers draws another from him.]
I can't argue that. After all...you attracted me.
Lucky for you though...I'll always come to save you...
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[I see. I know now why I was drawn to you. Your fears are mine own. A humble man from a humble background, made to believe he can never be anything more than what his peers proclaim him to be. And yet she is here. Now. With you. Not with a prince or a lord. Not with a hero or a champion. She's here with you. Can you not see the way she looks at you? Can you not see the adulation brimming in her eyes. The smiles she gives you and no other? I watched you for moments but even I could see it. You don't see it because you choose not to.]
[Hector's words wrack Darin's very core. Was he wrong? His mind reels as it plays back every moment. How he stayed by her bedside when she was in her deep slumber. The way they almost kissed after Ganondorf's attack. The nights and days they spent together working side-by-side. The way she'd leap, unbidden into his arms as if it was the only place she ever wanted to be.]
[The fight with Ganondorf, the resolution he'd made to himself to die for her if necessary. The Starmetal Forge and how she would not give up on him even though he tried to push her away. She wanted to remain with him, even knowing what he was. The picture in the skies over the Naughtilust the evening he pledged to be her friend.]
[The moment that he caught that tree and saved her life. When he stood, unbroken against a storm of wind and fury. The moment that changed his life.]
[Superimposed over it, the image of a raven haired knight defending his lady. Sword and shield raised on the deck of a ship against the tendrils of a sea beast. The brackish water spraying about. The moment their lives were irrevocably changed as well.]
[But what if I change? What if I let her down?]
[You can't. Because she would have to lose her hold on you to let you down first.]
[In that moment, Zelda deepens the kiss. She snakes her arms around his neck and shoulders to lock them behind his head— she pulls herself into him...and all other thoughts fly from his mind. His hands similarly move from her hips to her back...and the void left where his thoughts once were become filled with the sensation of her. How perfectly her lithe frame fits against his. And he can swear he feels her heart pound against his as they hold each other chest to chest.]
[Elise and Hector have made their vows. Darin can feel them. And he intends to make sure their vows are fulfilled. But first, he needs to address the beautiful woman in his arms.]
[His lips curl into a smirk and that little laugh of hers draws another from him.]
I can't argue that. After all...you attracted me.
Lucky for you though...I'll always come to save you...