The morning sun rose over Lorule, bathing its cliffs and fields with a soft dawn light. The light streamed through the ornate windows of Princess Hilda's bedchamber in Lorule Castle, covering her while she slept. With a yawn, she sat up in bed, blinking sleep away, and turned to see Ravio still asleep beside her.

They were married not long after the restoration of Lorule's Triforce at the hands of Link and Princess Zelda of Hyrule. With the impossible task of reuniting Lorule's people thrust upon her, Hilda had been desperate for someone to go to when she needed help. She hadn't needed to look far; Ravio had been there for her, as he had always been. It was then that she realized she loved him, and not much later, they were married. It had been the first sign that Lorule could be healed.

Lorule certainly was in much better shape then it had been before its Triforce was restored. The massive chasms that had torn the land into pieces had all but disappeared, monster sightings were increasingly rare, and there had been very few conflicts among the Lorulean people. The colorful fissures in the earth that marked the passageway between Hyrule and Lorule had completely vanished; the link between worlds was gone. Hilda understood that there was no way that she could ever see Link and Zelda, or any of the Seven Sages, ever again; they were beyond the reach of anybody in Lorule. But for the most part, she was happy.

Hilda stepped out of bed and into her favorite slippers, and walked briskly to the closet, opening the door and pulling out the purple-and-white dress she always wore for important occasions. And today was certainly an important occasion. She left the royal bedchamber and headed down the hall to get dressed, glancing once more at Ravio as he slept.

It was relatively early in the morning; the castle was still asleep. The soft light shone peacefully through the castle windows as Hilda made her way to her private section of the castle, where she prepared herself for each day. She liked to get up early, and she liked being independent; though she was aware that other monarchs might not agree. Not that she really cared, though. As she pulled off her nightgown, she mused about the other monarchs that were sure to exist in other worlds.

After she was dressed, she walked over to a massive mirror to do her makeup. It had become a ritual for her, an opportunity to reflect on herself and her responsibilities for the day. As she carefully applied her favorite shade of purple lipstick, she listed in her head the problems still facing Lorule, as she did every morning. It pleased her greatly to notice that the list gradually became shorter and shorter. Until recently, anyway. For the past few weeks, Lorule had been plagued with a problem that Hilda and Ravio, as well as Lorule's reformed government, couldn't seem to solve.

The cult in Thieves' Town, Hilda thought to herself. Oh, how I hate them.

The cult in Thieves' Town hadn't stopped recruiting even though Lorule had been healed and monsters were all but extinct in the populated areas of the kingdom. On the contrary, they'd taken in even more members, all of whom were given different masks. When asked questions about what the cult was, members would launch into the cult's clearly rehearsed speech about how one needed to "get saved" by becoming a monster and donning a mask; the cult members would then segue into their affirmation: "Mumbo jumbo, mumbo jumbo, mumbo jumbo…". Which, as far as Hilda could tell, was exactly what it sounded like.

Hilda finished her makeup and walked back down to the royal bedchamber. She pushed open the door and glanced inside, noticing with amusement that Ravio was still asleep. She walked over to the bed and poked Ravio a few times until he groaned in protest and swatted at the air around his head.

"Too tired…" he mumbled. "What time is it?"

Hilda laughed sweetly. "Time for you to wake up! Boundless energy is the key, isn't it?"

Ravio opened his eyes and sat up, looking at Hilda. "Very well, then! Morning, beautiful!" he laughed.

Hilda leaned forward, wrapping her arms around Ravio and pressing her purple-lipsticked mouth against his. He pulled her in close and kissed her back, running his hands across her shoulders.

Hilda stepped back with a smile. "Bet you're eager to get up now, aren't you?"

"Oh, shut up," responded Ravio playfully, although he did hop out of bed (somewhat eagerly) and march over to the closet. Hilda caught him eyeing his bunny suit with a look of longing.

"No," she said firmly. "You can't wear that. Today is too important."

"But who doesn't love a purple bunny suit?" Ravio said with a chuckle.

"You have a purple bunny problem," said Hilda decisively. "You're wearing purple bunny pajamas right now. Your personal symbol is a purple bunny. You marked all of the items you rented to Link with a purple bunny topper. If you had your way, you would dress like a purple bunny all the time. You even did when you went to Hyrule!"

"I love bunnies, especially purple ones," said Ravio with a shrug. "They're adorable, and they bring a little extra joy to the world. I wish there were more bunnies in Lorule."

With that, he tossed the bunny suit at Hilda. Surprised, she caught it out of the air, and when she lowered it away from her face, Ravio was standing an inch away from her. He grinned, kissing her again. She let the bunny suit drop to the floor as she kissed him too, softly and slowly. She didn't know how she could live without him.

"I love you more than I'd ever love any purple bunny," said Ravio, his lips against Hilda's.

"Well, that's very reassuring," said Hilda dryly as she placed her mouth against his yet again. "Fine, you can wear the bunny suit."

When they finally broke apart, Ravio's lips were smeared with Hilda's purple lipstick.

"You might want to wash that off," she said teasingly. "Or there's plenty more where it came from, if you're interested."

As interested as she knew he was (a feeling that she shared), they did have a genuinely important event to prepare for that day: a private conference with the Masked Elder, leader of the cult in Thieves' Town.