Hopefully, a couple surprising things in this chapter. Also, hopefully you assumed Vaati's personality and demeanour so some of the things shouldn't be surprising. Whatever. Leave your thoughts :D

"This is what you meant by 'you'll see'?" I was looking down at a sitting Vaati, two tavern girls slung around him. Ordon had increased in size since I was growing up, and there was almost a brothel-like area in the town—the tavern, to be exact.

Vaati laughed, which caused the two girls around him to giggle. "We do have business here, Chosen One. A night on the town won't cause Hyrule to fall faster."

I took a deep breath to calm myself and said softly, "As you were then, Gufu." I stared at Vaati, my eyebrows raised.

In a split second, Vaati was out of his seat and grabbing my collar to pull me down to face him. (In all honesty, the mage wasn't all that much shorter than me. But I assumed it was the effect he was going for.) He said slowly, annunciating each word, "If you call me that one more time, Link, I will toss you in a cage with a dragon, and leave you to die."

It wouldn't have had too much of an effect on me if his eyes weren't so serious. I had saved Hyrule once before, by myself I might add, and killed the great dragon Argorok in the City in the Sky. But something in Vaati's expression and tone of voice scared me. Honest to the goddesses scared me.

"Understand?"

I nodded ever so slightly and Vaati released me. I stumbled back a step and Vaati turned back to his whores. "The boy doesn't know what he's saying," he laughed at them, perfectly at ease again.

"I'm not a boy," is what I wanted to say, but I knew that Vaati would just turn on me again. The quick change in personality made me think. If I kept him happy, he wouldn't snap on me. But I really didn't want to 'keep him happy'.

Feeling thoroughly humiliated, I turned on my heel and strode out of the tavern, to the small pond. I remembered there being a secluded area near the back. I stripped my tunic, chainmail, and under-tunic, and kicked off my boots. I eyed the water and dove in.

I swam for a good fifteen minutes before pulling myself up onto the small ledge and leaned back on my hands, chest heaving. I felt better after the rigorous exercise; it had helped to clear my mind. I pulled out the horse call that Ilia made for me and held it to my lips.

I didn't play it, just simply sat there with it against my mouth. It reminded me of nicer times, when Ilia and I were still best friends and all I had to do was restore her memories. I tucked it back into my pocket and slid back into the water.

I grabbed my clothes from the bank and headed to the local inn. It was as though thinking of her caused her to appear, because Ilia was waiting for me there, and she caught on to my foul mood almost immediately.

She was still cheerful, however, when she spoke. "It's good to see you, Link. You've been so busy in the capital." Her voice soothed me.

We had been children together; grew up by each other's side. The girl was still able to calm me down. I didn't tell her, but I stayed in Castle Town because I knew that Ilia had feelings for me. It made me uncomfortable to be around her sometimes, because I thought of her as my sister. I just wanted to avoid the confrontation, I suppose.

I shook my head at my friend. "I'm even busier now, with having to babysit a century-old mage."

"I know you'll be alright, Link. You've always been able to sway people onto your side." Ilia paused and looked shyly down at the floor.

Oh great, here we go, I thought, steeling myself for her pity look.

"You've always been able to sway me to your side, Link…" She looked up at me and gave me the exact look I had been expecting. "I know you don't feel the same way about me right now, but if you stayed here, I think you'll find yourself fond of me. Maybe even in time you'd come to love me."

I was taken aback, but I tried my best to not show it. "Ilia," I started, but I didn't finish. I didn't know what to say to her, didn't know how to let her down easily. I didn't want to lose her friendship, which is why I had always avoided this.

Ilia didn't even bother to look upset. She nodded and said softly, "I understand, Link." Ilia smiled sadly at me. "I thought it was worth the try."

I closed the short distance between us and kissed Ilia's cheek. "You're still my best friend, Ilia," I said before moving past her and up the steps to my room.

She called up after me, "You know, you can always have your house back, in the tree. No one has used it since you left."

I shook my head and entered my room. "No, Ilia, I can't pretend that I'm staying," I said softly in reply, just to myself.

I stripped from my wet leggings and draped them over a chair that sat in the corner of the room. I went over to the window and drew the curtains. I lay in bed for hours before hearing Vaati clamber up the steps and to his own room. I could tell that the two tavern girls were still with him by the teetering giggles erupting from them. The odd part was that I heard a male voice alongside Vaati's and the girls'.

On the way to Ordon, I had formed a sort of respect for the mage. He had been mostly companionable, when I wasn't trying to piss him off. Vaati knew a lot about pretty much everything. He had lived for centuries, yet didn't seem over twenty-four.

But all of that respect flew out the window as I heard the first sounds of the bed creaking next door.

I groaned to myself. Vaati's room was right beside mine, and the walls were thin. I should have taken Ilia up on her offer. I pressed my pillow to my face and thought, It's going to be a long night.