Chapter 3

Beloved return

Zilly looked between the two, a strange feeling of looking into a mirror and seeing something else came over her when she observed this Zelda. What was stranger to her was that Zelda thought Link had a problem. As long as she knew Link he reminded her of her long lost beloved. The two were going to fight, but over what she couldn't comprehend. Darkness? Her kingdom was filled with darkness. There was a noticeable change in Link when he looked to her.

Malon was shaking. "What's going on?"

Link observed the rapier Zelda clutched in her hand. There wasn't anything special about it, but the way she held it made him uneasy. Even though he never knew Zelda to be practiced in the art of war unless under the guise of Sheik, something about her fighting as herself shook him.

He waited, watching her movements as if she were a cat ready to pounce. He never fought her before and not knowing what to expect, he braced himself. Her strength could amount to more than Ganandorf's for all he knew.

Taking a step forward, Zelda flourished her weapon before her and was suddenly inches from Link, the cold metal of the rapier pressed against the pulse of his neck. "The Ocarina, Link," she said coldly. "Hand it over and I will correct that which has been tainted."

He narrowed his eyes at her, his breathing coming out in hot puffs. She was incredibly close and her anger offset his fighting spirit. Shaking his head, he brought the Master Sword between his neck and the rapier, pushing her off. Despite the heaviness of her will, she was quite light. Catching her footing several paces away, she sighed. "I didn't want to have to do this…"

Jumping into the air, Zelda was obscured by a bright light. When she landed, the others could see the blue and white armored man from before. He tightened the wraps on his wrists.

"Sheik!" Link called, taking another step back.

Pulling out six needlepoint knives, Sheik spread them between his fingers and stepped into a back-heavy stance. Nothing more needed to be said.

The hall danced with light reflecting off metal. Blades and knives alike spun between them. For those trained in combat, it was easy to see the victor. Others would be dazzled by the display if they could see through the swiftness of their attacks.

A door opened across the hall and a short, white-haired woman entered the room. Rolling her eyes, she jumped into the fray, splitting the two to opposite sides of the room. Both landed harshly against the walls and the woman landed gracefully on her feet, dusting her hands. "Enough, you two!" she called, red eyes glaring both of them down. "We've no time for either of your shenanigans!"

Link winced as he sat up, rubbing his head. His back ached in protest as he stood. Looking to the woman, he soured and looked away. "Guess your savior is here, Zelda!" he called venomously to her.

Sheik rose to his feet as well with much less effort. He said nothing to the comment and looked away in shame.

"Savior?" the woman asked, stepping forward to smack Link across the cheek. "How dare you hurt him!? You know as well as I that that man is the guise of Her Highness, Princess Zelda! And yet you treat her like this!?" She looked back to Sheik and sighed. "I know about the foul darkness that has seeped into our lands and masked itself well away from our senses. But this is no time for your theatrics!"

Shaking away the guise, Zelda once again stood before them. "Sorry, Impa. I don't know what came over me."

Link, on the other hand, was far from apologetic. Something about Zelda bothered him. He wanted to drive the Master Sword through her beating heart and he couldn't comprehend why.

Malon clung to Zilly during the fight shaking and afraid. Zilly knew she was this darkness they spoke of But showed none of that recognition. Zilly held Malon, and when the stranger separated them Zilly patted Malons shoulder. "It's alright, they stopped."

"H-how could our princess say Link was the problem? After all he has done for Hyrule... Why did they have to fight?"

"It's alright Malon. I think some time apart would do these two some good. The princess is stressed, Link is stressed. Both need a Vacation."

Once the two were successfully separated, Impa walked over and apologized to Malon and Zilly. "That wasn't something either of you needed to see. On your way home, I suggest caution. We're searching for the anomaly and if either of you are caught up in it, Princess Zelda would feel responsible. As for Link, if he bothers you, just keep your distance."

She escorted the two out of the castle and bid them farewell. Link followed shortly after, not saying a word to Impa and caught up with Malon and Zilly. "I… umm… I'm sorry about that display. Between Zelda and I," he clarified.

Malon hugged him. "I just didn't understand why... you've done so much good for everyone, how could the princess even think it was you."

"As I said Malon, it was probably stress. Things are alright now and that's what truly matters." Zilly said calmly putting one hand on Malon's shoulder and one and Links. "Are you injured Link? I can care for your wounds."

Link shook his head. "I'm fine…" Sheik left a number of bruises, but made no attempt to actually kill him. With all the superstition going around, it wasn't fair that no one acknowledged that Ganondorf had been defeated at his hand. At least, Zelda didn't seem to remember. Whatever was going on in her head, he didn't understand. "Look, I'll walk you both to Lon Lon Ranch, but after that I'm going to venture again. I'm fine, I promise," he said looking to Zilly.

Zilly shook her head. "You will run yourself ragged at this rate. You need to take a break."

"She's right you know." Came Navi's voice as she poked out of Links hat.

The blue fairy caught his attention as it started whirring in front of him. "I can't. It's best to root out evil before it's too late. I know that firsthand." He waved her away. "I'll figure something out. If I could find the source where the darkness first revealed itself, this would be easier. But maybe you're right. I'll take some time and head back home. Maybe my old friends can clear my head."

Zilly smiled. "Good. You've done so much for this land. You deserve a break." She kissed his cheek. Her plan? To go to the water temple, where her beloved brother had been slain.

His face reddened a little at the gesture and he spared Malon an embarrassed smile. "I-I'll be off then!" he shouted excitedly as he called Epona. While riding away, all he could think of was how almost every young lady he met seemed to be smitten with him. Maybe he should look in the mirror to find out why.

Malon looked at Zilly as he rode away. "Speaking of taking breaks, you could use a few days off yourself. You're not used to working this much."

"Well alright I guess. What about you?"

"Oh don't worry about me, Zilly. I don't need to go anywhere. Being in the ranch relaxes me."

She nodded. "Alright then. I'll be back in a few days." Malon smiled and waved. Zilly got on her horse, and rode off toward Lake Hylia. Shadow jumped the fences without any problem and rode her to the water's edge. She slid off Shadow and looked at the water. It was quite deep but should prove no problem for her. She went into the water and swam to right above the entrance. She swam down holding her breath as long as she could and just barely got through. Gasping for breath as she reached the surface, Zilly hurried to find the room where her brother was slain, hoping to find his spirit there.

Shallow water filled the bottom floor of the large room; the old arena of Link and his counterpart. As peaceful as it was, there was only the aura of death here. It was quiet except for her feet dragging through the water. In the center was a tree barren of leaves and hardly even there. Beside that tree was a strange shadow lingering in the water. The familiar aura of her beloved hung in the air. 'Zilly, why are you here? What has happened?' An echo of a voice rang in the silence, reaching her ears clearly.

Tears welled in her eyes at the sound of his voice. "Oh, big brother, I have missed your voice. Father has failed and has fallen. You have fallen as well. However I have your body and I can bring you back. It seems my presence has an effect on the Hero of Time." She walked over to him.

'Hero of Time… Feh! Link! My old nemesis! You said 'father has fallen'. Hmm… this could be good actually. If I'm right, father was only sealed away by those elusive Sages! It should be child's play to set him free again. This world is better than ours. Let us take it. I will instruct you on how to do this, Zilly,' the voice told her, a shadowy hand brushing her cheek. She could see an outline of the man who lay in the cavern on the altar.

She smiled. "A pox on father. You and I can do this. We can take this world over. The princess thinks Link is the problem. First though, let us bring you back to life my beloved brother."

The shadow smirked. 'How convenient. Yes! Life would be most desirable! Living out my days in this watery tomb has become tedious.' He felt father deserved to see the world he tried to create for them. Perhaps when the Sages showed themselves they would free father in the process of their elimination.

Zilly opened another portal and retrieved the body, preserved with magic. She set it down carefully on the small island beside the tree. "Stand beside your body. With the Triforce of Power I will bring you back to life." She concentrated the power and flung it at Shadow Link's body.

He did as instructed and neared the corpse, smirking as he looked himself over. She worked hard to keep him the way he was before death. White hair, tanned skin. Everything was as it was.

The Triforce of Power drew in the spirit of the fallen man. Zilly knelt down next to the body waiting for him to open his eyes.

From standing beside her to feeling the weight of flesh and blood, he realized how hard it was to take his first breath. He managed a cough, choking up the remnants of magic that kept his lungs from decay, feeling the burn of blood through his cold, shivering fingers that once again filled with warmth. His head ached as blood pulsed through him.

The memories of death added to his conscience as he reconnected to this shell. Drawing in a strong breath, he sat up slowly, hand touching his forehead for the first time in years. Even raising his arm took effort and he was glad she didn't allow his muscles to atrophy. He blinked, his eyes adjusting to the light once again. His pupils went from dilation to narrow from the light of the room and he waited for the haze to leave his vision.

Kneeling forward, he cupped his hands in the water and splashed his face, letting the water chill the hot blood his heart pumped freely. He stood and looked to Zilly, smirking lustfully before drawing his twin forward with a hand around her waist and planting a deep kiss on her lips.