Chapitre 4 is officially here! :3

The last few days, Zelda's dreams plagued by the horrible nightmare she's had ever since she learned of the Aritians' connection to this story. She woke up shaking, every time covered in cold sweat.

That night, she woke up at 3 AM, the same dream still haunting her. She grabbed the book lying beside her, determined to finish reading the mysteries of the princess' fate.

December 12, 1856

No.

Why is sad news always following me around? I hear that they plan on killing Hiroshi – I do not know why, for his crime was not serious. It must just be because of his relationship with me. I want to save him, at least see him for the last time, to hold him in my arms.

December 13, 1856

Nothing has happened today. I still listen hard for news of Hiroshi, but –

Here, the perfect handwriting smudged, as if the owner had dragged the pen across the page. Zelda flipped the pages, page after page, looking for anymore signs of life. Her search was in vain – there was not another word, a letter, not even an ink splotch. All there was left was many blank pages, each dead and limp in her hands.

The Hyrulian princess smiled grimly. So I never do find out what happens to her, huh?

Suddenly, she heard the same faint voice, calling her name, over and over again. Terrified, Zelda clutched her quilt closer to her, looking around the room carefully for the source. This time, she saw a light blue light floating near her bed. She reached out to it, enchanted.

"Zelda …" it whispered. "Help me …"

The second she touched the sparkle, it flew into her. At first, it was just a gentle warming feeling. However, the heat kept growing, intensifying, until Zelda felt that her entire body was on fire.

Panicking, the princess screamed as she stared in horror at her hands. They were disappearing, their invisibility spreading gradually into her arms, to her body, then to her legs, feet, and lastly, head. In a flash of light, her entire being disappeared.

"Zelda?!" Samus cried, pulling herself up to her friend's bed.

Nothing.

Not a trace of the princess was left.

The bounty hunter stared in horror as the door to the bedroom blasted open. Link rushed over, the worry clearly etched into his face.

"Zelda! Is she okay?"

"Link …" Samus turned around, her blue eyes alarmed. "She's disappeared!"

"What …?" he whispered. "No!" he cried out in a stronger voice. "Let me see!" Half mad with worry, he pushed Samus over and climbed up the ladder, only to see the emptiness of the bed.

"No …" Link stared in horror at the bed, touching the blankets tentatively, as if Zelda might pop out of them any second. "Dammit!" he cried, throwing himself onto the Zelda's bed, "Why couldn't I protect you, Zelda?"

"Samus!" he yelled, whirling around, not caring if he woke up the whole Smash mansion, "Is she in the washroom or something?! Did she leave the room earlier?"

Samus shook her head sadly, emerging from the washroom. "She's not in the washroom, and I'm pretty sure when she screamed, she was in her bed."

Once again, the door opened, this time to reveal a terribly tired Aritian prince.

"What's up, Link? You woke up the entire mansion with that yelling, you did," he mumbled, rubbing his eyes, "Why're you in Zelda and Samus' room, anyways?"

"I'll tell you why," Link hissed, his eyes narrowing, "Zelda's disappeared!"

"WHAT?!" Marth yelped, his eyes snapping open. "A-are you sure? Are you sure she's not in the mansion somewhere?"

"Quite sure," Link said curtly, "You can check her bed again if you want, though I highly doubt that's going to help, considering it's been checked twice already."

Despite that fact, the ladder was climbed for the third time that night, to reveal a still empty bed. Marth frowned, his eyebrows knitting together.

Suddenly, the prince noticed a corner of a book peeking out of the covers. He pulled it out, and jumped down the ladder with his usual grace.

"She's not there, but I found this," Marth waved the book around.

"It's not the time to read, Marth," Link snapped, turning and stalking out of the room.

The Aritian prince sighed, seating himself into a chair and gently opened the book, Samus reading over his shoulder. He flipped through the pages, giving a brief glance at each page and finally stopped on the last page where it described the princess' experience in the prison.

"Aritian prison …" Marth whispered, closing his eyes. He stood up abruptly, causing Samus to topple over.

"You couldn't have warned me, could you?" Samus muttered, wincing in pain. When she got no answer, she looked up, puzzled. Marth was staring forward, his eyes glassy, completely oblivious to his surroundings.

"Marth …?" the bounty hunter whispered, waving her hand in front of his face.

The prince gave a start, his eyes giving away his alarm. "Yes, Samus?"

The blonde shook her head. "No, I was just wondering if you were okay. I mean, you looked kind of off ..."

Marth gave a brief smile. "I'm okay. I have to go, okay? I need to find Zelda. Go get some sleep."

"But Zelda's not in the mansion!"

"I know."

"Huh …?"

"It just gives all the more reason to find her," the prince gave a small wave and left the room.

"Wait …!" Samus cried, but it was too late – Marth had already left the room. She stared at the spot where he was seconds before, her shoulders sagging.

"So you really do love her."

- - - -

Marth strode down the halls, his cape dancing behind him. If the princess was in an Aritian prison, it could only be that one … I'm not sure if Zelda will be there or not, but it's probably the most likely place where she would be. He stopped in front of the stables.

"Marth."

The prince whipped around to see Link standing a little ways away, his arms folded in front of his chest.

"What do you want, Link?" Marth asked, annoyed.

"Wouldn't it be faster to use a portal? Master Hand would agree," the hero gestured towards the mansion.

"I don't want it to seem like a big enough deal to use a portal," Marth replied, turning back towards the stables.

"So it's a big enough deal to run off without any note of any kind?"

The Aritian stopped dead in his tracks. He turned around yet again, his mouth twisted into an emotionless smile. "I guess you're right Link. I'll use the portal," he headed towards the mansion, brushing past Link.

"You know," Link started without turning around, "she loves you."

Marth halted, turning his head around to look at the Hero of Time.

"So," he continued, "bring her back safely, okay?" This time, Link spun around, smiling sadly.

The prince gaped at him, then composed himself enough to nod, smiling gratefully. "Of course." With that, he started to walk back towards the mansion, his figure fading into the darkness.

- - - -

Once inside the mansion, Marth burst into Master Hand's office, the said hand surprisingly awake (Don't even dare ask me how a hand sleeps).

"Master Hand! I need -"

"The portal? Yes yes, go," the hand said absently, pointing himself towards the portal.

"Thanks!" Marth dashed towards the shining light, letting the warmth of it touch his skin. He closed his eyes and concentrated on one word.

Aritia.

The last thing the prince saw was the cluttered office, paper flying everywhere and Master Hand desperately pressing down on the small stack of papers that were left on the wooden desk before his world went dark.

Sorry about the short-ish chapter. D: It seemed like a pretty good place to stop.

Action starts soon! :D

Hmm … I'm thinking about making the next chappie a song-chapter thing. Oo;; But I can't find the perfect song. D: -dies-

REVIEW! –hugs-