Sorry for the long delay! But like I said, I had exams! THANK GOD THAT'S OVER. Now I can concentrate on this =3 I hope the chapter isn't confusing, but I don't think it is...ehhhh, we shall see! Thank you very much to everybody who has read or reviewed my story, every person counts! Truly, you guys are what inspires me to keep writing! So thanks! Enjoy :D


Chapter Six: Weakness

Link walked up and down along the bank of a river, anxiety being the only thing keeping him awake. Though he was physically and mentally exhausted, he hadn't been able to sleep for a single moment. Last night, the Twilight Ball had taken place, and there was still no news from Shad. Link's short patience was already dwindling, and not even his early morning training could distract him. The sword could not ease his worries at this point. So much seemed to be at stake; the very structure of Hyrule could've been in danger. The sun was barely even rising, and he was already eager to receive Shad's response. Running a hand through his knotted hair, Link swallowed and stood still for a moment, turning his face up to the dark sky.

His eyes gradually drifted down to the surface of the water, where his reflection stared back up at him hauntingly. The thoughts in his head were endless, and his mind flickered restlessly from one to the other. The newspaper suddenly appeared in his memory, and he cringed. There was no question about who had committed the murder, and he knew this better than anybody...even after three years. The burden of the knowledge lay heavily on his shoulders.

As the sun began to rise higher and everything brightened, Link continued staring down at himself. Then, in the deafening morning silence, a familiar voice began whispering to him.

"Link..."

Shivers ran up his spine. Lifting his head, he looked around frantically, but saw nothing.

"Link..." The voice came again, as if from the wistful air. A sense of evocative nostalgia ran over him coldly, and as his eyes bore into the depth of the waters, he saw somebody else appear in the reflection. She slowly came behind him and put her hand on his shoulder, leaning forward to murmur in his ear.

"Link...I miss you."

He whirled around to face her, but there was still nobody there. He felt as if he were going insane as he touched the spot on his shoulder, where he could've sworn he felt a gentle and reminiscent touch. He rubbed his eyes with the heels of his hands, trying to clear his foggy brain.

"No," he said to himself. "She's gone...she's not here." His voice was shaky.

"I'm right here, Link."

He turned around to find—nobody. With a savage grumble of frustration, Link crouched to the earth, pulling at his hair as he did. There was a small thud as he let himself sit, tugging and growling to himself. His brain was tingling with a strange sense of agony. When he finally found the courage to open his eyes, he was looking back into the river. In the reflection, sitting beside him, was Damita. Yet in the depths of his intricate mind, he knew that she wasn't really there.

"I love you."

He blinked away the tears and turned away from the reflection. The detailed memories were getting too painful to ignore...


...Link stretched his arms, and then knelt at the river's bank. Still blinking away the sleep, he splashed his face with the cold water of the narrow stream, and immediately felt more alert. The sun was shining brightly, and further down the path, he could hear the other Loyalists beginning to train. He had the strange feeling in his gut that it was going to be a good day. With a content sigh, he kicked his shoes off and dipped his feet into the river. As he wiggled his toes, he heard the sound of footsteps behind him. An irresistible smile appeared on his face.

"Good morning!" Damita sat down beside him, mimicking his position and sticking her feet into the water.

"Morning," he grinned. He looked over at her, and she was staring back at him happily. His heart swelled in adoration. He had trouble fighting the urge to inch closer to her.

"What plans do we have for today, chief?"

"The usual," he shrugged. "Not that you'll participate in any training I have planned, anyway," Link laughed. She rolled her eyes playfully and splashed him.

"Stop! I do too come to training!" A grin played at the edges of her perfect lips.

"I cannot even remember the last time you trained with us," he continued teasing. Then, there was a dangerous sparkle in her eye.

"Yeah? Well I don't need training to do this!" Before Link could even blink, Damita pushed him into the stream with a burst of laughter. He cried out the beginning of her name, but was cut off by contact with the ice-cold water. It was a fairly shallow stream, but it was deep enough that he had to tread water when he popped back up into the surface.

The first thing he saw was Damita rolling around on the bank of the river, clutching her stomach as she laughed hysterically. He spit water at her and rolled his eyes.

"Really funny, Damita," he chuckled, hiding the slight irritation in his voice. She was laughing too hard to answer. He simply sat there treading the water patiently, waiting for her to recover from her dangerous fit of laughter.

"You...should've...seen...your...face!" she finally managed as she sat up again. "One of the best warriors in Hyrule, and you still can't keep me from pushing you into a stream?"

"What can I say?" His tone changed completely; it became soft. "Even the best warriors have their weaknesses."

Her expression lightened as her cheeks turned bright red, glistening in the sunlight. Then, she cleared her throat.

"I don't have any weaknesses," Damita argued jokingly. She had failed to notice how close Link was getting to the riverbank. Her eyes were firmly glued to his, as if they were unable to flicker away for even a split second.

"We'll just see about that..." Just as she realized what was happening, he grabbed her leg and dragged her into the stream. As he laughed, she sank down into the water, in the midst of a yelp. He was almost submerged in his attempts to stop the laughter. She finally resurfaced, and the dark silver hair covered her face. Still chuckling, he parted the hair in front of her face, and found her glaring at him angrily.

"Link!" she cried.

"I thought you said you didn't have any weaknesses." He raised his eyebrows as she suppressed her giggles.

Instead of answering, she slowly drifted toward him, as if she were an angel floating among the clouds in the sky. Just the sight of her took his breath away, and he found himself unable to laugh any longer. Without another word, she wrapped her arms around his neck, letting herself fall into him. There, treading the water in the early morning, Damita kissed him softly.

"Even if I did," she said. "I wouldn't tell you."

Link wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her body closer to his. Their lips met once more, and their bodies intertwined beneath the surface. Clinging to each other in a passionate embrace, they slowly sank into the water. He pulled away for a moment, opening his eyes to glance at her underwater. The rays of sunlight entering the water landed upon her face perfectly, and her hair flowed gracefully around her. For a moment, he had difficulty coming to terms with the fact that this girl with whom he was in love...loved him back.

He grabbed her cheeks and kissed her again, ignoring the air that swiftly left his lungs. After a few moments, however, instinct forced him to kick his legs, making him rise back above the water, with Damita still in his arms. As soon as they reached the surface, however, they were brutally interrupted.

"Hey! Lovebirds!"

They pulled apart rapidly and whirled around, habitually floating away from each other. Sheik stood a few meters away from the river, with his arms across his chest. The expression on his face was a mixture of playfulness, irritation, and disgust.

"Can you do that later? Now isn't really the best time for...ah...swimming." Sheik cleared his throat awkwardly. Damita and Link threw each other mischievous glances. He wondered if her heart was beating as quickly as his.

"R-right, training," Link said as he blinked from his trance. Damita sighed, and he could sense the reluctance emanating from her. He glanced over at her, and their eyes made contact. They shared a moment of magical silence, and with simply the connection of their eyes, they could feel the affection. She gave him a small, secret smile. So subtly that Sheik couldn't notice, she mouthed the words, 'I love you'...


...The flashback evaporated as Link wiped the tear rolling down his cheek. The entire image in his head shattered, and Damita's gorgeous, secret smile disappeared with it. It was only then that he felt the sun shining down on him, and he realized that time had been passing by swiftly. Dawn had appeared and disappeared while he was lost in his daydreams. After being jerked so harshly from his fantasies, he felt more alone than he'd ever felt before, sitting there by the river, hugging his knees gently to his chest. He buried his face against his thighs.

Would she never leave him alone...?

After a few moments of contemplation, Link stood up and walked back to camp.


Zelda awoke in the middle of the night, uneasy and restless. The evening's events at the ball continued replaying in her mind, and she couldn't stop thinking about her conversation with Shad. The situation was becoming more demanding with each passing moment, especially after Gulliver's death. Suspicions were spreading through Hyrule like a wild virus, and no matter what she did, she couldn't stop it. The only thing she could do was to continue attempts to appease Darunia and Laruto, and strengthen security. It gave her little comfort knowing that the new security plan was already under way.

She sat up in bed, now wide-awake and anxious. The large room was silent, and in the moonlight shining through the window, she saw the vast number of disorganized papers on her desk. Just looking at the disarray made her head ache in dread. There were times when she wished she weren't a princess...there were so many responsibilities. Yet at the same time, she loved it. All traces of sleep disappeared from her features as she stepped out of bed and into her slippers. The world still remained silent in the midst of her movements.

Zelda pulled her blonde hair from her face with the pink ribbon on her nightstand, and then lit the candle as well. Still in her silky nightgown, she picked up the candle and left the room, closing the door on her chaotic political agenda. Outside of her room, all throughout the castle, there was nobody. Walking instinctively through the corridors, though, Zelda knew how much security surrounded the outside of the castle. And besides, being alone in her palace gave her a strange, soothing comfort. She loved knowing that all of this was hers. With only the flame of the candle and her memory to guide her, Zelda made her way to the first floor. There was still darkness, as if not a single mouse dared to enter her castle. The thought made her grin to herself.

In her daydreaming, she lost track of where she even was. When she finally snapped back into reality, she was in the main hallway, standing in front of two huge wooden doors. Her excitement flared, and with a push of her delicate hand, she opened the doors and entered her favorite room in the entire castle: the library. As soon as she stepped into the large room, she instantly felt more comfortable. The library had been her favorite spot ever since she was little, and she spent time here when she was stressed. There was nothing she loved more than curling up in an armchair and reading a good book.

Zelda made her way to the other side of the library, where a table was set up. Placing the candle on the table, she looked around in wonder. It never failed to amaze her. The ceiling of the library was a lovely dome, and almost the entire room, walls and all, was constructed of glass. She could stare up and find herself gazing into the night sky, where the moon and stars were glowing brightly. The ceiling and back wall was a grand, magnificent window all in its own. And she had never been able to count the number of shelves embellishing the room. There were books as far as the eye could see...it made her quite giddy.

The princess had worked herself into a state of absolute ecstasy, and since the moon was bright enough to vaguely light up the paths of the library, she put the candle on the table. Then, with a certain fire in her step, she pranced to one of the shelves. She walked among the labyrinth of shelves for what seemed like an eternity, and the smile on her lips never faltered.

Oh, here it is! She stopped in front of one of the shelves, even though she'd known all along where the book was. Eagerly, she plucked it from its resting spot and held it in her hands for a while, simply admiring the old, shaky binding and beautiful details on the cover. She practically ran back to her small reading alcove, hugging the book to her chest. In public, or even with her advisors, Zelda would never act this way. As a princess, she needed to stay composed...but alone, in a library with every book she could ever ask for, in the middle of a beautiful night, she couldn't help it.

Zelda jumped into her favorite armchair, and the area was lit up perfectly by the small candle and white moon. She curled up her legs and opened the book, and her eyes were nearly popping out of her head as they began reading the words. It made her feel even more special knowing that not many people could read a book this old; the ancient Hylian in which it was written was quite a difficult dialect, but as princess, she had learned how to read and write the language from a very young age. Zelda had read this book at least ten times, yet she never got bored of it. Each time she read it, she always seemed to discover something new. Reading it took her to a different world, where there was magic at every turn and courageous heroes. Not many people remembered the legend nowadays, but Zelda could never forget it: it was the story of the legendary Hero of Time. She had it memorized almost word for word.

When the Hero pulled the Blade of Evil's Bane from the Pedestal of Time, he fell into a deep slumber for seven long years...and in those seven years, the King of Thieves harnessed the Triforce's power and laid waste to the land.

Butterflies fluttered in her stomach as the details unfurled before her. The legend had become a controversial issue nowadays, for many believed that it had never really happened. Zelda, however, knew that it had. Just as the Hero of Twilight would be but a myth centuries from now, the Hero of Time was a myth, but Zelda knew that every single word of the story was true. She didn't notice the small triangle on her hand flicker as her eyes eagerly scanned the words in the dusty pages.

Once she started reading...she couldn't stop. When she finally reached her favorite part, the candle had already gone out, but the rising sun shining through the large glass window lit up the words perfectly. Her cheeks turned red as she read it, and she felt warmth wash over her. It amazed her, the power of words.

The King of Thieves, in his clever deceit, had finally found the princess. Before the Hero could stop him, he kidnapped Princess Zelda and stole her away to the castle, which he had corrupted and made his haunted fortress. The Hero was at a loss, and the only thing that drove him to continue was his desire to rescue the princess. After her disappearance, he had to take responsibility for the safety of the kingdom.

The story never directly stated that the Hero of Time and Princess Zelda were in love...but just like many things about which others were unsure...Zelda knew it was true.


Hahaha, I know that right now it's a messy jumble of like ten Zelda games combined, but I'm trying to make it work :P I'll update as soon as I can!