I implore you to be impressed: two chapters in under a week? I haven't updated this quickly since Hidden Truths! Unfortunately, Link and Reena aren't part of this chapter. Actually, I lied. Link is right at the end.

Chapter Eight: Deceit, Discoveries and Deliverance

"That was probably the most pointless vacation of my life." Ryin complained as she and Horo mounted their horses and made their way back to Hyrule.

"Tell me about it." He grumbled. "Those stupid gorons weren't even planning on attacking. Your parents got their information wrong, when really they were only threatening to attack Clock Town."

"Well whatever, they got their trade routes restored and are satisfied for now. The gerudo also seem to be pacified for now."

"What with your mother commanding them."

Ryin nodded slowly. "Yes..." She thought back to her mother, numb with shock retelling the events at the Pirate Fortress. "She never saw it coming. And she won't be around very much to lead them, so she'll have to find a trustworthy lieutenant to lead them while she's away."

"She'll be with them more often than the desert gerudo. Maybe they can help her with the rebellion."

"Nah, that's not their style. She'll probably just pop in to see them occasionally. At least she doesn't have to worry about them attacking again."

"Well whatever, at least that fiasco's over and done with."

She nodded. "It seems everyone gets some down time. My mum just has to tie up some loose ends with the pirates then her and my dad're coming for a visit. I think its just cuz she wants to tell Nabooru firsthand about becoming the new leader. Imagine her reaction!" She laughed at the thought.

"I just hope we actually get some down time and don't have to be sent off on some new adventure."

"Or get attacked my some huge monster."

"Huge monster you say? Sorry to burst your bubble but look over there." They had just come over the crest of a hill and Horo nodded at something at the base of it. Several lizalfos were chasing a man and they seemed to be gaining on him. Suddenly the man tripped and went down hard.

"What? Where? Ugh! No way!" she complained catching sight of them. She groaned.

"Well, let's go then." He cantered off towards the fray.

"Wait up!" She called, chasing after him. "Did you ever stop to ask why there's a pack of lizalfos in the middle of Hyrule field? Normally they're in dungeons." She paused. "Death Mountain dungeons, I know my sense of direction is terrible, but even I can tell we're nowhere near Death Mountain."

Horo ignored her and jumped off Eclipse, sword drawn. He took the nearest lizalfos. Ryin approached the fight more slowly, shaking her head and muttering about lizalfos being away from Death Mountain and how the entire thing was a bad idea and probably a trap. At Horo's intrusion the rest of the lizalfos came to their comrade's aid, swamping Horo with their presence. "A little help here?" he cried desperately to Ryin. She rolled her eyes and pulled the nearest beast off of him. He gave his thanks quickly and breathlessly before heading back into the fray. Ryin, who for once in her life didn't want to fight, was cornered into fighting by Horo and couldn't stop because he was, in her opinion, too useless to handle them all himself. And she was right. Horo, ever the gallant warrior, attempted to take on four lizalfos at once, unfortunately for him his plan didn't work out quite like he wanted and was soon overthrown. Ryin rolled her eyes and stabbed the giant lizards as they ripped and tore at their prey. And finally the last of them burst into the white flames that signaled the end of the battle.

Ryin held out a hand to help up Horo's bloody, prone form. He groaned and took her hand. He spit out some blood and wiped some away from a huge gash above his eyebrow. "You're an idiot. I told you it was stupid to take them all on at once. I mean, they were stronger than normal lizalfos." Ryin chided him.

"How can you tell?"

"Because they're just randomly here in the middle of Hyrule field-they're native to Death Mountain. They must have been genetically engineered to be stronger and faster in order to prey on hapless victims who come along minding their own business. But that's just the practice run! The main goal is to get them strong enough so they can attack then take over the castle-then all of Hyrule! But their plan failed! Because they were originally planning to pull this off while we were away, but we dealt with the gorons faster than they expected so we got back home ahead of schedule, meaning their plan backfired." She ranted conspiratorially.

Horo looked at her funny. "Wait...who? You keep saying 'they'. Who's 'they'?"

"Whoever's behind all this!" she cried, throwing up her hands exasperatedly. "Whoever the hell is genetically mutating lizalfos to do their dirty work."

"What are you even talking about!?"

"The lizalfos! The ones we just beat!"

"Yeah, what about them?"

She looked about to strangle him. "You are so dense! They've been mutated to make them stronger!"

"How do ya figure?"

"Why else would there be lizalfos wandering around Hyrule field?"

He waved a hand at her. "You're crazy." He began walking over to the lizalfos' original victim. "Now let's see what we have here."

Ryin followed him, hands resting behind her head. "All I can say is this guy is dead lucky we came along."

"Right you are Ryin," the man said, his face still turned away. "Thank you ever so much for saving me again." He said almost sarcastically, finally flipping his hair over to reveal his face.

Ryin swore. "What the hell is this!?" she rounded on Horo. "I told you. I told you this was a horrible idea, but noooo! You had to go right ahead and jump in to save the day because you think it'll redeem whatever sin you might have. Well sorry to burst your bubble, but because of your stupidity you're going to have murder on your hands and no matter how many people you save, you'll never be able to get rid of it. NEVER!"

Horo looked awkwardly back and forth between the two people in front of him. "Ryin you can't just-"

"Shut UP! I can do whatever I want! And if I want to kill freaking Dorian, then who are you to stop me? If I had known it was him about to be torn to pieces, I would've left him to the lizalfos."

"Ryin," he pleaded. "Please be reasonable. Dorian never actually did anything bad to you."

"He nearly got me killed!" she hissed.

"It was an accident!" Dorian piped up.

She turned to face him and screamed. "You shut your face! I don't even want to hear your awful, tuneless, pitchy voice! Why couldn't you have just died!?"

"Ryin!" Horo scolded. "Would it kill you to be nice?"

"Yes!"

"Well it's about time you learnt. I'm going to make you be nice to him if it's the last thing I do."

"Oh yeah?" she sneered. "How ya gonna do that?" he didn't answer. She looked back and forth between the two of them, suddenly worried. "Horo? How're you going to-" Suddenly it dawned on her. "No. NO."

*astrix astrix astrix*

"Oh for the love of Nayru, WHY!?" Ryin moaned several hours later as she walked into the study. Dorian was chatting up her three youngest siblings and seemed to be winning them over. "Am I the only one who doesn't trust him?"

"Yes." Melly said as she passed her on her way out of the room.

"GAH! Why does the world hate me!?" She whined.

"Stop whining and leave the castle already!" Nia reprimanded.

"Yeah, nobody cares. Go bother Shaoran." Nera scoffed. The twins were sitting at a desk on the far side of the room collaborating on some paper Sir Lethan had given them to write on past kings.

Ryin stuck out her tongue at them. "Horo forbade me from leaving the castle. Believe me, I've tried to sneak out to go see Shaoran but he somehow catches me every time. I think he has Mist watching me."

"Then go sulk somewhere else where we don't have to listen to you."

Nia nodded in agreement. "Yeah, some of us actually enjoy Dorian's company."

"Can't imagine why." Ryin mumbled as she turned to leave. Just as she reached the door, Akami strode through it looking crestfallen. "Hey! What's up?"

"Oh nothing." She said distantly.

Ryin looked at her, nonplussed. "That doesn't look like nothing. What's wrong?"

"I was supposed to hang out with Horo, but he cancelled at the last minute. Oh well, didn't matter much anyways."

"That jerk! Well now you can entertain me and we'll have so much more fun than you would've had with dumb Horo."

Akami smiled. "Thanks Ryin, but I really need to get some of my translations done. If I'm going to be queen then I'm going to need to be able to communicate with my subjects." Dorian's ears perked up from across the room.

"Pfft! You don't need to communicate with your subjects-I don't!"

"But you're not even a real queen." Akami pointed out.

Ryin waved a hand. "Technicalities. Anyways, I'm leaving. Maybe I'll go out any play with Terk or bother Impa."

Akami sat down with some paper and a dictionary. Dorian made his way over to her. "Hello." He said warmly.

She looked up. "Hello. Can I help you with something?"

"I don't believe we've met. My name is Dorian."

She smiled. "Akami."

"So I've heard." He looked up at Ryin who was still lingering in the doorway. She scowled when she saw him looking at her. He smirked. "So, what's a princess like yourself doing so far away from her country?"

"Looking for a husband."

He chuckled. "And have you found one?"

She blushed. "Not really, no. It has to be a prince, see."

"Sooo I guess that means you and Deren..."

She looked appalled. "No, NO! Oh, God no. We've known each other for too long, we're not like that." She decided to change the subject. "So what're you doing here? Are you friends with Ryin?"

"Hell no!" Ryin's voice came from across the room.

Dorian rolled his eyes. "I thought you were leaving."

"I'm going, I'm going, jeez, rude much? I always knew you wanted to get rid of me."

"Just go. I don't want to hear anymore conspiracy theories."

"Conspiracy theories?" Akami wondered.

Ryin lit up. "Yeah! I'm convinced that Dorian is planning on-"

"Shh!" Dorian silenced her with a flick of the wrist. "Go away." He turned back to Akami. "Ryin is under the impression that I'm out to get her. And that I'm some evil mastermind hell-bent on destroying the world."

She laughed. "And are you?"

He rolled his eyes. "Yes, I'm really just spying on you so I can exploit your weaknesses and take over the world."

Akami laughed even harder. "Oh yeah? And what've you found out so far?"

He thought for a moment. "Well...your weakness is actually doing your homework."

"Very true, although I don't know how that'll help you take over the world."

"Simple, my dear, I now know that if your army has to go against my army and you're short a couple hundred people, you won't be able to call for help from any of the other races, since you can't speak their language."

"Well then I guess we're all doomed, and all because I didn't do my homework. You're so good at figuring these things out."

"You have to be when you're going to be ruler of the world one day." He said with a wink. She giggled.

Ryin watched them carry on with their conversation in disgust. "Ugh! What the hell is this?" He was flirting with her!... And she was flirting back! It was disgusting. I wonder what Horo would say if he found out... she thought mutinously to herself. Then she got an idea. Yes, what would Horo say if the love of his life was practically throwing herself at someone he trusted, apparently, with his life? A thousand thoughts ran through her head all in the time it took for her to blink once. If Horo walked in on them, he would tell Dorian to get out and would fully acknowledge that she was right about him being a shady character. It would also be quite an awkward-yet amusing (for her)-moment if he were to walk in. Now she just needed to find Horo and get him to-

"Hey!" The door opened behind her and who should walk in, but Horo himself. Ryin smirked. Her plan was already in place and it required minimal effort from her.

Akami jerked away from Dorian, blushing ferociously. "H-Horo...I thought you were busy..."

He walked over and took a seat next to her and put an arm around her. "Yeah, but I decided that spending time with you is more important."

She shifted nervously. "Well, actually...I thought you were busy so I kinda, sorta made some plans... with...someone else..." She carried on in a small voice, her eyes darting nervously to Dorian. Ryin watched them in anticipation. She was just waiting for Horo to fly at him and rip his throat out.

His face fell. "Oh. What sort of plans?"

"Well..." Her eyes darted to Dorian again. "Me and Dorian we talking and he's helping me with my translations. He's telling me all about his life in Salderin."

Ryin couldn't keep quiet any longer. "You live in Salderin?! So what the hell do you keep doing here?" She thought for a moment. "And how are you getting here? All the roads from here to there that travel through Termina are blocked off because of the war. And that's basically all manuverable roads."

"I have another residence close by." He said shortly.

"But don't you miss your friends and family? You know, the ones that live in Salderin." She hinted. "You really ought to go see them once in awhile."

"Oh but I'm making such good friends here." He rolled his eyes over to Akami and winked at her. She giggled.

Horo watched the exchange and his face fell. "Oh, well. That's fine I guess." He stood up awkwardly. "Have fun." He turned to go.

Akami bit her lip and looked guilty, but Dorian quickly reclaimed her attention and they went back to her work. Ryin stood by and watched the short conversation, appalled. It had not gone the way she'd expected it to. He chased after Horo. "What was that!?"

He stopped walking. "What was what?"

"That!" she motioned to the study. "You just going to let him steal your girlfriend like that!?"

"Akami's not my girlfriend." He said flatly.

She gave an exasperated sigh. "Whatever! You like her, so are you going to let him steal her like that?"

He half turned away. "I don't know what you're talking about.

"I think you do. Didn't you see the way they were talking? If you don't act fast he'll steal her. And I'm letting you know, as awkward as the two of you going out is, I think it's good for you-both of you. I'd rather you have her than him."

He was silent for a moment. "I don't believe you." Then he turned away and left her standing around trying to process the entire situation.

He kept walking until he was far enough away so she wouldn't find him. He punched the wall in frustration, one slow, hot tear sliding down his cheek. He welcomed the pain of his bruised knuckles. Why hadn't he been brave enough to confess his feelings for her before? He knew, he was afraid of getting too close to her. That she'd actually develop feelings back for him, then he'd break her heart when she found out about what he really was. Everything he'd done in life. All the bad. Besides, he'd have to let he go eventually, she needed to marry a prince and he was the farthest thing from one. He collected his thoughts and massaged his swollen hand. The pain felt good. He needed to take out the rest of his anger on something; the wall was innocent and didn't deserve his wrath.

He made his way down to the sparring hall. As he opened the door he was surprised to hear sounds already coming from the room. He quietly slipped in to watch. Oron had taken over the room, he was moving his arms almost like a dance or like some martial art, commanding some sort of sand, it flew through the air and cut and sliced the fake enemies before him with a thousand tiny blades. When the dummies were reduced to a pile of shreds, he dropped his arms and the sand settled back down around his feet.

"Impressive." Horo commented from his place by the door. Oron spun around; he hadn't heard him come in. He relaxed when he saw who it was.

"I guess Ryin was right about my awful human hearing."

"You fight strange. Where's your weapon?"Horo asked and Oron spread his arms wide and motioned the ground around him. Horo looked down; the sand beneath his feet swirled and glinted in the light. "...the sand?"

Oron smiled. "Not quite." He raised a hand and the sparkling sand rose up to meet it, each grain still moving and never resting in one spot for more than a couple seconds, it formed a sword in his outstretched hand. "Dust. Shards of my sword, ground into a fine powder that I can command with my hands."

"Why would you grind up your sword?"

Oron's eyes flashed with anger. "I didn't grind up my sword, my uncle did and I'm going to make him pay for what he's done."

"Pay? For what, grinding up your sword? Seems pretty extreme to me."

"Never you mind." Oron snarled and he turned back to his training with more malice than before.

Horo regarded him with distain. "What's gotten into you?"

"Leave me alone."

"You've behaving so strangely. Are you okay?"

"I'M FINE!" He spun around, the gold dust rushed toward Horo meaning to protect its master.

In a flash Horo ducked out of the way and met the wave of sand with his own sword. Oron moved his hands trying to get around Horo, but he managed to fend off all the tiny particles with only his one sword. Oron was nonplussed; he began moving his hands independently of each other making the sand surround him from different directions. Horo's ducking and weaving grew quicker with more close calls. Finally he hit a latch on his hilt which freed a new blade from the hollow inside of his usual sword. He could easily fight off Oron and his magic dust now, but before he could make any progress, Oron stopped. The gold flakes stopped swerving after him and swirled slowly in the air around their master.

"And you accuse me of having a strange weapon."

Horo looked at his swords and regarded them with a mild interest. "I never said mine wasn't."

"My tiny blades seem nothing compared to you hidden one." Oron commented coolly.

Horo lowered his weapon slightly. "Mine was made specifically for me." He turned his hand to show Oron the sword's hilt. It was a sort of bar that formed a handle instead of an actual shaft like normal swords. "It was made by the Legendary Scalesmith Jack Mettallicara who lives far out in the Eastern Mountains. He's the only blacksmith talented enough to make such a handle."

"Even though it looks stupid and hard to work with?"

Horo smirked. "It does look that way, doesn't it? No, it is actually easier to work with than a normal hilt, but not many people know that since it's so rare. And it requires hours of practice, but it's worth it."

"And the blade itself?"

"It's a crucifix longsword." He pointed to the shorter, horizontal blade that made a cross about three-quarters of the way up the main shaft. "It forms a cross and gives me more coverage when I'm fighting. There's also another, smaller sword inside this one that I use for really intense battles. But I'm unfamiliar with double sword techniques, especially ones that are different lengths and weights."

Oron narrowed his eyes. "Fascinating."

"And your sword? How did it end up like that?"

"Gravity spell." Oron said simply.

"Meaning...?"

"It got crushed up and now I have the ability to move it without touching it."

"Something tells me you didn't do this yourself."

"Do you think I want my sword in a million pieces?" Oron snapped, his eyes flashing.

"I don't know what you want." Horo retorted. "You seem pretty okay with your current weapon."

"No, I'm not okay with my current weapon because every time I use it I'm reminded of the death of the one I loved most, which is my fault. So no, I don't like my weapon at all."

A strange look overcame Horo. "The death of the one you loved most? What happened?"

"What does it matter? You wouldn't understand my pain."

"I think you're wrong about that."

"Oh really?" He sneered. "Tell me Horo, have you ever felt the pain of loosing someone close to you because of your own stupidity? Have you ever lost the one you love most because you were a weak coward, too afraid to do anything while they died in front of your eyes? When you've felt pain like that, then we'll talk." He said as he turned away.

There was a long pause before Horo spoke. "I have."

"What?" He half turned to look at Horo.

"I've felt that pain before." He answered quietly.

Oron spun to face him, positively livid. He stomped over and punched Horo in the face. "NO YOU HAVEN'T!" He screamed, his face inches away from Horo's. "YOU THINK YOU HAVE, BUT YOU HAVEN'T! Nobody's felt pain like I have." He said, defeated.

Horo took the punch in stride and didn't retaliate nor walk away. Instead he just stood there, looking at his feet. "You're right. You're right; I haven't felt pain like you. I've felt more pain than you could imagine. It's you who hasn't felt pain like me."

"You bastard. You think you know what you're talking about but really-"

"Really? I think I do know what I'm talking about. I think my pain trumps yours any day. My entire family was slaughtered and I ran away. I ran away while my parents and brothers and sister were being murdered. No, not just my family. While my entire town was being slaughtered. I was the only one who survived the massacre. Why? Because I'm a coward. I lost everyone I loved most. So you tell me Oron, who has the greater pain here? The greater burden? Well obviously it's you! Because no one else in this world could ever feel the pain you feel, right Oron?" Horo snapped.

There was a long, stunned silence. "I-I had no idea... Forgive me Horo..."

"Yeah, had no idea. Why? Because you never stopped to ask yourself if anyone else had similar pain to you. You were just concerned about yourself."

Another silence. "Suzanna, my lover, was killed in front of me because I was weak." Oron said quietly. "That's why we're here." He looked up into Horo's eyes painfully. "I'm sorry Horo; it's my fault you and Akami can't be together." He took a deep breath. "Me and Suzanna were all set to be married so we could take over Guardia when the time came. But Crawe found out and set out to kill her. He attacked the castle and came after us. I-I did my best to protect her, but as you can see," he motioned to the gold dust swirling around his feet "his magic got the best of me and my blade shattered. After it broke I went numb and gave up on everything. I was too defeated to do anything as he killed Suzanna right in front of me. I should've done something, I should have fought back." Tears leaked down his face at the memory.

"You would've been killed and then he would've gotten her anyways."

"I don't care! The only way she should've died would be if I died protecting her and I couldn't even do that. I should've died. It should've been me instead of her, but I was a coward and now the most beautiful thing I've ever seen is gone from this world. I could never love again, that's why I'm leaving it to Akami to take over. I'm so sorry Horo."

They both stood in silence, each to their own thoughts, for some time. The only sound to break the silence was Oron's occasional sobs.

*astrix astrix astrix*

"-and that's how I became the leader of the Pirate Gerudo." Reena surmised giving Nabooru a small smile and clasped her hands together in her lap.

Nabooru grit her teeth. "So that's why you've neglected to come visit me for several years?"

"Uh, yes?"

"And you think that just because now you're equal to me in power, you can get away with it just like that?" Nabooru said, crossing her arms.

Reena snapped her fingers. "Well, see fortunately I thought ahead." She turned to Link. "Get her the treasure!"

"But there's so much of it! I can't carry it all by myself." He complained.

"Don't be such a baby!" She scolded. "Our very lives depend on it."

"You think you can just pay me off with treasure and we'll be alright?" Nabooru interjected scathingly.

"Uh, yeah?" They both replied, looking at her innocently. Nabooru shook her head

"But wait 'til you see how much of it we brought! And the quality." Reena boasted. "Our lives are as good as saved!" She said with a grin.

Nabooru face-palmed. "It had better be as much as you say. You can grab it later." Reena and Link both gave sighs of relief. "Because now I want to experience firsthand the skills that beat Aveil and are worthy of being those of a Pirate Captain."

Reena grinned. "You're on!"

"I want one last sparring match before you slink off for another decade."

"But Reena!" Link protested. "We're supposed to be getting back to the castle, Ryin's expecting us."

"Eh, I'm sure she can hold down the fort and rule in our stead." Rena shrugged. "She's done such a good job of it already. And if she gets out of hand, Horo can keep her in check. So we're good."

"Good? Perfect, let's go. You've kept me waiting for this rematch for long enough already." Nabooru smirked.

*astrix astrix astrix*

Melly scowled as her king was knocked over by Ryin's knight. "Checkmate." She smirked.

"How is it that you always beat me?" Melly complained, setting the pieces back up again.

"You may be smarter academically, but when it comes to strategising, I've got you beat."

She shook her head. "No, you're much more intelligent than I am, hands down. All I know is stuff I'm told or what I read. But you, you see things. You see how the game plays out before we even sit down. You know, if you ever change your mind, you'd make an awesome queen." Melly said, almost wistfully.

Ryin laughed. "Win a war? No problem. Deal with my citizen's petty problems? Not a chance." Melly smiled at the truth in her words.

They both turned as the door to the study opened and Dorian walked in. Ryin sniffed and pointedly turned away. As per usual, Dorian ignored her. "Hello, ladies. What are we up to?" Before Melly could respond he caught sight of the chess board on the table. "Chess?"

"Not anymore. I'm tired of losing." Melly grumbled shooting a look at Ryin who tried to hide her amusement.

"Losing? I would've thought you were a good chess player."

"I am. But Ryin is a whole other league. I've never beaten her. Actually, come to think of it, I don't think she's ever been beaten." She turned to her sister. "Have you?"

"Nope!" She smirked proudly.

Dorian looked at, evidently quite surprised. "Really? I never really pinned you as a chess player."

She turned to him, her chin raised proudly. "If I wasn't physically unable to speak the words 'You're right' to you then I'd say it. I hardly ever play, since everyone has long ago given up on beating me. We were just really bored today and I had to pretty well beg Melly to play with me to pass the time. But truth be told, it's been awhile since I've played."

He raised his eyebrows at her. "Truth be told, I think that's the most you've ever said to me at once. Actually, I think that's also the longest you've ever gone without insulting or swearing at me. Congratulations."

She bristled. "Watch it. I'm in a good mood, so don't mess it up."

He thought for a moment. "Let's play."

"What?"

"Chess. I'm a pretty good player and you don't know my strategies yet. Plus it's time you had a fresh opponent. Shall we?" he motioned to the board.

She considered him for a moment, trying to find his angle. Finding none, an evil smile spread across her face. "You're on. I'm black."

He sat down, bemused. "You are a strange one. Normally people reserve white since it goes first." He made his first move, watching her.

"I'm not like normal people." She snapped, making hers.

He studied the board for a second then made his move. "You can say that again." He muttered to himself.

The match progressed slowly, each taking a couple moments to plan out their next move and switch around their strategies. About fifteen minutes in Carei settled in to watch her sister tear apart her new prey. It was mostly played in silence until one of them spoke ten minutes after Carei's arrival.

"Check."

Everyone stared at the board. Carei and Melly who'd been falling asleep were suddenly woken up by the word. They all watched the board carefully, seen where the little white knight had muscled in on the black king's territory. Dorian was the only one not looking at the board; he was watching Ryin's eyes, gauging her reaction.

Ryin mentally slapped herself for being such an idiot. How could she have let Dorian of all people break down her perfect strategy and get through her unbeatable wall of offence and her impenetrable wall of defence. How? She studied the board trying to come up with a last minute plan to save her king without sacrificing any key pieces. She had to do it fast or else they would catch on that she had been caught off guard. She smirked at the board just to throw them off, but inside she panicked. She ran through a list of possible moves in her head and moving her king slightly to the left was the only solution she could come up with that didn't involve her losing anything important.

The match continued in this fashion for awhile after. Dorian calling out 'Check' and Ryin narrowly avoiding defeat. She was growing increasingly on edge, each move making her nervous and uneasy. Before making her move her eyes'd scan the board and her mouth'd move quickly and quietly to herself. Her hands flew across the board, playing out several different strategies. Her eyes were wide and they saw the entire match playing out before them. Occasionally she'd bite her lip or brace her shoulders and bring one thumb up to her teeth and, hooking the edge under her front tooth, scraped the nail absentmindedly with the bottom teeth.

She carried on like this until at last her unbeatable, impenetrable trap was finally laid out perfectly. "Check."

Dorian frowned and moved his king over one square.

An evil grin spread across Ryin's face and she moved a piece from one end of the board to the other until it knocked down Dorian's king. "Checkmate." She said quietly. Dorian stared at the board, mouth slightly agape. Melly and Carei congratulated both of them on a match well played. Saying that it was Ryin's longest-played match ever. Of course, Ryin heard none of this. She, herself, was in a fog. She was lost in her own thoughts, replaying the match once more in her mind. She stood up to leave without a word.

Dorian looked up at her and held out a hand. "Congratulations on winning. You're truly an amazing chess player."

She didn't say anything as she took his hand and shook. "Thanks." She said quietly.

"There were a couple times where I thought I had you beat, but they were such obvious attacks; I would've been surprised if you'd fallen for them! Looks like it was part of your plan all along to fall for them and make me think that I had a chance at winning." He smiled.

She gave a weak smile and turned to the door, but he called her back. "How 'bout a rematch?"

She froze. "Not...not right now. I have some stuff to do now, later okay?" And she left the room.

Her sisters watched her go, flabbergasted. "Did...did anyone else find that extremely odd?" Melly gasped.

"And extremely uncharacteristic?" Carei added.

"She was actually nice to Dorian!"

"And agreed to have a rematch."

The girls gossiped with each other as Dorian stared after Ryin, eyes narrowed. She had seen something in his playing style and he needed to know what.

*astrix astrix astrix*

Ryin sat out in the gardens, staring into space. Her hands moving out in front of her as she replayed the chess match, move by move. She frowned and bit her lip. Something wasn't right about the way Dorian played-he was too cunning. There was something off about his strategies and the way he played. Something not right...

"You look irked." A voice commented from behind her.

She didn't look up. "Yeah." She said simply, distractedly. She didn't really care to deal with Horo now. At least not until she figured out what was weird about Dorian's chess style. She could, however, sense that he was still behind her. "You can sit down if you want." She said, giving a slight indication beside her.

"Oh really?" He sounded amused. "Are you sure that's what you want?" He sounded playful and sarcastic-not at all what she was used to. And is voice was deeper too.

"Yeah, I'm-" Suddenly it dawned on her and she froze. She looked up at the man behind her. It wasn't Horo. Her eyes grew wide as she met his bemused expression. Long black hair, black clothes, silver eyes and a scar across his left eye. "Shindou." She said breathlessly.

He looked surprised for a moment before breaking into a grin. "Nice to finally meet you Ryin."

She sized him up. No wonder Horo hated him; he looked like he could beat him hands down any day. She met his gaze steadily. "My offer still stands you know." She said, motioning to the spot beside her.

He sat down and stretched out his long limbs. "You're inviting me to sit down even though we just met?"

"It's polite, isn't it?"

He smirked to himself. "And I heard you were rude and had no manners."

She couldn't help smiling at his words. "I can't deny that that's true. But I feel I should be nice to you-you did save, er, try to help save my parents' lives."

"It's what I do." He shrugged.

"Is it? Then, what have you come to tell me today?"

He looked at her, surprised. "I thought Horo warned you to stay away from me?"

She shrugged. "Horo, Shmoro. He said that, then a couple days later my parents turned out to be in real danger. So I trust you."

"Well, thank you. I'm here to tell you-'soon'."

"So you're not going to tell me now?"

"No, no. That is the message. 'Soon'. Important things will be happening to you soon."

"Oh. Is that it? You're not going to go into details on the subject?"

"I'm sure Horo's told you-that's not my style. It's for you to figure out."

"Wow Horo was right-you are really vague!" She rolled her eyes. "Don't tell him that I said he was right."

He smirked. "My lips are sealed." They sat in silence for awhile before he finally stood up. "It's about time for me to be going. I've passed on my message-there's nothing more for me to do here."

"Bye."

"Well, I'll be seeing you." He turned to leave, remembered something then turned back to Ryin. "Oh, one more thing-in the near future Horo is going to get a little...off. Just be patient."

"Off? What do you mean off?"

"He'll just need to spend some time figuring some things out. He'll have a lot dumped on him all at once. So just be patient and understanding when he gets weird."

"He's always weird." She muttered to herself.

Shindou smiled. "Oh, and if you feel like he's hiding something from you-he probably is. Don't bother trying to figure out what it is and just go with it. It'll all be explained soon."

She gritted her teeth and considered him. "For how long do I have to deal with him like this?"

"You'll know."

"If I don't?"

"You will. But if you don't, then let's say...until you get back."

"Get back? Get back from where? We hafta go somewhere to beat this evil?"

He watched her. "Goodbye." He suddenly turned around without saying anything more.

"Wait!" There was a whirlwind and he was gone. Her hands balled up into fists of frustration as the leaves settled back into place after being kicked up. She understood what Horo had been talking about. "I knew he was hiding something." She grumbled as she flopped over onto her back. And watching the clouds pass over, she drifted slowly to sleep.

Sometime later a shadow crossed over her face. Awakened by it, she looked up. Impa stood over her, arms crossed. Ryin sat up and raised a hand in greeting. "Hey."

"If you have enough time to have a nap, then you have enough time to do your lessons."

Ryin paled, scooting as far away from Impa as possible. "What!? No way!"

Impa reached down, grabbed her arm and hauled her to her feet. "You're as bad as your mother. Come on, let's go." Impa dragged Ryin through the gardens and back into the castle all the while Ryin struggled and protested loudly.

"I'll do anything you ask, anything. Just please don't make me go do my lessons. Sir Lethan is really getting on my nerves. He's pompous and conceited and racist and he-"

"That may be true, but you have no right to speak of him that way. If you're going to live in the castle, you're going to have to do these lessons. Just like you mother and your aunt, and your grandparents and-"

"Okay! Okay! I understand! That doesn't, however, mean I have to like it."

Just as they walked through the throne room and were about to head up the staircase, Dorian came out of one of the side doors. "So it was you making such a racket, Ryin."

"Oh way to go," she sneered "You're making my bad mood even worse."

He smiled. "I knew earlier was just a fluke."

"Yeah well-Impa?" She was about to retort when she caught sight of Impa's face. Her nursemaid was staring at Dorian with a look of horror, her mouth slightly agape. This was the first time she could remember that Impa's had ever broken her cool, serious, expressionless composure. The most emotion she'd ever seen Impa have was maybe a small smile or irritation at her stupidity or stubbornness. "Are you alright?"

She was still staring at Dorian, horror struck. She gave head a little nod before responding. "Yes, fine." Even then, Ryin could still tell she was greatly unnerved. Then she spoke directly to Dorian. "And who are you? I don't believe we've met."

Dorian's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Dorian."

"Don't mind him-he's not important." Ryin said, waving him away with her arm.

Impa crossed her arms and her emotionless mask was back up. "Yes, Ryin mentioned you. You nearly got her killed." It wasn't a question-it was a statement, a fact. She was back to her cold demeanor like nothing had happened.

Dorian sighed. "Is that still what she's telling everyone? I didn't try to kill her-it was an accident."

Impa didn't look convinced. "Ah." She looked back and forth between him and Ryin. "If you'll excuse me." With a flash and a loud bang, she disappeared.

Dorian scowled mutinously at the place where she was last seen. He was about to turn to Ryin to demand answers about Impa's behaviour when Tallen and Teiry came flying down the stairs and into Ryin's arms.

"Guess what!? Guess what!?" They chorused.

"What?"

"We just heard some news from Captain Andher!" Tallen said breathlessly.

"That apparently some man saw them over the hill by the ranch as he was riding back into town." Teiry continued.

"Who?"

"Mum and dad!" They said together.

Ryin gasped. "They're almost here?" Her brothers nodded vigorously. "Hooray!" She actually jumped for joy.

When the siblings finished dancing around, Ryin turned to Dorian, expecting him to attempt to share in their joy. Instead he was pale and was biting his lip, staring off into space. "Dorian?"

His attention was suddenly snapped back into the present. "Hm?"

"What's up? You got all weird there for a second-weirder than usual."

"Nothing." He said quickly. "Nothing's wrong. Um, I have to go."

She raised her eyebrows. "Ookay psycho. Have fun being weird and alone by yourself in a corner."

He gave her a small smile. "Tell Akami I said bye."

She gave him a strange look. "'Bye'? Where're you going?"

"I just told you I was leaving." He said, starting to walk away.

She chased after him. "I thought you meant you were going to your room-not leaving for good!"

"Do you care?"

"Well no, but why so sudden?"

He looked at her. "If you don't care, then don't bother asking questions." And with that, he walked away.

Ryin cried out in frustration, this was the third time that day that she'd been left hanging when someone mysteriously disappeared for some unexplained reason. She was not a happy person. She only looked up from mentally cursing Dorian at the twins tugging on her sleeve eagerly reminding her that Link and Reena were almost home. Ryin sighed and tore herself away from her thoughts. Leave it to Dorian to ruin her good mood.

*astrix astrix astrix*

Horo looked up from his book just as Ryin collapsed in a nearby chair. "I thought you were visiting with your parents." He commented.

"Ah, I just saw them not too long ago. I figure it'd be nice to let my siblings have a chance to see them."

"But you were so excited." Akami said from the couch on the other side of the study.

"It's not like they'll only be staying for a couple hours. I can go see them later."

The door opened and they all looked up. Oron walked in, turning an envelope over and over in his hands. He looked a bit distracted. He sat down in the chair next to Akami, opened his letter and started reading. They paid him no heed.

Akami sighed. "I really wish I had the chance to say goodbye to Dorian before he up and left."

Horo ground his teeth. "Yeah. It was a bit strange how he walked out like that."

Ryin tossed her head. "That's nothing. My afternoon's been so strange, you have no idea. Did you know I was actually getting along with Dorian earlier?"

"See? He's not that bad." Akami teased. "I don't know what you were making such a big fuss over."

Out of the corner of her eye Ryin saw Horo clench his hands into fists and his jaw tighten. He was a bit more sensitive than he let on. Before she could, yet again, recount the tale of how they had nearly died because of Dorian's stupidity, Oron interrupted them.

"Well that's interesting." He commented as he finished the last line of the letter and folded it up.

"What is?" Akami wondered.

He handed her the letter. "See for yourself."

She took it and skimmed over it, 'hmm'ing and 'hah'ing as she read.

As she read Horo leaned over to Ryin and whispered in her ear. "I changed my mind, you were right-Dorian can't be trusted."

She turned to him with a bemused expression on her face. "Oh really?"

He nodded. "There's something I don't trust about him."

She gave him a sweet smile then suddenly lashed out, her fist connecting painfully with his shoulder. "Idiot!" she hissed.

"Ow! What the hell was that for?"

"You don't really believe me! You just don't like him because he's moving in on your girl." She whispered back angrily. "If they'd never met you'd still think he's fine and trustworthy."

He clamped his mouth shut as he rubbed his shoulder. Partially because of the pain, partially because he knew she was right.

Akami looked up from the letter, bemused. "Well that is interesting, now isn't it?" She said airily. She looked at her brother and shared a long look. They started talking quickly in English, too fast for either Ryin or Horo to catch much of what they were saying.

"What is?" Ryin asked curiously.

"Oh nothing important-just some family stuff." Akami said slowly, folding up the letter and stowing it in a pocket.

"Like what?" Ryin asked, ever curious.

"Well," Oron started, looking over at his sister. "It seems our dear uncle Crawe his decided to make his move and take over the country."

Akami nodded. "There was just a major attack not too long ago, apparently."

Ryin and Horo gasped. "How can you be so calm about something like that!?"

Oron shrugged. "It's just some family issues, nothing to be too worried about."

Akami looked at him. "Maybe we should go visit and see how things are going." She suggested. He nodded in agreement.

Ryin gaped at them. How could they always be so calm when they discussed their psychotic uncle who constantly tried to kill them? "What, are you stupid? That's the worst idea ever!" They all turned to look at her. "Your uncle is trying to kill you, yeah? So if you go as soon as he's made his move, you'd be practically giving yourself to him!"

"They need our help with the fight." Oron said simply and Akami nodded.

"You guys are idiots. Right, Horo?" She turned to him. "Please tell them they're being idiots. Horo?"

He considered the Guardadians for a moment. "I'm going with you."

"WHAT!?" Ryin yelled, aghast.

Oron shook his head. "No, this is something we need to do on our own and I don't really want to be responsible for your safety."

Horo laughed. "My safety? Who cares? I risk my life everyday and I don't even care about it. Nor should you. Besides, you're royalty-you need a royal escort. I could protect Akami."

It was Akami's turn to laugh now. "Trust me, I don't need protecting."

"Well then, I could keep you company." He reasoned. She blushed a bit at his words.

Oron sighed at his sister's simple-mindedness. "Well, I guess there's no way to avoid it. But you're responsible for your own safety once we get there." Horo nodded in consent.

Ryin looked at them, back and forth. "Wait! If Horo gets to go, does that mean I can too?"

"Not a chance!" They all said together.

"But I wanna go too!" She whined. "You need a 'royal escort', remember? You can't have an escort of one person."

"Royalty doesn't escort other royalty." Horo chided her.

"I'm not royalty. But, that's not the point. The point is, I wanna go to Guardia and there's nothing you can do to stop me."

"It's too dangerous. And we already have enough people going." Oron stated. "I don't want too many people going-it looks too suspicious."

"Then get rid of Horo! You don't need him."

"They don't need you either. Besides, I asked first. For once in your life you should stop being a spoiled brat and learn what it's like to not get your way all of the time." Horo snapped viciously.

Ryin stared at him, flabbergasted at the words that came out of his mouth. "You-you-! You bastard! You'll regret saying that!"

"Yes Horo was a jerk for saying it like that, but he did have a point." Oron said, trying to reason with her. "You always put up such a fight whenever you don't get your way. You don't even really need to come. We'll be back soon anyways."

Ryin set her jaw, ready to retort. They knew it would take quite some time before they could manage to persuade her to stay. And they were right, after several minutes of being verbally abused from all fronts, Ryin broke down. "Fine-fine! I won't go to Guardia with you. Happy now?"

They watched her suspiciously, looking for any hint that she was lying, but she just looked grumpy. "It won't be that bad, I promise." Horo said gently.

She scowled and stormed out of the room. After a quick look around, she snuck up to her room and started piling things into a bag. She was just trying to locate her right boot when there was a knock at the door. She froze. If it were Horo or the Guardadians and they found out what she was planning, she'd be doomed. She had to act fast. She dove onto her bed, tossed her bag onto the far side of the floor so it wouldn't be immediately seen from the door and threw the blankets over the remaining clothes that we strewn all over her bed. Satisfied at last with her concealing, she made her way over to the door and opened it. Instead of who she expected, she was pleasantly surprised her father standing there, looking amused.

"Going somewhere?" He asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"No. Where would you get an idea like that?"

He gave a hard laugh. "It wasn't that long ago we had to hunt you down and stop you from leaving the castle. I know what your room looks like before you make your escape. Your bag is tossed over on the far side of your bed, the various clothes you haven't had a chance to pack yet are under your blankets and your right boot is under your dresser."

She blinked and went over to the dresser. Sure enough, her boot was under it, just like Link had said. He watched her gather up both boots and toss them behind the bed and into her bag. "So where, pray tell, are you going?"

"Guardia."

"Why?"

"Crawe is making his move and everyone is going but me. So I decided I'd go without them."

"When're you leaving?"

"Now. Just imagine the looks on their faces when they reach the castle and I'm already there waiting for them." She laughed at the thought.

He cocked an eyebrow. "You think that's a good idea?" He asked skeptically. She nodded "And how're you going to get there? If you went by yourself you'd end up in Sardonia."

"Where's Sardonia?"

"Across the Sardonian Sea."

"You don't say?" She said rolling her eyes. "But isn't that the sea just off the coast of Salderin?" He nodded. "But that's the complete opposite direction!"

"My point. You have such an awful sense of direction, that's probably where you'd end up." She grimaced at his words. "You should leave tomorrow morning and follow them."

She contemplated that for a moment. "It's probably for the best." She agreed.

He considered her for a moment then took a seat on her bed. "Come look at this." She walked over and took a seat beside him. From behind his shield he pulled a long, thin, gilded sword. It was inlaid with gold and precious stones. In short, it was breathtaking. "Termina's greatest sword smith forged this for me as thanks for saving his work."

"It's beautiful." Her mind was whirling with mutinous thoughts. She wanted that sword, well actually she wanted the Master Sword, but there was no way he'd relinquish that so the best she could do was to inadvertently, by the power of suggestion, get him to relinquish the new one to her. "How is it?"

"Wonderful. It's light and quick. It can cut through anything."

I want that sword! "What about the Master Sword? Are you going to use both?"

He laughed. "At the same time? Who am I, your mother? No. I think I want to try this one out for a while."

Noooooo! I want that damn sword and there's nothing you can do to stop me from getting it. "So what're you going to do with the Master Sword?"

"I'll keep it somewhere safe."

She internally gasped in horror. What was he thinking!? "No way! You can't be thinking of sealing it away in the Temple of Time-we had a break in, you know. It's not safe; some evil force could steal it. Also, it was made for you. You were destined to receive it. I think you should keep it and not use this new one. You were fine before." And so it doesn't go to waste, you could give it to me she finished silently.

"Leave my Master Sword in the Temple of Time? Where would you get an idea like that?" She looked about to protest so he held up a hand to silence her. He reached behind him and unfastened the Master Sword, sheath and all and considered it for a moment, lost in memories. "I don't trust it there."

She grit her teeth, with the way things were going she wouldn't be getting her sword. "It seems like such a waste, if you use your new sword, you're the only one who can use the Master Sword, if you stop using it it'll never get used. Unlike that one, which can be used by anyone."

He looked at her. "Not necessarily. The Master Sword can only be used by people who are deemed worthy."

"Exactly, that's you. Again, it was destined for you."

"So was the Triforce of Courage." He said meaningfully.

She didn't catch the implications in his words. "Yeah..."

He looked once more at the Master Sword then at his daughter. He smiled and took her hand. "Take care of it for me."

She gasped and looked down at her lap. The Master Sword lay there with her and her father's hand on top of it. "But...it was made for you."

"No, it was made for us. Out of all the people who've ever lived in Hyrule, we are the only two who have the ability to use Courage and the Master Sword. It's not just inheritance; the goddesses have deemed you worthy as well. You've succeeded me with Courage and being Hyrule's saviour, why not with the Master Sword too?" She was still speechless, her plan had backfired-in a good way-and now she had no idea how to respond. "We've been talking for awhile about getting you a proper sword, a named, specially made one. But we've always been away on your birthday or for the Silver Frost Jubilee. We'll still get you one, but for now, you can have mine."

She launched herself into a hug. She had to say something meaningful but all that came out was: "Thank you..." He seemed satisfied with just that. Words seemed inappropriate in this situation.

"After all, I wouldn't want you to sneak away to Guardia with a generic sword like that." He laughed and she smiled.

*astrix astrix astrix*

It was early the next morning, much too early for Ryin, but then again, that's probably why they were leaving so early. However unbeknownst to the rest of the group, Ryin had already been awake for hours, hiding out until they left. She watched from a broken window on the far side of the stable as Horo and the Guardadians saddled up their horses and headed out. As soon as they left Ryin slowly lifted the window and quietly slipped in. She tiptoed over to Noble's stall but gasped when she found it empty.

"Wha-? Where did-?"

"Aha!" She spun around at the voice. Horo had come back in and he looked furious. "I knew you were lying! I knew you'd pull something like this and try to come with us."

"That's so unfair! Give me back Noble!"

"Unfair? It's unfair that you lied!"

"I didn't lie!" She said, offended.

"You did too! You said you were going to stay here and wouldn't try to come."

"Now that's a lie! I said nothing of the sort!" She scoffed. He looked about to strangle her. "I said, and I quote, 'I won't go to Guardia with you', but I'm not going with you, I'm going by myself." She said triumphantly. "Ha-ha! Loophole! And now, if anyone is in the wrong it's you since you stole my bloody horse! Now, if you don't mind, GIVE HIM BACK!"

Horo scowled at his stupidity. "No! You tricked me!"

"You should know better than to go against me in something like this. I didn't lie; I didn't hide or steal anything from you. You tricked me."

He grit his teeth in frustration, partially because he knew she was right. When it came down to it, Ryin was undoubtedly smarter than him. He was saved the need to answer as Oron and Akami came in looking for him.

"Ryin? I thought you were staying here." Akami said, confused.

Oron smirked. "You tried to come with us?"

"NO! Because that would make me a liar." She said scathingly, shooting a look at Horo. "I was just going out for a leisurely ride just after dawn and I happened to be heading in the direction of Guardia. I wasn't going with you, I just happened to be going in the same direction as you." Oron rolled his eyes at her minor details. "Or should I say, I would be going that direction, but my, until recently, best friend here stole my horse and WON'T GIVE HIM BACK."

Oron sighed. "I saw something like this coming." He walked out of the stable and came back moments later with Noble in tow, all saddled up.

"Noble!" Ryin ran to her horse and stroked his face. "I thought you didn't want me to come."

Oron shrugged. "I didn't care whether you came or not, Horo just seemed so adamant about you not coming so I sided with him. But I thought about it and realised that was a stupid decision, just because we said no, you wouldn't be dissuaded. If you're going to come, we might as well go together. I wouldn't want you to get lost." He said with a wink.

Ryin smiled. "Thank you, Oron." She said, pointedly glaring at Horo.

They all left the stable and mounted their horses, Horo protesting the entire time. Finally Oron snapped at him and he was silent and grumpy until they set off. Ryin, as per usual, made matters worse by turning around and smirked triumphantly at him. Then they finally set off north, towards Guardia.

Ergh. I realize that was kinda a sucky chapter. But it's getting better! I promise. I did kind of like the father daughter bonding moment in there. Ryin has succeeded Link in every aspect now. It's kind of sad, but I guess that's life.

AND! As part of what I promised to several readers quite awhile ago, Ryin is getting better. Or at least, is still being a brat now (as they all seem to have noticed) but will get better, that's part of fixing your problem-admitting you have one. So, maybe not the next chapter or the one after that, but deffs soon. Please just be patient 3