(Sigh) People beg for updates and gush over how much they like your stuff, then you update and only one person reviews.

Shout out to that one person though, you're the only reason I'm still writing

Link barely managed to keep on his feet, swaying precariously on the stone floor.

"W- wh-"

"Just close your eyes and take a few deep breathes. It will pass." Nabi said.

The young monarch did as he was instructed and his sense of balance returned. He opened his eyes and flinched, the sensation of a sudden weight on his person. He blinked, staring at the lantern that had somehow hung itself on his belt.

"I'll stay in the lantern when people are around, try not to draw attention to me." Nabi's voice whispered, as if she was right by his ear. "Once no one's around we can go about filling your end of the deal."

He hesitated but nodded, nearly immediately afterward he was tackled by a pale sister.

"I found you!" Malon blurted. "I knew you were ok! Everyone's looking for you and freaking out and stuff so I said I'd help but they said I'd just get myself lost too and-"

"M- Malon!" He pried her from him, gently as possible. "I'm sorry I worried you all but please, let go of me. They're looking everywhere? Have you seen Aunt Aasfa?"

"Huh? Oh! Right!" Malon nodded her head. "Um- well, no, but I know there are some guards outside that everyone was told to report to."

"I see, well- ah!"

Malon grabbed his wrist and ran out of the temple, Link stumbling to keep up with her.

"M- Malon-!"

"Ma'am! I found him!"

The guard on duty swiftly took Link from her, looking him over for injuries. She signaled another sentry and was promptly dragged back into temple, Malon close behind. He explained that he had gotten caught up in a sandstorm but found his way back, attempting to skirt around the details. Though he could probably prove his story by showing Nabi to them, he didn't think that Nabi wanted to be seen. That was why she was hiding, right?

He should have suspected that they would increase his guard after that, sequestering him off in a makeshift room for him in the temple. Though he kept asking after Aunt Aasfa, he was only told that she was still in the valley, overseeing defensive preparations. It was still so frustrating, that they more he tried to help or lead, as a ruler should, he was constantly pushed aside 'for his own safety'. It was true he didn't have the experience yet, but how was he supposed to gain experience if he couldn't do anything?

As night fell he sighed, slumping onto his bedroll in his 'room'. There were many empty rooms in the temple that were easily accessible, but further in there were monsters and the like. It was why the majority of the temple was sealed off long ago-

"Don't go to bed now, foal."

He nearly jumped as the lantern floated off his person, Nabi appearing in a flash, hanging the lantern before her.

"We made a deal, remember?" she pointed at him with one gnarled finger. "As soon as you can sneak out, you have to get your hands on that certain something for me."

"O- Oh, right." he frowned, sitting up. "So what is it you want?"

"A mirror."

"…What? Why-" he began, confused.

"Not just any mirror, foal, the mirror shield." She interrupted. "It's been in this temple since the last hero stashed it away back in here. I want you to get it, so go in and get it."

"Why do you want a shield?" Link frowned, confused.

"It's not important for you, just keep your end of the deal and go find it!"

He sighed, knowing that it was pointless to press further. Instead her merely responded with a nod and then made his preparations. There would be monsters in the temple, and he had to get past his own guards. Luckily, all his training prepared him for sneaking about. Even against his own aunts, he considered himself a very able sneaker.

So it was he eluded his aunts and made his way to a small tunnel Nabi directed him to, crawling through it and making his way into the temple proper. No sooner had he made it inside, Nabi showed herself, lifting her lantern here and there to observe their surroundings.

"This place is even more decrypted than I remember," she grumbled.

"You've been here before?" Link asked, brushing debris from his clothes.

"Once, I think." She mumbled. "A poe's memory is a very inconvenient thing, foal. We remember bits and pieces of life, not enough to be significant though, usually."

"Oh," Link frowned. "I'm sorry."

"Eh?" Nabi turned to him. "Why do you apologize?"

"Well…it's just- kinda sad. You don't remember who you used to be? Your family? Anything? That's- OW!"

Nabi had rapped him on the head again, scowling.

"You're too empathetic. Aren't you supposed to be a king? Learn some self-control."

Link sighed, rubbing his afflicted scalp.

"I don't think it's bad to care about people. Isn't that what a ruler is supposed to do?"

Nabi snorted, floating ahead a bit.

"A ruler has to weigh the whole, not the individual. Now stop squawking and let's be off. I'd rather get the shield and be out of here before your guard realizes you're gone; that will just be another thing to worry about."

The ruins lived up to their name, no matter where Link looked he saw crumbling structures and caved in passages. There was an occasional monster or two, but so far nothing worse than he had encountered in the training grounds. Nabi seemed particularly restless, though, constantly hovering back and forth, muttering to herself. Link had attempted to ask her about it several times, but each time was cut off by the poe with stern reprimands not to lose focus.

It was hard to tell how long they were in there, surely dawn must have been close when Nabi pointed the chest out to him. It was hidden fairly well, in that it was behind a false wall. Link never would have known any differently, honestly, if it weren't for her. Nabi had kept gliding through walls, ceilings and floors, muttering to herself. It was quite useful, actually. More than once she had directed him away from a trap, or a dead-end. It helped to have a companion who could phase through solid objects, he supposed.

"There! In there!" she had called, pointing at the seemingly solid wall.

Link walked up to it, frowning. He cautiously placed his hand upon it and saw that it did, in fact, go through. So he entered the nook, finding a single iron chest. He attempted to open it to find it was locked. There didn't appear to be a keyhole, rather a round indentation…

"Oh blast it, of course it'd be locked!" Nabi snapped. "Din damn it all! What could-? Hm?"

Link hadn't though much of it, not really. The indentation was the right size and shape, so he had taken his mother's medallion and pressed it into the chest. There was an audible click, and Link then opened the chest with no further resistance.

"It worked!" he smiled.

Link pulled out the shield, staring at its reflective surface. It had to be old, yet somehow it gleamed and shone as if it had recently been polished. It was too big for him to use properly, but he could probably use it for something-

"Let me see!"

Nabi zoomed up next to him, peering into their shared reflection. Link bemusedly looked at their reflections, unsure what Nabi was peering at so intently. After a moment Nabi swore loudly, then floated away from him.

"Nabi?" he frowned.

"Blasted mirror! Magical mirror, my lantern, doesn't reflect anything special just-"

"Nabi? What's wrong?"

Nabi had her 'back' to him, silencing as she swung her lantern back and forth in irritation.

"You can keep the blasted mirror," she snapped. "It doesn't do what I thought it did."

Link was even more confused by her outburst but didn't have much time to question it.

"Let's go. Your guards will start looking for you, if they haven't already."

She disappeared and the lantern appeared on his belt loop. He frowned, eying the lantern and then looking back into the mirror's surface. For a split second, he thought he saw a flash of green and gold. Then he was left blinking at his own image, unsure if he had imagined it or not.

It's short but I'm actually quite pleased with how this turned out. I look forward to thoughts on what Nabi wanted the mirror shield for.

Please review.