The next few days passed by without incident. Zelda was tired of being a host to this tidious ball. She would much rather be alone, or more specifically, with Link. But they hadn't been alone together since the night he had snuck in. What was more, after the first race, the Lords had become more competitive and no longer as friendly with each other, and would never leave her alone for long. Had it not been that the Ladies were always with her too, she knew her being accompanied by all these men would look most indicent. To be fair though, not all of the men had turned into lap dogs. Curiously, Link and Anurhem weren't all over her. As a matter of fact, Zelda thought bitterly, Aveil seemed to be clinging to Link all day, every day. She was jealous, but didnt show it. Right now she cherished this time she had stolen away from the crowd. She took a deep breath and looked out at the gardens. So beautiful. It seemed like it was carpeted by flowers of all colors. This was her private retreat in times of stress. Where she could relax and just think and be alone.
"What a beautiful sight" someone said behind her. She wheeled around, alarmed.
"Lord Calatia..." Zelda said nervously. He was looking at her with lust in his eyes. But rather than feeling flattered or desired, she felt dirty and uncomfortable. She hugged herself.
"I wasn't talking about the gardens, though they do have certain beauty" he said, coming closer. Zelda refused to be intimidated.
"Is that a compliment? I thank you, m'lord" she smiled. "However, I'm afraid I will be missed, so I must return now" she said. She took a few steps foward, but Calatia didn't move.
"Your father is entertaining the guests. They won't miss you for some time yet" he said. That was precisely what Zelda was afraid of. This man could not harm her. He couldn't touch her if she didn't want him to, but the scandal was what she wanted to avoid.
"But what poor hostess I would be if I let my father do all of the work?" she said more firmly. Calatia grabbed her arm and pulled her close against his thin body.
"Lord Calatia, you will release me this instant" Zelda said firmly.
"Oh please. You and I both know you want this" he sneered.
"Quite the opposite. If you do not release me, I will have to hurt you" she said, trying to break free of his grip.
"You? Hurt me? You're just a silly girl starved for male attention. Why else would you hold this ball?" Calatia snarled. He grabbed her face and pulled her close with the intent of shoving his horrid tongue into her mouth. She reacted instinctively. Using her Sheikah training, she dug her hand hard below his rib cage. He howled in pain and released her, but then was lifted off his feet by someone else. He was thrown away from her.
"You will apologize to the princess" Anurhem said coldly. Zelda felt dizzy with relief when she saw Link and Anurhem had come to her rescue.
"Apologize to her?" Calatia scoffed, holding the side where Zelda had dug her hand as struggled to stand up. "She's a woman who just loves the attention of anything with a dic—" but he wasn't able to finish his insult. Link had kicked the young Lord between the legs, making him double over in pain.
"You will announce tonight that you are indisposed. You will also announce that you will no longer participate in the challenges. You will leave by morning" Link said.
Zelda knew him well enough to know that he was livid. His voice was calm and quiet, but she knew. At that moment Lord Anurhem turned to her.
"Are you hurt, your grace?" he asked with genuine concern. She shook her head. "Good. Allow me to escort you back to the castle".
Zelda allowed herself to bed led to the castle by Lord Anurhem, but she turned to look at Link. He was holding Calatia by the lapels of his coat, but she couldn't hear what was being said.
"And if you ever go near her, or even look at her again, I will make sure that everyone across this land knows what a scumbag you are, and I will beat you within an inch of you pathetic life" Link snarled. He wanted to run to Zelda and be sure that she was safe, but he knew she would be alright. She had assited him in dealing with Ganondoef and the darkness he had spread. In some cases she had even saved him. So instead of going after the princess, he made sure that the young Lord went immediately to his and his family's chambers, and told the guards to keep an eye on him. During dinner, Calatia announced his withdrawl from the challenges to a surprised audience. Nobody understood the turn of events, nor the reason why Calaria had decided to quit. Zelda, Anurhem and Link didn't say a word. Link was pleased, however, when Calatia announced that he and his family were to return home that very evening, instead of waiting till morning.
After dinner, Zelda hurried to her room. The hallway was dimly lit, shadows dancing across the stone walls. Suddenly Zelda felt inexplicable fear. She stopped in her tracks and listened. Only silence. The two guards standing at either end of the hallway came to stand beside her in an effort to protect her, but she knew they were even more afraid than she was, which meant they could feel it too.
"P-princess... stay close to us... w-we will protect you" one of them said. She felt bad for him. She knew if anyone would be protecting anyone, it would be her protecting them. This thought made her want to burst out laughing.
"S-s-something moved over there!" the other guard said. Without thinking, Zelda summoned her bow and light arrows.
"It is I, Impa of the Sheikah people, caretaker of Princess Zelda of Hyrule" a familiar voice said. The princess noticed that the Sheikah had her own sword drawn. "It seems like I am not alone in feeling this negative presence in the castle" the Sheikah added.
"Impa, whays going on? The guests, and my father—" the princess began, but her nanny raised a hand.
"Link is checking up on all the guests as we speak. Your father is with two of my best Sheikah guards, you know them; Sektus and Rama. Plus the royal guard is there too. The King is safe" Impa said.
"Sir Impa... w-what's going on here?" one of the guards asked. He was shaking from head to toe.
"Something is here. Something that most definitely shouldn't be here. You two will go and make sure that Princess Zelda's room is safe. Turn on all the sconces. If anything out of the ordinary is found, you let me or Link know, is that clear?" Impa ordered. The two guards nodded and went ahead to Zelda's chamber.
"Impa, you don't think it could be... Ganondorf, do you?" the princess asked quietly. Merely thinking about the return of the King of Darkness made her knees weak. Impa shook her head.
"No. This aura is malicious, yes. But it is not powerful or evil enough to belong to the Gerudo King" Impa said, " and besides, if Ganondorf was back, we and the other sages would have felt the seal break before anyone. No, Ganondorf remains safely sealed away. I contacted Rauru and he said everything is normal and the seal is strong and intact. Something or someone else is causing this". This made Zelda feel better. There were foot steps coming up from the stone stairway and Link burst into the hallway where Zelda and Impa stood.
"Zelda, you're alright" he panted, walking over to the two ladies.
"Link! Yes, yes I'm fine... how is everyone?" Zelda asked, running to him.
"Everyone is fine. Scared, but otherwise fine. I've just been to see your father, and he's ok too. Nabooru, Darunia, Ruto, and the Lords have agreed to help search the castle. Princess, please follow me. I will be taking you to your father now" Link said, taking her hand.
"What? No! I want to help too! This is my castle, my guests... I have to help!" Zelda said.
"No. You will follow Link and stay with your father, princess. If anyone is in danger, it is probably the royal family" Impa said.
"But there are other royal families here too!" Zelda insisted.
"Yes, and they are being looked after by the Sheikah and the royal guard too. Now lets go" Link said, and pulled Zelda along with him. They heard Impa use a Deku seed to disappear.
"Link... I'm scared" Zelda admitted as she hurried along beside him. He turned and gave her one of his most charming smiles.
"Don't be afraid, princess. I won't let anyone or anything hurt you" he said, and kissed her hand.
A/N: Alright guys, I know I took forever to upload chapter 10 and I'm sorry for that. Things have been a little hectic around here lately. But anyway, I hope you enjoy the chapter. It seems things are getting a little weird around Hyrule castle... please comment and review, let me know your thoughts... see you soon!