As they strode through the halls of the castle, Mipha thought that Link looked a little too tense. She shyly slid one of her hands into his. He embraced it but didn't look down at her—he was scanning the hallway in front of them.

Mipha squeezed his hand lightly while asking, "What's wrong? You're tense. Are you not safe within your own castle?"

Link grinned saying, "oh we're safe alright, I make sure of that. But my guards will take every opportunity to try to best me. They'll hide around corners or try to sneak up on me. I'm almost convinced that they have a bet going that the first one to sneak up on me and take me to the ground gets the pot. I've seen them adding more and more to it every day. I hear there's a lot of rupees in that pot, and I'm not about to give it to them for free."

Mipha nodded but now looked around nervously; she didn't like the thought of Link getting tackled by one of his own guards.

He saw the worried expression and chuckled saying, "don't worry, they'd never harm me unless they want to spend every night of their life on watch duty. And they'd never touch you—they'd have to deal with much worse if they did that. But I still suspect they'll try something today, especially since they must have heard some gossip about me and you. The only thing a guard is better at than swordplay, is gossiping."

Mipha gave an expression that was the Zora equivalent of raising an eyebrow. She looked up at him and asked, "Isn't that a bad thing?"

"Maybe," Link whispered as he slowed down near the end of the hall. It split off in both directions making a t-intersection. They turned down the left hallway. This one had a red carpet with lots of art along the walls. Even though it was cobblestone, nails were driven into the grout and paintings hung off them.

Link continued as he let out a sigh of relief, "that's why I'm not taking a direct route to any of the possible meeting areas. That's where the most guards will be. Don't you think it's odd that we haven't seen any guards roaming these halls?" Link gestured ahead and behind them.

Mipha pondered for a second and looked around. She knew that Link was right—she hadn't seen a guard since they left Link's room.

She was about to talk again when Link stopped for a second after they rounded another corner. He put a hand out in front of Mipha to stop her from moving any closer. She bumped into it and looked up accusingly at Link as his hand pressed up against her chest. Link quickly withdrew it and blushed saying, "sorry."

He quickly changed the topic and pointed up ahead. He suddenly started walking again. He said, louder than usual, "this hallway has more art than many of the others. It has many more decorative items than usual." Mipha began looking around as Link's voice echoed through the halls. She noticed to tone of authority slowing slipping into his voice as he spoke at the unreasonable volume.

She almost jumped when Link whispered without moving his head towards her, "the armour sets. Look at them a little more closely."

Mipha looked straight ahead and saw what looked like two full sets of amour. She saw how they were standing fully erect with their hands positioned where swords should be. Of course they wouldn't have any swords with them as decoration; no weapons would by lying around like that.

She shrugged heedlessly saying, "What about them?"

Link smiled, knowing he hadn't been outsmarted as he said, "they're supposed to be identical, and not wearing gloves."

He spoke loudly again and pointed to a random painting, "Hylian's have more history than you would originally think, even with our shorter lifespans."

Mipha caught onto what was going on. Link suspected someone was inside one of the armour sets. That's why he mentioned the gloves. A set of armour could easily tilt slightly out of place, but no one would deliberately put gloves on it without an ulterior motive.

She nodded and said, "I never would have thought." As she spoke, she studied the two armour sets more carefully. She realized what Link meant and saw that the one on the right had black gloves on under the gauntlets and how its hands were similar to the one across from it, but it wasn't exact.

The right hand was tilted a little too far over to be holding a sword correctly. Mipha grinned as she pointed at the suspected armour and asking, "Why don't you where this kind of armour when out with Zelda?" Link grinned at her question and stopped in front of the armour—turning directly towards it.

He pretended to ponder for a second and said, "You know I've had to tell this to my guards because every new recruit asks this question. I bet Gilan could tell you... couldn't he?"

Link glared at the set of "empty" armour for a solid ten seconds. He felt a pang of doubt for a second as nothing happened. The suspected armour he was looking at didn't move as they continued to wait. Link got worried for a split second. He decided to check his suspicions and tapped on the helmet saying, "that's the sign that I caught you."

Link stared at it for another three seconds intently. He let out an inner sigh when he saw eyes flick open through the narrow slit in the visor.

The arms of the armour fell down and slapped against the hips of the man wearing them. He clambered with the visor and finally pushed it up, letting out a deep breath. Mipha noticed how he had a line of black paint across his eyes as he raised the visor. Link noticed that too.

The man said, "Dear god you were right about these things! I feel like a pig roast right now!" He stepped down from the pedestal and removed the helmet and took a deep breath. His bushy moustache seemed to bounce like a spring as the man freed it from the confined helmet.

The mysterious figure, who Mipha guessed was Gilan, looked down at Mipha. He spoke politely, "this must be your very special lady friend." He bowed politely, knowing he was speaking to royalty, and stood back up to full height and turned to Link.

They both glared at each other for a second but both laughed and stepped forward in a large hug. They let go after a pat or two on the back and Gilan twirled a piece of his spindly moustache around a finger.

He asked, "So tell me, was it the gloves or the pose?"

Link grinned saying, "it was the gloves at first, but your pose was almost perfect."

Gilan nodded as he rubbed his chin. He flashed a finger towards his eyes and asked, "Did the paint work?"

Link shook his head as he remembered his feeling of doubt beforehand. He said, "Yes it surprisingly did. If you didn't reveal yourself I would have to take the helmet off you just to be sure."

Gilan's eyes lit up at the praise. He knew that since he had pale skin, it'd shine through the holes in the armour. He'd planned out beforehand where the gaps were and painted parts of his face with black paint to make it look as if it were empty. The armour set across from his had a black hole full of shadow where a person would normally reside.

Gilan nodded delighted at the partial success. He looked down at Mipha and asked, "Did you notice before he did?"

Mipha noticed how intimidating Gilan was; he stood a little over a head taller than herself and Link, especially when in full knight's armour. She shook her head and Gilan let a huge delighted smile spread across his face.

He looked back to Link saying, "You got to admit, it will work if anyone intrudes into the castle, especially at night."

Link nodded saying, "I have no doubts that it would work against an unsuspecting intruder. I got lucky since I was looking specifically for you anyways. It is a good idea though, might even use this kind of post as a punishment."

Gilan grinned saying, "better than being out in the cold."

"Is it?

The smile dropped of Gilan's face as he said, "No. It's horrible in here."

Silence grew for a second as Gilan readjusted the uncomfortable armour.

Link jumped suddenly. "Right! Mipha this is Gilan, Gilan this is Mipha."

Mipha curtseyed as Gilan bowed again.

He said, "I heard you're the reason that this pest is moving to Zora's domain." Gilan smiled with a playful smile and a glance at Link.

Mipha nodded with a proud smile saying, "and it sounds like things might get a little looser around here when he's gone."

Gilan waved the idea off saying, "anyone who gets his post will have been trained by him, and they'll make sure everything is up to Link's standards."

Link responded saying, "They'd better, considering I'm putting in a personal reference to the King for you to take my post."

Gilan froze and turned to Link in amazement. He made very loud clunking noises as he tapped a finger to his chest wordlessly. Link nodded as he tried not to laugh at the dumbstruck face.

He sighed disappointedly and looked around saying, "well I don't see any other guards here that are trying to catch me."

Gilan smirked. He'd chosen this hallway because he knew that all the other guards would post themselves for patrol on the routes just outside the main meeting halls. He'd chosen a hallway that was far out to the side, one that only a paranoid captain would take.

He held himself high and said, "thank you Link! I'll make sure everything is top notch around here!"

Link nodded approvingly and said, "I would hope so, you've always been the second best warrior around here."

Even though the saying usually would have dampened someone's ego, it didn't with Gilan's. He had always called Link the best swordsman in Hyrule Castle and it was an honour to hear that he was the next one in line of skill. Link held out his hand to shake Gilan's and he took it right away.

Link nodded they nodded silently to each other as they firmly shook hands. Link was beginning to get annoyed by the constant clanging of the metal armour.

Link spoke his final words to Gilan before setting off, "good luck with the busy timetable."

Gilan nodded his thanks as Link strode away. Mipha was about to follow but stopped hesitatantly. She looked back at Gilan saying, "You'll do just fine around here."

He nodded to her and strode off-going the opposite way Link had. Mipha watched him go for a second but turned to catch up with Link.

Link opened the thick iron door that led down into the conference room. It had a bolt latch on the inside that was currently unlocked. The room itself was darker than most and reminded Link grimly of a dungeon. He never understood why the private conference room had to seem so ominous all the time. He strode into the room but stopped when Zelda, Rhoame and Purah all stared at him.

"Are we late?"

He stepped into the room to let Mipha in and closed the door behind her. He promptly slid the latch over the small plate and locked it. As he did so, Purah tapped her fingers on the table in boredom.

"Not as late as usual." She looked up and hopefully asked, "Happen to get tackled by a guard or something?"

Link squinted suspiciously at her saying, "I made sure I wasn't."

"Damn. I put fifty rupees in that pot today."

Zelda perked up saying, "Purah!"

She Purah snapped her fingers saying, "if they're gonna do it anyway I want a part of it!"

Link brushed dust off his shoulder and pulled out a chair for Mipha. He tucked it into the table before moving to take his own place.

He reported his actions to Rhoame, "actually Gilan did almost catch me today. He used a set of armour and replaced one of the sets in the hallway leading here. If I wasn't looking for anything out of the ordinary I wouldn't have spotted him."

Rhoame rubbed his beard saying, "interesting. Gilan you say?"

"Yes sir, he's the best candidate to replace me if you want me to say it directly."

"I was waiting for that, thank you." He shook his head and as he changed the topic, "anyways, that's not what we are here for. We are here about this."

As Rhoame spoke, he gestured towards Link's shield that was on the centre of the round table. It was completely enshrouded in darkness, with the two arrows still embedded in it.

Link looked to Purah and asked, "What is in those arrows? What are they even made of?"

"I have no idea. And we can't touch it with bare hands; which makes it much harder to find out."

Rhoame chipped back in as he glared at Purah. "We've discussed what it is made of Purah."

She responded saying, "We have I know. But I still want to be sure," Purah turned her gaze to Link, "if you wouldn't mind, just pull out the Master Sword."

Link looked suspiciously at them but followed the order. He slowly hefted the master sword easily from his scabbard. He rested held it near the shield and stared at it. The sword was glowing as bright as it would be if he were fighting Ganon himself. He held it near the shield and watched as the darkness sizzled away from it as the sword drew close. He continued the motion until the entire thing, including the arrows, were free of the shadow substance. Everyone stared at the arrows and saw that they were just regular weapons. They had wooden shafts and white fletching with steel arrowheads. Purah and Rhoame both sat back simultaneously. Rhoame spoke, "so it is him."

Silence spread through the room.

Mipha broke it by saying, "if I may, aren't we here to learn about who Dark Link is?"

"Not who, we already know that. What we don't know is where." Purse leaned forward as she continued, "this may seem confusing at first so roll with me. This Link, we've seen him before-"

"What?! Why do I not know about this?!" Zelda shouted as she leaned forward, slamming her hands onto the table. Rhoame looked at her in distaste at the sudden reaction.

However he replied calmly to her, "Because I did not see it fit as relevant information at the time. But now it is so listen up. This Link used these same kind of arrows. Ones enshrouded in Ganon's energy and able to corrupt whatever they embed themselves in. The first time we saw him, was two years ago. We don't know much about him, but we do know that he can blend into the shadows and even disappear whenever he wants and re appear anywhere he wishes. We don't know why he looks exactly like you Link, but we do know that he serves Ganon."

Mipha voiced her thoughts, "So that's why the arrows had that kind of darkness to them. They can corrupt anything to Ganon's will." Purah gave a small applaud saying, exactly! In fact I think he is the complete opposite of our Link here. I believe he is a corrupted copy or something of our warrior."

Zelda perked up asking, "How so?" Zelda had always been interested in finding reasoning behind any conceivable problem facing them. Unfortunately there wasn't much to be able to find out here.

Purah leaned back saying, "well first of all is his appearance. He's completely enshrouded in darkness wherever he goes. And if I heard rumours right, you all found Link because of a glow?" Zelda and Mipha nodded when Purah looked at them.

She smiled saying, "so I must be right. But it doesn't explain why he's still around. Without Ganon, shouldn't he have no will? He should just be a wondering monster without any purpose."

"Oh he definitely has his own will. He could speak perfectly, counted his arrows, gives orders to the creatures of Ganon while not being afraid to kill a couple. He killed a Lizalfos commander before finding me."

Rhoame rubbed his beard saying, "yes he does seem to be under his own will, but using the power of Ganon. He even set out a target." As he said this, Link glanced nervously at Mipha. She didn't meet his gaze but instead held her dignifying, straight-backed pose.

Purah spoke up suddenly saying, "Well we also know he's got effective night vision." Purah smiled sheepishly as everyone glanced over at her. She continued confidently, "well he's got glowing red pupils. That means his eyes give off light which lets him see in any brightness." She smirked as she hyperbolized the gestures during her remark.

She probably should have stopped while she was ahead but continued on rattling, "And since the colour is red, we know that he is effectively colour blind." Purah's heart sank a little as she saw all the faces become slightly disinterested in that fact.

She didn't come to realize how irrelevant it was as she continued rambling, "well since his eyes give off red light, any light that comes in gets filtered. He only sees in shades of red…" she trailed off as Rhoame spoke solely to her.

"And how does this help us?"

"It… doesn't?"

"Then why are you still talking about it?"

Purah shut her mouth and crossed her arms as she leaned back in the chair. She was wise in not speaking back against her liege but was still angered by the blatant disrespect.

A silence grew throughout the room and Link got impatient. He asked, "So do we know anything about him other than that he looks exactly like me, has night vision, works for Ganon as some kind of general and wants to kill me?"

Purah pointed out again despite her earlier rambling, "and all the champions. Actually he probably plans to kill anyone that could stop Ganon from coming back-" Purah gasped and snapped her finger sassily saying, "that's his plan! I knew it!" She froze and settled deeper into her seat realizing she'd just exclaimed positively about the entire royal family being marked for death by an assassin.

Rhoame waved it off saying, "We'll be safe inside of the castle. In fact I'll create a couple posts using Gilan's hiding spots to catch any intruders that decide that they might want to get in here."

"But I will be needed back at Zora's Domain," Mipha said as she leaned forward slightly.

Zelda put a hand on Mipha's shoulder saying, "we can set up an armed transport for you. Anyways you'll have our Link with you and he's guaranteed able to at least match the other Link's agility and strength."

Mipha let out a small sigh of relief and nodded to Zelda. To be honest, Mipha was terrified of the thought of having someone mark her for death. She'd never thought about how she would be a target because of her position. She wished she could have her trident inside the castle now. She was the Zora Champion after all and had no doubts that she could put up at least a fight against Dark Link. But she knew that none of the champions, including herself, could outmatch the Hylian Champion. She looked over at Link, who was in deep thought.

He leaned forward suddenly and asked, "so what now? We know very little about him but we have an end goal. What is there we could even do to protect everyone against… me?"

Zelda looked over worriedly at him saying, "I was going to ask you the same thing. How do we…" Zelda stopped and looked around for help from the others around them. Purah leaned back in her small oaken chair and watched the situation unfold. Zelda finished her sentence regretfully, "…kill you?"

Link glared at her and rubbed his face with both hands. He sighed heavily and let his hands fall onto the table exasperatedly.

He spoke ominously, "well I'd ask Gilan. He's been the one that's pestered me the most. If anyone knows how to catch me or kill me if need be… it'd be him.

Everyone in the room looked quietly at Link as he spoke his mind. They all glanced at each other near the end, all knowing it was true. Link looked at them knowing there was nothing else to say or discuss. He was tired of this discussion. Nothing was getting done while there was a man out there plotting to kill Mipha and himself.

Link stood up, forcefully skidding his chair back a couple inches.

"Well if that's all we can find out about him, I've got to plan a route back to Zora's Domain-one that doesn't involve any forests or craters."

Rhoame grabbed Link's arm before he left saying, "hold on. I've got a gift for you. I am still your king you know." Link stopped and acquiescently stood in place.

Rhoame reached down and pulled a large shield from under the table. It was a metal kite shield that had a blue plate over the front. It also had a red design of a Loftwing on it and the symbol of the combined Triforce. Link instantly recognized it as a Hylian shield only wielded by a royal descendant. He looked at in awe and then back to the king inquisitively.

Rhoame shrugged saying, "this shield is meant for a member of royalty—they just never specified which royal family. You deserve it Link, and I bet you'll need it. Try not to ruin this one." Rhoame added the last part with a grin.

Link was infamous in the royal guard for destroying any equipment given to him and often needed replacements. His shield always needs replacing as he would constantly surf on top of it to gain more distance than he would on foot. Link grinned as he carefully lifted the shield up and strapped it onto his arm. He felt that it was oddly familiar and it seemed to be almost weightless once attached.

He looked at it again saying, "Thank you, my lord."

King Rhoame waved off the title saying, "You're no longer bound to me. Your services belong to the Zora's now. When do you think you'll be leaving?"

All eyes looked at Link upon Rhoame's question. He shrugged and looked at Mipha. She blinked, knowing that Link trusted her judgement and wanted to know how long she wanted to stay for. She felt touched that he trusted her judgement more than his own.

"I think being back at Zora's domain by tomorrow night will be just fine."

"Then we will leave around noon tomorrow, we should be in the daylight until we reach the outskirts of Zora's Domain."

Zelda nodded her agreement to Link's words as she said, "that should be plenty of time. Too bad this Dark Link business has ruined your visit to Hyrule castle, Mipha. I had really looked forward to this."

Mipha smiled and bowed her head saying, "me too. I'll be sure to return if anything urgent arises and when this Dark Link situation is over."

Zelda smiled gently while saying, "That would be appreciated."

Mipha stood up to make her leave. She stood up much more gently than Link had. She looked over as Link opened the heavyset door to let her through. The metal door grated along the ground as the rusted hinges screeched.

Right before Mipha left, King Rhoame added one thing, "and Link, you are still the Hylian Champion against Ganon. Otherwise, all your loyalties can lie with the Zora's completely uncontested. But I wouldn't complain if you showed our soldiers what a hero can do with a sword once in a while."

"That's perfect. Thank you, Rhoame." Link had never addressed the king using his name before. Even though it was correct for him to say it, it still felt odd.

Link blinked to clear his head and said, "I'll see you all in the morning, I guess." They all agreed and watched as Link closed the door behind him.

Back in Link's bedroom, he was lying strewn across his bed in defeat. He'd never faced someone who could appear out of nowhere or disappear into the ground. He also couldn't reason out how or why Dark Link existed. This would be one of the weirdest and strangest conflicts of his life—he was sure of hat.

He looked to his left as Mipha fell onto the bed beside him. She had hated the conversation in that damp basement. She had fallen in love with Link long ago, her heart attracted to his selflessness and devotion to helping others. And now that she was finally with him, they were being hunted by an evil version of him. It was hard for her to know that the man she loved was attempting to kill her, even if he was just some kind of evil clone.

Mipha looked to her right and saw the deep frown on Link's face. She grew concerned and slid one of her hands into his. He immediately gripped hers and held it closer to his chest.

He said, "this whole situation is nuts."

"Yeah… yeah it is. Do you think we'll ever learn what he really is?"

"Maybe. We just need to get rid of him first; he's a danger to everyone, especially you."

Mipha shook the thought of immediate danger out of her head. She became suddenly aware of exactly where her trident was in the room just in case.

She cleared her throat and said, "Maybe those dark arrows won't work against me. You said that the energy I gave you had protected you from it, maybe it will protect me too."

"He has a sword too, along with regular arrows. I think the shadow-like arrows are meant to corrupt me or any other Champions." Link looked back up at the stone ceiling and sighed. He didn't like anything about this situation.

Mipha hated the dark mood recently. She thought Hyrule castle would be a more uplifting place and not as depressing. She looked at Link and knew how much he was thinking about what he could possibly do. But she knew there wasn't anything they could do but wait. She rolled her eyes in her sudden boredom. A sheepish grin crept onto her face as she got a sly idea.

She stood up and motioned to go to the door.

Link sat up quickly. "Leaving?"

Mipha, who had stopped and looked back before Link had even sat up, spoke innocently, "well it is getting late and I was just gonna go to the guest room."

Link stood up saying, "do you even know where that is?" Mipha thought for a second, she actually didn't know where it was.

She played along with the opportunity saying, "no, not really."

Link walked up to her saying, "then you can stay here, no need to go wondering the castle at night." Mipha stepped closer to Link as he plan continued and she asked while batting her eyelids, "you would do that? You don't mind?"

Link was about to respond immediately as his protective instincts overcame him. Actually he wasn't sure if it was his protective instinct or his feelings for her—maybe it was a combination of both. He stopped as he looked down at the expectant face.

"I know what you're doing."

Mipha tilted her head saying, "then just do me a favour."

"And what would that be?"

Mipha blushed slightly and turned away from him. She slowly backed into him and until she was resting her back against his chest. She grabbed his arms and wrapped them around her waist delicately. She spoke smoothly, "don't leave me."

Link wrapped his arms closer around her. He felt her steady breathing calming, soothing to his soul. He leaned down towards her while whispering, "I'd never think of it."

An hour later, they both lay in bed; one nestled with the other. Link lay with his chest to the ceiling and his eyes wide open. Mipha was the opposite; she had her back to the ceiling and was resting with her chest on Link's abdomen and head resting on his chest. She enjoyed the soothing movement of his breathing; it reminded her of the gentle waves in her own bed at Zora's domain. But even though she was in a new bed in a new environment, she felt safer than she ever had before. Mipha lay awake also, maybe not as awake as Link, but enough to know that his mind was still not at rest.

Her whispered words cut through the silence like a knife through butter as she asked, "you're not asleep are you?"

"You're not asleep either."

"You're still thinking about Dark Link, aren't you?"

Link instantly defended himself saying, "no…" he thought for a second and realized there was no reason to and continued, "maybe. I just don't want to have to wait for him to strike again."

Mipha hauled herself up and closer to his face by placing herself directly over top of Link.

She said, "Well, do you want to know why I think he is targeting me?" Link looked down at her, making sure not to peer further downwards at her chest as she continued, "because you have what he doesn't."

Link furrowed his brows and asked, "And what would that be?"

Mipha smiled with a blush on her face saying, "he doesn't have any friends, not even one title of Champion, and he doesn't have me." Link understood her reasoning now.

She continued saying, "he wants to take away everything from you that he doesn't have, starting with me."

Mipha stared at Link's face waiting for a reaction. Link nodded and smile grew on his face, one of the first genuine ones since he had seen Dark Link.

He said half to himself, "I've got things that he doesn't. I'm better than him not because of my skill, but because of everyone else around me. He wants to take away what's most important to me. He wants to take away you."

He looked down at Mipha who had a blush growing redder and redder. She smiled brightly too now, seeing Link's reassurance.

He spoke defiantly, "well if that's what he wants, he messed with the wrong Zora." Mipha pushed herself upwards and close to Link so that their mouths were only an inch apart.

She whispered quietly, "and the wrong Hylian." Before she could lower herself any further, Link thrust his head upwards gently to hers. Their lips locked together and Mipha let out a little giggle. She rubbed her hands up and onto Link's pronounced jaw and let her eyes close. Link turned to the side, slowly turn Mipha with him.

He let their lips separate for a moment and he spoke softly, "thank you."

Mipha smiled and pulled Link closer against her whispering, "It's my thanks for staying here." They both smiled as they pressed their bodies gently together. For the rest of that night until Link fell asleep with Mipha, he wasn't burdened by anything. Link was happy and carefree.