Surprise! An update! Well, kinda... This is in Link's POV so take note of that, lol. I only have time to post this chapter, but I'm going to try to get back to reviews and all that ASAP... Hopefully tomorrow?

Link's POV:

Something terrible was happening, and it was making me afraid. Every day, I saw her. Every day, she changed. They were subtle changes, but I was observant – I noticed. Whether it was her glassy eyes in morning that I knew weren't from the wind, the distant gaze during class when she thought no one was looking, the slight frown of her lip as she slipped away to the library during lunch.

I made my trek back home from school that day after watching Zelda leave with a friend she made at the library. Her name was Sarah or Sari from what I could remember – she was a friend of Shad's who was a friend of Tetra who was my own friend to a degree. Castle Town was buzzing, and I dodged several people while on my journey home.

Stopping by the grocery store on my way home, I grabbed a few items my grandma had told me to get, including a tub of cake batter ice cream for Aryll. Handing the rupees to the clerk, I then helped him bag my merchandise before exiting the store once more. I walked the rest of the way home, opening the gate with a click and climbing the porch steps to my door.

Pulling out my key, I inserted it into the door and opened it; the house was deathly silent, but the smell of cookies wafted to my nose. Dropping my bag at the door, I carried the groceries to the kitchen where my grandma was busy pulling a tray of chocolate chip cookies out of the oven.

She smiled at me before pecking my cheek and setting the tray on the counter. I snagged a cookie while she turned her back, and she crinkled her nose. "I know you just stole one of my cookies, Link. I have eyes on the back of my head," she laughed before continuing, "You might want to be careful – they're hot."

...

She was right – they were hot.

I forced myself to finish it before downing it with a tall glass of milk. Grandma took the groceries and began unloading them and putting things away.

Sitting down at the kitchen table, I kept an eye on the cookies, waiting for them to cool down so that I could have another. Regardless of how the chocolate chips scalded the roof of my mouth while they were too hot, I knew that they were delicious. "Where's Aryll?" I asked.

Grandma motioned upstairs, "She's resting now, but she waited up for you as long as she could."

I nodded, scarfing down a cooled cookie, "I think I'll go see her if she's up from her nap, alright? She may want to wake up for cookies and ice cream."

"Don't you dare wake her up, young man!" my grandma scolded laughingly, whipping her dish towel and shaking her head fondly.

Thumping up the stairs, I headed to my sister's room, right across the hall from my own. Sleep was a precious thing for her nowadays because she just couldn't fall asleep. It was a struggle for her – she had become an insomniac, and it was showing visibly.

She wasn't asleep like both Grandma and I had assumed. Sitting up in bed, resting on her pillow, Aryll's bright blue eyes found my own, lighting up at the sight of me standing in her doorway. "Big brother!" she exclaimed. Her arms reached out to me, and I moved forward to her bed, wrapping my arms around her tightly.

"Hey, sis," I smoothed her blonde hair gently before sitting on the side of her bed.

The smile that she wore made me feel infinitely happier, and my spirits lifted at the sight of her happy to see me.

Her face was pale, and her skin was paper thin; she shivered underneath the piles of blankets on top of her, sheltering her from the penetrating cold. "Link – did Grandma bake cookies?" she questioned, her little voice wavering as she snuggled further into my arms.

I nodded, "And I brought ice cream too."

Aryll's smile widened, if that was even possible. "What flavor?" she asked excitedly.

"Mint chocolate chip," I teased her – she hated mint chocolate chip, even though it was my own personal favorite.

She wrinkled her nose comically, "Mint chocolate chip? Ew!"

This child... I rolled my eyes at her before scooping her up in my arms easily – she was so light that it scared me. Her arms immediately wrapped around my neck, and I carried her down the stairs to the kitchen where Grandma was arranging the cookies on a plate.

"Grandma," Aryll called her name in a singsong voice, "I want my cookies and ice cream!"

Grandma glared at me playfully, "Link – you told her?!"

Laughing, I set Aryll down in a chair before snagging two cookies off Grandma's carefully prepared plate. Popping one into my mouth, I grinned as the chocolate melted in my mouth before handing the other to Aryll.

She snickered as she bit into her cookie, sticking her tongue out at our grandma teasingly. "Thanks, big brother – and these are yummy, Grandma!"

Smiling at the two of us fondly, Grandma just shook her head, amused, "You've had your cookies – now go so I can make dinner." She lightly smacked my head with a dishrag.

Laughing loudly, I scooped Ryll up again, exiting the kitchen and bringing us to our living room. "So what do you want to do now, Ryll?" I asked.

One good thing about football season ending for the winter was that I was able to spend more time with Ryll along with having time for homework. When I constantly had afterschool football practice, it made it hard for me to just be with my little sister. And spending time with her and doing things with her was important to me – it was a priority. I didn't know how much more time together we would have, and that scared me too.

That was why I became so angry when Groose made light of my situation. She depended on the medicine that he and his dad provided. How could he be so callous about my sister's possible death? How could he make light of what little time I had left with Aryll?

I wasn't viewing our situation with rose-colored glasses. I knew that our time together was short so I was doing my best to spend as much time with my sister as I could. It wasn't fair. She was the sweetest thing in all Hyrule, and she didn't deserve this. She deserved a chance to live for as long as possible.

And Groose was taking that chance away from her – away from my small family. Because of this, a deep hatred for Groose grew within me – something dark that I couldn't really control. Whenever I saw him, I felt as though he were taking away something very precious from me – and he was.

"Can we do something fun?" Aryll asked me, bringing me back to reality.

I chuckled before dropping down on the couch, helping her curl up next to me. "Like what, 'Ryll?"

Her blue eyes were wide – the contrast of the vibrancy of her eyes and the color of her pale skin was startling. "Can we color?" she then questioned, her voice soft and small.

Grinning, I snatched her favorite coloring book from the coffee table along with her big box of crayons. "What are we starting with, 'Ryll?"

"The flowers!" she exclaimed with a tiny giggle as though I'd asked a silly question. Her fingers closed around the fuchsia crayon before beginning to color in a large blossom.

I nodded approvingly, watching her fondly, a smile spreading across my face, "Of course." I chose robin's egg blue for myself, setting the sky ablaze with that soothing color. It was a calming process – the choosing of a color, the act of shading in an object, the blending of two different colors that seemed to work perfectly together.

Aryll loved art so she plowed through that coloring book whenever she was awake and able to function. We continued to color together, and soon, we were done with several pictures. We had finished the one with the flowers, then one with a sailboat, and then another with a farm near a lake.

That was when Aryll yawned sleepily, "I'm tired, big brother..." She nestled in my arms, setting down her crayon and placing the coloring book back on the coffee table.

Rubbing her back gently and stroking her pretty blonde hair, I let her sleep in my arms – and sleep she did. For several hours. And I just sat there, watching her, a smile on my face, happy that she was finally getting the rest she needed.

The day ended, and I ended up alone. Aryll was tucked into her bed, and Grandma was asleep as well. So, I sat on the couch, thinking to myself of someone who'd been on my mind for quite some time.

Zelda.

Surprisingly or maybe not surprisingly at all, she had made an impression on me. She was quite quirky with a pretty laugh – I hadn't heard her laugh in quite some time. Her eyes were this gray color, morphing into violet based on her mood. She had cut her hair a little while ago, and while I liked it, her long hair had been beautiful.

I didn't really know much about her, but I did know that she was now living with Midna, one of those cheerleaders. Yes, it was always Zelda, Midna, and Malon, it seemed. For a while, I had just known Zelda as the girl who'd fallen down at halftime, but she grew on me after finally noticing her in one or two of my classes. I hated how a lot of people seemed to make fun of her; she almost reminded me of Aryll for some reason. Maybe I'd become attached to her like I was to Aryll.

Either way, I felt like there was some need deep down inside of me to protect her. So, I made an effort to do so whenever she ran into trouble, especially with Groose and Ghirahim. There was no way that I was letting either of them get to her.

Yet, I couldn't save her from sadness or whatever was eating away at her.

Slouching on the couch, I turned on the TV, and what I saw shocked me. "Still no suspects for the killing of..." My mind drifted away, and I yawned, tuning out the news that was being played.

My shock never wore off the one day Groose announced that he and Zelda were dating. She didn't look too happy about it, which worried me, but she said she was happy and that she liked Groose; I couldn't really barge into her life and business to investigate whether or not she was happy in her own relationship with her boyfriend, but somehow, I felt slightly sad that she was with Groose.

But I pushed away that thought, shoving it to the deepest, darkest corner of my mind. She kissed me once. And that was it.

It was most likely done on a whim. I wasn't stupid. I had allowed myself to get attached to her, and it was hurting me, eating away at me. I should've known better than to ever think that she'd ever thought anything more of me. Because she didn't. That one time we talked most likely meant she wanted to be friends.

I was reading too much into this whole thing so I forced myself to try and forget her, settling for only protecting her and watching her from afar.

Eventually, I was becoming lonely. Sheik was one of my only true friends, along with Tetra and a few others. Observing Zelda and protecting her at a distance, I didn't want to be alone. And that was why I approached Malon that one day.

Guiltily, I told her I liked her, and she bought into it. We went out that next night. Every time we walked down the hall, I felt like something was wrong, and she became upset whenever I'd speak to any other girl besides for her. So, she made me feel guilty all the time for even worrying about Zelda or missing a text.

Every day, I went from being depressed about my little sister's health, to being angry with Groose for withholding her medicine, to making sure Zelda was alright, to joking around with Sheik and some of my other friends, to being stressed about keeping up my end of my relationship with Malon. My emotions were unbalanced, and it was messing with my head.

Zelda's eyes would meet mine sometimes; when they did, my heart would leap slightly, but her eyes were dull, and she'd turn away from me.

Eventually, I became immune to any emotion that would present itself, suppressing them deep within me. My smile was always on when people were around, and it became easy for me. That was when I wondered how many other people portrayed fake happiness. If it was that easy for me, then there must have been many people who were pretending that they were truly happy when they weren't.

Malon was always seen to be sweet and gentle and charismatic, yet she was revealing her true colors to me when we were alone, which was quite frequent, thanks to her apparently commandeering personality. So, I dreaded spending time with my own girlfriend, instead watching out for a girl I barely knew, the girlfriend of my enemy. I totally made sense, I knew. My sarcasm was noted, I hope.

Sheik noticed my change in behavior, and I hated him for it – I didn't need him worrying about me too. He did his best to encourage me and make sure I didn't go insane in my crazy, screwed, unfair world.

He supported me in my various endeavors, including fencing – As soon as it was spring and signups for the fencing team began, I was one of the first recruits. The fencing coach, Ashei, was extremely nice and encouraging when it came to my fencing. It seemed to come naturally for me which was really cool. I felt like one of the many Heroes from the Legends with that sabre in my hand.

Excitement coursed through me as I stood before Ashei, parrying a blow she took at me. I found that one of the only times I didn't have to really think at all was when I was fencing, which became one of my only times for rest from the thoughts that were assaulting my weary mind.

"Nice, Link," Ashei complimented. "You're a natural."

I laughed before delivering a blow to her, "Thanks, Ashei."

I excelled at fencing, something for which I was proud. Sheik took pride in it as well, the fact that his best friend found something he was good at. All of my friends from the football team were impressed as were many of my teachers. The only one that wasn't impressed or even fazed by the fact that I was exemplary at fencing was Malon. She was completely hardened and cold toward me.

I found myself wanting her to disappear from my life, regretting ever making the mistake of asking her out on that date. Was it too much to wish that she sunk to the bottom of Lake Hylia? Probably.

Yet, we'd already been established as the school's "golden couple" so I couldn't really break out of that relationship. There was no way I could. She had me in a hardlock, and I hated it. I had no choice in whatever we did; her words were harsh, and she didn't understand. She'd had everything handed to her on a silver platter. She hadn't experienced the things I had – therefore, she couldn't understand me.

It frustrated me, and I was frustrated with her.

Things continued changing to the point where I even dreaded being with Aryll – seeing her in pain hurt me, and she continued slipping away from me. But, surprisingly, Groose and his dad continued giving us that medicine without any extra trouble. And that made me uneasy. Typically, they would overcharge us or give us a hassle to get the drug. Something weird was going on, and I didn't believe that they'd had a change of heart.

Zelda's smile continued to be nonexistent all throughout the rest of spring, and she was so despondent. I wanted to do something to help her, but I didn't know what would help. Her eyes conveyed sadness, and it killed me every time. What made me even angrier was the fact that Groose did nothing to try to make her happy. He just made her life more miserable, and from what I could tell, was controlling her.

And even I could tell that, out of everyone I knew, I was probably the one changing the most. I'd become more cynical and less quick to speak. Quiet, I listened to other people rather than talk myself – I became a fly on the wall, letting my girlfriend take the stage as she so loved to do. She drove me crazy, but she at least took the attention off me. That was the one thing she was good at.

So, I was alone.

"Big brother?" Aryll questioned from where she was nestled in my arms.

Glancing down at her, a smile painting my face, I responded, "Yeah?"

Her brows furrowed, her blue eyes concentrated, "Where are we going?" she asked. A small yawn worked its way to her face, and she covered her mouth with her tiny hand.

"We're going to the park, kiddo," I replied, approaching a bench and setting her down on it.

"Ugh, Link? Why are we bringing her again?" Malon groaned, glaring at my little sister openly.

That was when I wished I could grow a backbone and just tell Malon to leave. But I couldn't. Something inside me stopped me, and I hated myself for it. Instead, I just snapped at her, "Shut up, Malon." I whispered to my sister, "Just ignore her. Please?"

Aryll was upset, and I knew that Malon bothered her, constantly antagonizing her. But I was stuck. For whatever reason, I couldn't bring myself to break up with her. I just tried to keep her away from Aryll – I was weak and an awful big brother.

Malon rolled her eyes at me, huffing slightly before speaking, "I'm going to get something to eat." She didn't ask us if we wanted anything too.

Plopping down next to Aryll on the bench, I said, "I'm so sorry, sis..."

"Why are you dating her?" she asked, frowning and furrowing her brows. "She doesn't deserve you."

"She doesn't deserve me?" I scoffed. "That's a line that appears in every cliché romance novel ever written. I definitely am not worthy of anyone, Aryll."

Shaking her head firmly, Aryll responded with the wise words of a seven-year-old, "You're worth more than the moon and the sun and all the stars to me, Link. You're special, and you're the best big brother in the world. And..." her voice trailed off for a moment, "I know what you and Grandma do in order to make sure I'm OK... I just don't like Malon. She's mean," she wrinkled her nose.

I wrapped an arm around her, feeling the sun shine down on the two of us, basking in its warmth. "To tell you the truth, sis, I don't really like her either," I whispered loudly, wrinkling my nose in the same fashion she did.

Her lips turned up a little into a tiny smile, and her eyes caught sight of someone approaching in the distance.

"Hi, Link," a voice said from nearby.

And there she was, her violet eyes dancing but a veil of sadness in place over them.

"Zelda?" I questioned in response.

She was standing with that girl... what was her name? Why did I always forget her name? And then I remembered – Saria.

"That's my name," she responded glumly.

I raised a brow, "Where's Groose?"

Saria's eyes got big all of a sudden, "Shh, we just got rid of him." One look from Zelda caused her to retract her statement. "Err... He just left us..."

"Oh, we just got rid of Malon," Aryll added matter-of-factly.

Footsteps were heard from behind me, and I groaned inwardly.

"What?!" Malon screeched.

... Great...

Total Word Count:

3,413