This chapter was the most difficult to write and it is so confusing. I really hope it doesn't confuse you guys as much as it confused me.

I don't have much to say this time, besides that "Unsustainable" wasn't started yet and it might take two/three weeks until it is finished, reviewed and finally posted.

Enjoy this chapter, guys!


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Liquid State

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Every evening, when twilight fell over Hyrule before night, Zelda could not watch it as she always had. When she was a child, she watched the change of colors in the sky from the windows of her chambers, patiently waiting for her only friends to arrive. And they never missed a day, except when it was rainy or cloudy, but they were always there, shining up high and bringing a smile to her face.

Now, she could never glance out the windows without feeling extremely guilty or sad, and the stars did little to cheer her up. But that day she decided she would sit and watch; she would force herself to do so. "Hold my head up high. That's what I always have to do." She told herself; she would not let a sudden change in the sky make her feel intimidated. She would not let the Twilight Realm intimidate her, not again.

Night had just fallen, the warm and soft colors in the sky being covered by a dark blue blanket with shimmering stars, when the doors of her chamber opened and she didn't need to turn around to know who it was. "Take me for a ride." She ordered immediately as she stood from her chair already wearing her riding gown.

Link silently guided Epona through the night while Zelda rested her head on his back, arms wound around his waist. He wondered why she wanted to ride at night, why she asked him to take her back to the Gerudo Desert, more specifically to the Mirror Chamber. He wouldn't ask her why she wanted to go there, because she would not answer him, she was just like that: she would question every decision he made and he would answer, but he could question hers for days straight and she wouldn't say anything.

It took them hours to get to the desert and a few more to make it through Arbiter's Grounds to reach the Mirror Chamber. Link was surprised when Zelda practically guided him through what once was a dungeon to him, as if she had been there multiple times before. The only times she did wait for him was when the spinner was needed and after that she marched towards her destination.

The princess touched the stand where the mirror once was and stared at where the portal should be, eyes distant in time and space. Link stood few feet behind her, feeling confused and troubled for being in the last place he wanted to be. He didn't know if he should feel glad or utterly annoyed at the fact that Zelda only remained in the room for less than five minutes before making her way back to the front floor.

He waited patiently until they were back at the entrance to ask if she still was sane when Zelda decided to speak for the first time since they left the castle. "I'm sorry for all the troubles I've cause you over the years, Link. I swear that was not my intention, to bring you here in the middle of the night, but I'm a little lost. I need someone to spin me round and help me to divert, and walk into the light."

"Why are you lost, Your Majesty?" Link questioned, wondering why she decided to talk about her feelings so suddenly; usually, Zelda would rather keep her feelings to herself.

Zelda walked forward, down the broken steps and on the sand. "I'm not sure myself. But can I ask one more thing of you, Link?"

He was walking beside her and stopped when she did. "You can always ask anything of me, Your Majesty." He said meekly as he gazed into her eyes; he was always so gentle to her, in everything he did. Zelda didn't feel like she deserved it.

"Help me to survive." She said and breathed in sharply. "Break me up and steal what's left inside. It's not much, everything I had of worth has died inside and left a scar, but I'm still willing to give what's left to you."

Link stared at her in surprise, lips parted as he asked himself what it all meant. "Your Majesty, I'm afraid I don't understand your request." He briefly glanced at the end of the path they were standing, stones towering on both sides and the sun slowly rising in the horizon. "I'm sorry, would you care to explain it to me?"

The princess looked at the tall stones behind him and touched the ones behind her with her hands. She looked down at their feet and licked her lips idly before raising her head and lunging forward, pressing him against the wall. His eyes widened and his back pressed flat against the wall when she leaned her head closer to his. He cursed in his mind that she still was taller than him and he couldn't wait until he was the tallest. Why did she have to be three years older?

"Warm my heart tonight." She whispered, lips close to his chin, brushing ever so slightly. "Bring me peace." Tracing his jaw with her lips, Zelda felt him shiver under her touch.

"Your Majesty..." Link breathed out before Zelda lightly nudged between his legs with her knee. "Zelda, I- We-"

"You are the light of my darkened world, Link..." She whispered in his ear and nibbled it softly afterwards. "Guide me..."

He took in a sharp breath and flipped them around, pressing her hard against the stone. Zelda helped him by lowering her head so he wouldn't need to stand on his tip toes to kiss her lips before he trailed kisses down her neck and left a mark on her collarbone. Link pulled away suddenly when he heard himself moan low on his throat, face flushed and eyes wide, and the matriarch cradled his face in her hands, smiling softly before giving him a quick peck on the nose.

Zelda put some space between their bodies, pushing him backwards. "Look at what my words and actions can do. If I have this effect on you, then I think I should pat myself on the back." She put her index finger on her lips and traced them idly, then the playful glint left her eyes, leaving the princess stoic once again. "It is such a shame that it all was induced. If you had done it on your own free will, it would have felt twice as good, if not more."

She walked to the end of the path and dropped to the sand bellow. Link, in the back of his frozen mind, cursed every Goddess in existence. Zelda was so difficult to read, to understand. She was acting so differently these past weeks that it was even harder to foresee her actions or her words. She even looked reckless sometimes, challenging her knights to a duel and messing with the bokoblins that wandered about Hyrule Field.

Still, it was unusual of her to leave the castle at night, and even more unusual to corner him near the abandoned Bublin Fortress and kiss him. Or was he the one who kissed her? He did that because of the pressure, it was on impulse. The feelings Link had for Zelda were platonic. Like in a fairy tale, the hero fell in love with the princess and vice versa; but he didn't live inside a book and in his own story the princess didn't love him. She kissed him because she was lonely, not because he was the one who made her happy.

But maybe she truly desired his companionship. Maybe, her recklessness was her way of showing she liked him, by doing the same things he did.

Zelda was nearing the broken gate when Link snapped out of his trance and called out for her, running to catch up with the princess as his new resolve replayed in his head. "Zelda!" He didn't get too close, though, and he shrugged his shoulders sheepishly once he stopped; it was now or never. The princess turned around, the morning light already slipping over the dunes illuminated her porcelain skin, and Link swore the air rushed out of his lungs at the sight of her brightly sparkling eyes.

"What is it that's left, Your Majesty?" Link licked his lips, brows furrowing down in determination and hands balling into tight fists. "I want it all."

Zelda smiled at him and clicked her tongue whilst she turned her head away before he could see her smile grow in size and make her look silly. Link had that effect on her, always making her do silly things to catch his attention.

'So it finally worked.'