Ack! No reviews! None at all for the previous chapter! I know there's been something wrong with FanFiction's e-mail service (at least on my part) but people come on… or else I'm gonna start holdind my chapters ransom for long reviews!!

And yet I choose to update anyway…

Oh, well, at least I have my fateful reviewers, (you three know who you are! Thank you so much!)


The Heroine: War of Shadow

Phantom Love

Link spun around to crash her sword once again into Ganondorf's one. He did an attempt to hit her with his free hand but this time she ducked and flipped her legs around on the ground, causing him to fall. She rose her sword, about to stab it into him but then he used his legs to kick her in her stomach. She dropped her sword and flew over the black stones, but managed to land on her feet. She knew power wouldn't kill Ganondorf so she had to use her brains. Her sword lay a few meters ahead of her, but Ganondorf was too close. If she would try to grab it he would surely stab her by the time she grasped it. Slowly she stepped closer to her enemy. He grinned and held his sword ready. The sword was only a couple of feet away from her but it would be impossible to grab it. And she was shieldless too. She looked up to Ganondorf and smiled. He looked puzzled for a flash of a moment, and then Link suddenly ran forth, kicked the sword so that it slid under the legs of Ganondorf, and at the same moment Link summoned her force to do a high jump in the air, flip over, and landed behind Ganondorf. And before he had time to react she grabbed the sword and stabbed him in the back.

'Aargh!' Ganondorf jerked in pain, stumbled forth a couple of steps and turned around to face Link. He looked at her for a long moment, and then he collapsed on the ground.

Link panted heavily, as she rested for a while where she stood, not sure if she wanted to face the fallen Ganondorf.

After a while though, she slowly stepped forth to him. He lay still on the ground, eyes closed. She regarded him with hatred, his dark skin and foul expression. Funny, she would have expected more when she killed him. A sort of satisfaction, or maybe even some explosions or something. Ganondorf didn't really give Link that really-dead-and-defeated-all-to-your-credit feeling, like the Shadow Riders had given her. She leaned closer, surveying Ganondorf, his red hair and dark skin. Then suddenly he shot up his eyes, causing Link to jerk in surprise, and then he hit her with his surprisingly strong fist, clearly using the Triforce of Power and electricity in his palm. Link flew over the platform and landed on the other side, beside her sword, and passed out for a second from the hard hit. She didn't wake up until Ganondorf had risen and planted his large foot on her chest, giving her problems to breathe.

He gave out an evil laugh.

'Did you really think I was dead?' Link gasped for air. 'Nobody kills me!' Then he shot out his hand and a stream of energy hit Link with such force that she was nailed to the stone. She screamed in pain. This was it, now she was sure to die. Her quest had failed. Hyrule would be destroyed.

Suddenly, despite the pain surging through her body, Link managed to reach back to her quiver, and grab on to one of the light arrows. As it reached the air, it flickered a moment before turning bright. Link grasped it in her hand, battling for a while against the pain and then she gathered all her force that was left to jam it right through Ganondorf's leg.

The pain in Link's body suddenly stopped and she jerked for a while, the black energy still in her body.

Ganondorf stopped dead, looking down at his leg. The arrow stuck out from his leg, at first not doing anything. Then slowly, the light spread out to his body, through his veins, spreading out the pureness from the goddesses themselves through his body. Finally he screamed and started to jerk with pain. He stepped away from Link, screaming, trying to get the pain and light out from his body. Suddenly his body was replaced with pure light for a moment. He screamed and then he fell to his knees, paralyzed.

Link, now on her feet, weak and panting, would not make any mistakes this time. She grabbed her sword, ran forth and with a shout she drove the Master Sword through his body.

Suddenly, it was as if everything fell silent. Slowly, Ganondorf looked up, rose very slowly and looked down at Link. Only the wind could be heard as he did an attempt to raise his sword but then his arm was suddenly shaking, as it seemed that a light tried to emerge from inside of him. The phenomena spread to the rest of his body. A great light was fighting to break through him. He grunted, jerking, and then his body was shot out to a stretch and the light soared through his body until it suddenly vanished in a tremendous explosion of light.

The explosion blew Link away over the edge, falling down from the tower. It was strange, as everything seemed to happen very slowly. But she was not afraid, it was as if all her feelings had vanished and she soared through the sky as if paralyzed, and above her she could see the light from Ganondorf's explosion…

Link sat up with a jerk, panting heavily. As she realized she was still in her bed, in her room, safe in the castle, - not back on the tip of that tower, fighting for her life – she dared to exhale, slowly. She looked out the window. The sun was rising. Not able to sleep anymore, she pulled away the covers, walking on bare feet over the cold stone floor. Her nightgown, - a dark green one made out of silk, which she had received from Zelda – danced around her legs, as she walked into the bathroom. There she stopped, looking at herself in the mirror.

Nightmares form her battle with Ganondorf hunted her almost every night, making her dread her sleep. Even though the Evil King was destroyed, he had managed to send her this last pain, after all. She gave another sigh, leaning down to the sink, cleaning her face with some cold water. As she looked up to the mirror again, she stopped. Had those two years changed her that much? Yet, slowly, she could feel herself returning more to herself. She could trust people again, depend on them. But she could not put her love in them. Even if she wanted to.

---

At the same moment Link had awoken, so had Sheik, two floors under her room. He, too, rose from his bed, walking into the bathroom, looking into the mirror, judging what he saw. His tanned body reflected in the glass, as he was not wearing a shirt, only a pair of lose dark trousers. His blond hair fell into his red eyes as his gaze rested elsewhere. Upon his left chest, over his heart, was a tattoo. The tattoo of the Sheikah. It had the rough form of an eye, with thick eyelashes. Under the eye a thick tear formed, but it had not yet left the eye, but stayed, just below the eyelashes. Running a hand though his hair, he then bent down to splash his face with some cold water, unaware of that Link was doing the same thing. Straightening up again, he found a sudden urge to walk out to his balcony. He did so, walking out to the railing, leaning onto it, his red eyes watching the sunrise, as it slowly spread its rays of light over the sky.

---

Suddenly, as Link had finished tying her hair into a lose plait, she heard something. The unmistakable sound of wings flapping. Forgetting all about her previous thoughts, Link pressed herself to the wall, quieting her breath.

With a thud, the assassin landed in her room, through the window. Link could hear the footsteps, as it moved around in her room. As it moved to the bed, Link could almost get clear view of it. She frowned however, as all she could see was dark feathers. What was this thing?

With its back turned to Link, she realized this was her chance. Cursing herself for leaving the Master Sword at her bed, she then leapt out the bathroom, aiming a fist at the assassin. The figure yelled in surprise, but spun around fast, grabbing Link's other arm. It was a confusing battle; the sun had just risen, bringing some light into the room, but all Link could see was a mix of black feathers and red hair. The assassin suddenly brought a fist to Link's ribs, managing to hit the exact point of Link's wound. Giving a gasp of pain, Link's knees suddenly buckled with and she fell to the ground. But she recovered fast, looking up.

'Oh, now you've just made me mad,' she growled, leaping to her feet again. There was another sound, the one of a knife being pulled out. But as he moved to take a swipe at Link, she ducked, and suddenly found her shield. Grabbing it, she used it to hit the assassin in the face, and with a yell, it backed several steps, holding its nose. Link lunged for it, but it quickly dashed around, causing Link to hit the wall hard instead. She could feel her chin rip up as it connected to the stony surface of the wall. Link turned, her back to the open window, getting ready to charge her attacker. But she was too late. The mix of red hair and dark feathers suddenly came at her, pushing her out the window. With a shriek, Link tumbled over the window sill, falling quickly towards the ground. The fall would be her death, as she was several stories up.

But suddenly, out of nowhere, she found herself suddenly being caught by a pair of strong, warm arms. Trembling with fear from her fall, she instinctively wrapped her arms around her savior, burying her head in his chest. She did not have to look at the man to tell that it was Sheik. She had never felt so safe in her life, as she did in his arms. Forgetting all about the assassin and the fall, she merely breathed in the scent of the Sheikah. Until Sheik suddenly kneeled, putting her down on the floor, not trusting her to stand.

Somehow, the fight and fall had made Link more dizzy that she thought, and her vision swirled with Sheik's blond hair and red eyes, looking at her worriedly, as she sunk to the ground, her head spinning. His hands roamed all over her body, searching for wounds, and she could feel his fingers softly wipe away the blood on her cheek, tracing the small scar with his fingers. Those hands… they have healing touch….

'Link? Link, are you alright? What happened?' he asked, his deep soft voice reverberating through his chest, echoing through her head, as he held Link close, looking at her face. His hand moved to cup her chin, and finally Link came around, shaking her head slightly. Funny, she must've hit her head against the wall harder than she thought. As she was able to focus her gaze again, her eyes locked onto his bare chest, and the tattoo. Forgetting all else, she suddenly frowned. What a beautiful tattoo. She knew of the mark of the Sheikah, but never had she seen that tattoo on Sheik. She had never seen him without a shirt at all, and was more than impressed over what she saw. Unable to resist the urge, she suddenly reached out with her fingers, grazing the tattoo with her fingertips. Sheik, however, appeared not to have noticed, as he suddenly gave Link a little shake, bringing her back to then and there.

'Link, what happened?'

Her eyes finally locked with his, and she sucked in a lungful of air as she remembered. 'Assassin,' she gasped, turning her eyes up to her window again. Sheik followed her gaze, standing up.

'There is a battle going on in there,' he suddenly said, his eyes seeing something Link's could not. He suddenly moved to go inside the room, into the castle and up to Link's room, but she stopped him – in the rush of the moment – by taking his hand.

'Wait!' she breathed, and he returned to his side. None of them noticed that they still held hands, as they looked up to see what Link had seen.

Through the window, the assassin and another person suddenly jumped out, falling through the air. But they did not fall as fast as Link had however, as the assassin had wings. Great black feathered wings. It was an angel, just as Link had suspected. But not one like Gilraen, since his wings were white… Link lost attention to the angel as she suddenly realized who the person battling with the assassin was. Kratos!

'Is that…?' Link asked, baffled. Sheik gave a nod. 'He guarded your door this night. Both he and Zelda… and I, knew the assassin was coming back, and he volunteered,' he said. He looked down at Link, who was still holding his hand. As she realized this however, she promptly let go, adverting her eyes.

Kratos and the angel soon reached the ground. Sheik grabbed a white shirt and pulled it on, only buttoning half the way, then going the fastest way to the fight: down the balcony. His balcony was merely above ground level, and he swiftly leapt down, but turned to help Link down.

'You seem to be forgetting I took on Ganondorf himself,' she said with a wry grin, pretending to be insulted by his actions. Sheik's lips widened into a grin, but stayed.

'And fainted when battling wolves,' he shot back. Link was forced to be silent, since she had no reply, when she concentrated on leaping down. And Link was grateful that he caught her when she jumped down. Once again, it seemed like her wound by her ribs had been ripped open. But as she was once again in his arms, he suddenly hesitated on putting her down, as their eyes locked once again, their faces only inches away.

This can't be happening, Link thought miserably, as she, like always, felt herself falling into his eyes.

However, they both looked up as there were sounds coming from the hill. Sheik put Link down, and they both ran to the scene, where Kratos had managed to get the assassin in a grip where it could not escape. Holding its arm behind its back, Link could finally see what it was…

It was a woman. A female angel. She was small, but her great black wings large, formed to give ultimate speed. Her hair was long, though a bit shorter than Link's, and in the brightest of red. She was bare-feet and clad in a simple black jumpsuit. Her eyes were dark, the darkest of brown, as she narrowed her eyes, glaring at Link as soon as she spotted her.

Link stopped only a yard away from the angel, looking at her in wonder.

'What are you looking at?' the angel spat, clear loathe in her voice.

'You,' Link replied sternly, narrowing her eyes. 'Why did you try to kill me?' she barked.

But she did not reply, instead she spat at Link's feet, who backed several steps, into Sheik's chest, who grabbed hold of her so that she would not fall. But the Heroine was now angry. Very angry.

'You!' she started, curling her fists in anger, stalking up to the angel.

'What'cha gonna do?' the angel asked daringly. 'Kill me?'

'There's an idea,' Link snarled, and moved to attack her. She would have, as well, if Sheik had not calmly grabbed her shoulders, pulling her back. It took some doing however, and he was forced to pull her back with some strength to calm her. 'Link, calm down,' he said softly, noticing the amused look on Kratos' face.

'Some Heroine,' the angel snorted mockingly. 'Can't even-aah!'

She broke off in mid-sentence as Kratos had suddenly hardened his grip significantly, causing a great pain in her arm. 'Enough,' Kratos said in a dangerous voice, enough to scare the angel. 'Tell us who you are.'

'No!' she refused, at least until Kratos hardened the grip even more, and she yielded.

'…Chiyo,' she said quietly, but they all heard her.

'Are you from the City of Angels?' Sheik asked, losing the grip on Link slightly, who snorted in anger, but said nothing.

'City of- Please,' Chiyo scoffed, rolling her eyes. 'As if they would even let me in there. No,' she said, struggling angrily against Kratos' grip, and he loosened a little. 'I am part of the race of Dark Angels. We are not,' she said, straightening up slightly, 'accepted like most races, merely because of our appearance. We do not look friendly, therefore people assume we are evil.'

'And?' Kratos asked.

'And what? You ask the people who chased us up into the mountains, to live of rocks and roots,' Chiyo shot back testily. Kratos raised an eyebrow, but kept quiet.

'And what has that got to do with me?' Link asked coolly, now trusted enough by Sheik to be let go.

'Because,' Chiyo said, glaring at the blond girl, 'you made people realize there are good and bad in this world. And apparently, they judged us as bad.'

Link raised an eyebrow, but Kratos was the one to speak. 'So, technically, you were trying to kill a symbol?'

'Yes,' Chiyo said grumpily, knowing that the man was slightly mocking her.

'Link!' a light voice cried from the castle. They all turned their heads to see Zelda come running, together with a few guards. The Queen was wearing a simple dress of dark blue and her hair was down, blowing freely in the wind. Apparently she, as well as Link and Sheik, had come directly from her bed. 'Link, I heard what had happened, thank Goddesses you are alright-'

She stopped in mid-sentence as her eyes fell upon Chiyo. '…oh,' was all the Queen managed to say.

'She tried to kill her again, but we caught her this time,' Kratos grunted, turning the angel to face the Queen.

The angle snorted as she looked at Zelda. 'Please. I hope you don't expect be to bow for this simple Queen-'

'Kratos, get her out of my sight before I do something I'll regret,' Link suddenly barked, interrupting the angel, her eyes dark with anger. It was one thing insulting Link, but when it came to her friends…

One of the guards took Chiyo and they led her away, under much struggles from the angel's part.

'Well,' Zelda said, a hand over her heart, 'isn't that a relief?'

'Hardly,' Link scoffed, still insulted by the angel's remarks. Not only did Kratos' lips widen into an amused grin, but even Sheik smiled, but hardly for the same reason. Whenever Link was angry, she was just… adorable.

'I bet she was hired by the enemy, to get rid of the Heroine before the war,' Kratos said, pulling a hand through his hair. Link looked at him, nodding slightly.

'Perhaps,' Sheik started, 'she hired herself. The hatred she bore towards Link seemed to be true.'

'Well, that makes me feel so much better,' Link sighed, also wincing slightly from the pain of her wound. She gingerly touched her ribs, and scowled as she had blood on her fingers. 'Not again,' she whined.

'Oh, Link, come with me and I will help you,' Zelda said, but Link held up a hand.

'No worries,' she said, 'I'll fix it. You get back to your room Zelda, it is a cold morning, and you must be freezing.'

Kratos raised a skeptical eyebrow. 'What about you then?' he nodded towards her thin nightgown and bare legs.

'Like I said, I'm fine,' Link snapped, looking darkly at the man. As Kratos looked up, he set eyes upon, - for the first time- an irritated Sheik. He had not liked that remark, Kratos realized, as the red eyes flashed- only for a moment- in jealousy.

And soon enough, Kratos and Zelda went back to the castle, leaving Link alone on the hill. By Kratos' comment, she had become aware of how the wet grass felt cold under her bare feet, and how the wind felt raw against her legs.

'You are shivering,' Sheik suddenly said from behind her. She turned, realizing she had forgotten he was there.

'It is nothing,' she shrugged.

Sheik sighed at her stubbornness, but took her shoulders and spun her around. 'We should get inside. It is barely morning, and you have already been part of a failed assassination and fallen three stories down.'

'Well, when you put it like that,' Link surrendered, and they walked towards the entrance to the castle. However, as soon as they started to walk, Link winced in pain, letting a gasp escape her lips.

'That damned wound!' she cursed, bringing her hand to her ribs. 'I will kill that Chiyo!'

Sheik gave a soft smile, and bent down to examine her ribs. 'The wound is open again. You need to bandage that again,' he said, standing up to his full length again. They both fell silent, looking at each other.

It was finny, Sheik thought. This was the third time this morning he had the open chance to kiss Link. They both wanted it, but several things stopped them. Well, not on Sheik's part, really, he thought. Could he forget about those two years and finally give Link his love? For love her he did. But there was something she was not ready to let go off, he sensed.

And he was right. Link wanted the man in front of her so bad, her heart ached. But she felt like her actions – by leaving- she had spoiled her chance. And what's more, she could not let herself fall for his man. For how long would they live happy, until some danger came and hurt them? If something hurt Sheik, Link would not bear it. She had to stay away.

So backing a few steps, she then walked away, limping as fast as she could, leaving the Sheikah confused with his own feelings.

---

Gimel trotted up to the castle, Tzadek giving a snort as she suddenly pranced when Gimel pulled her reins, bringing her to a halt. The recent days, Gimel had wondered when the horses – the horses belonging to the army, who were grazing on a great field quite far away from the castle and the Lon Lon Ranch – should be ready for battle. Frankly, it was going to take quite a long time to herd the horses all the way to the Ranch, where they could be readied for the soldiers. So, Gimel had decided to ride to the castle, and ask the General himself.

As he reached the castle however, the strangest sight met him. Coming to a halt on the grassy hill, he watched as a group of soldiers were urging forth an aggressive angel. That's right, an angel. At least, that is what Gimel thought in the moment. Perhaps others might have judged her as a demon, with her fiery red hair, and great black wings, but to Gimel, she was an angel. To him, she was a creature of beauty. His bright green eyes met her scowling brown ones. Only for a moment, and the angel suddenly stopped struggling, looking at the boy on the horse, in what could be described as wonder. Then the moment passed, as one of the guards grunted: 'Come on!' and pulled her away.

Gimel slid of Tzadek, who trotted a few steps to her side, her attention turned to the guards, but her rider had spotted someone else walking towards them. Kratos had followed the guards, and now he saw Gimel had arrived.

'What are you doing here?' the dark-haired man asked, his trademark grin on his lips, one eyebrow raised questioningly.

'Who was that?' Gimel asked, looking after the party.

'That…' Kratos said, also turning his dark eyes after the fiery girl, '...would be Chiyo.'

'Chiyo…' Gimel said thoughtfully, showing no signs of tearing his gaze away from the girl. '…She's cute,' he added, apparently letting his mouth slip.

Kratos snorted, half laughter, half insulted. 'Funny you should think that. She tried to kill Link. Twice, no less.'

This caused Gimel's eyes to shoot back at the man immediately.

'She's the assassin!?' he blurted incredulously. Kratos nodded. 'How did you catch her?' the farmer asked.

'Well…' Kratos started, 'kind of a long story.'

'I have time,' Gimel replied, his eyes taking one last glance at the disappearing Chiyo. 'I have to find the General, and speak to him.'

'Really,' Kratos said, no interest at all in his voice, as soon as he heard the word General. 'Well,' he then started, as they both turned to walk to the castle, leaving Tzadek to graze at the field until a stable boy came and took care of her. 'So I was guarding Link's room this night…'

And Kratos told him the story, of how he had caught the assassin, as they came to one of the castle's gardens, just outside the back entrance to the building, where they suddenly met Link.

'So she tried to escape, - and that is one fast angel, let me tell you - but I caught her, just as she jumped at the window…' his voice trailed of, as he set eyes upon Link.

She came limping down the stairs from the doors, panting slightly and sweat was showing on her forehead. Suddenly her legs surrendered, and she sunk to the ground, sitting upon the stairs. Kratos noticed she was clutching her side.

'Link!' Gimel gasped, 'are you alright?'

'I'm fine,' she said, but this time she did not convince any of them.

'It's that wound,' Kratos said, kneeling down, his eyes resting upon her ribs.

'Gee, you think?' Link snapped, but the man merely grinned at her grumpy behavior. As he put pressure on her ribs, she winced, and blood slowly showed through the thing fabric of her shirt. Link gave a tired sigh, to then send a slight smile at Gimel. 'See what you get?' she said, but Gimel merely shook his head, sighing fondly at her optimism. Suddenly, though, he spotted Chase walking through another garden, and he looked down at Kratos, just as Link cried 'ouch!' and jerked away from the man.

'Go,' Kratos said to Gimel, ignoring the girl in front of him, as he also had noticed Chase coming, 'she will be fine,' he added to Gimel's worried glance. 'I'll fix her.' Then, with a last glance at Link, Gimel ran off after Chase. 'General! Wait!'

A grin tugged at one of the corners of Kratos' mouth as he watched Gimel, and then went back to Link.

'I've said it before, and I'm saying it again, I will kill that goddamn angel,' Link muttered as Kratos' finger felt her ribs, seeing if anything was broken after her recent fight. He lit up in a grin at Link's words.

'Seems like you got her pretty good, too. Did you see her limp?'

'She won't be walking at all when I'm done with her,' she replied, now grinning slightly.

After running away from Sheik, she had gotten back to her room. There she had dresses in her black leggings, but as she buttoned her usual green shirt she noticed she was bleeding quite badly. So she had searched for Zelda for help, until she felt like she was about to faint, and went outside, where she met Kratos and Gimel.

She was brutally brought back from her thoughts however, as Kratos suddenly started pulling her shirt up.

'What do you think you're doing?' she asked horrified, unable to keep the shriek out from her voice, quickly pulling her shirt back down. Kratos gave a slight laughter, but for once, in a very friendly way.

'Link,' he said, rising his gaze to meet her eyes, 'the wound is open yet again. I need to fix it right now, or you'll bleed to death.

Link heaved an irritated sigh. 'Alright then,' she said, getting to her feet. Or trying to would be a more fitting way. She took support with her arm, but as soon as her weight shifted she yelped in pain, and sunk to the stone again.

'Alright, that does it,' Kratos said, and suddenly bent down, scooping the girl up in his arms.

'Oh, this is so humiliating,' Link cringed, sighing.

'I know,' Kratos said, lighting up in a devilishly handsome smile, as he carried her through the castle, 'you are going to kill that angel.'

Link let out a sigh of laughter, as the man carried her into her room. There he gently put her down on her bed, and once again Kratos reached to pull up her shirt. She inhaled sharply as a warning.

Kratos dark eyes drifted to look at her, one eyebrow raised. 'Hands to myself, promise. Now will you shut up and let me help you?'

Surrendering with a tired sigh, Link leaned back to the bed, letting the man pull up her shirt just above her ribs.

'Though I suppose I should thank you,' Link said, causing the man to look up at her with a slightly puzzled expression. Which looked good on him, Link suddenly caught herself thinking. In fact, everything looked good on that man.

'Why?' he asked, when Link did not clarify.

'Well,' she said, as the man moved to rub some oil with healing effects into Link's wound, and she winced slightly in pain, 'someone told me you guarded my room this night.' She observed the man before her. 'So I suppose the lot fell on you.'

'Not really,' Kratos replied,' moving on to clean her wound with a cloth, 'I volunteered.' Then, he added to her skeptical glance, 'I guess I wanted to find this… girl as much as you did.'

'…really?' Link said, a slight smile on her lips, but the man appeared not to hear her. Link suddenly felt stupid. He was a nice man, why had she not liked him? Was it because…

Her thoughts trailed off as she was suddenly strangely aware of Kratos' fingers touching her naked skin. It seemed as Kratos noticed this too, and they both locked eyes. Goddess, Link thought, was this why she did not like him? Because she felt attracted to him?

But then something else occurred to her. His fingers… they did not have the same effect as Sheik's hands. They had healing touch. And when Link was with him, everything felt so… right. With Kratos it just felt… not exactly wrong, but not right either…

Kratos paused to look at the figure in front him. Goddess, she is beautiful, he thought, just like he had always thought. But at the same time, he saw that her heart belonged to someone else. She just acted like she wasn't aware of it. Or maybe she wasn't aware of it? Maybe he should help her along the way?

Moving on to bandage her, Kratos opened his mouth to speak again. 'So I suppose this 'someone' didn't tell you who guarded your room the other two nights since the assassin's first attack?'

'…No,' Link said wondrous, propping herself up on her arms. Kratos had now finished, and was now pulling down her shirt, not meeting her gaze.

'Well,' he said, looking up, 'it wasn't Gimel or Zelda, at least.'

'Are you saying… Sheik?' Link started, now sitting up. The man nodded, his bangs falling into his eyes, but the effect was not quite as charming as it was on Sheik. 'He was up two nights in a row, worried sick as well. I don't think anyone wanted to catch the assassin more than he did.'

'So why…?' Link started, but Kratos finished for her.

'The only reason I came to guard you was because frankly, Zelda forbade Sheik to. I'm surprised you didn't see how tired he was. He hadn't slept in three days.'

Link stood up, ignoring the pain, and walking to the window. '…Oh,' was all she said.

For now she realized, that even though she desperately tried not to, she was falling for Sheik. Hard. Why couldn't she stay away? But the worst part was, though she found reasons not to love him, she knew he… perhaps, loved her too.

That was the worst part. For as Link stood there in the window, she realized how she was going to keep herself from loving Sheik. And that was by telling him the reason she had left. For if she told him…

If she told him, he would not love her anymore.


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