We passed 100 reviews on Tuesday, so as a present, early chapter! I want to thank everyone for giving me encouragement and praise, it keeps me going. Seriously, you have no idea how happy it makes me when people come back and review every chapter, some of you only an hour after I post it. It's kind of unreal to me. Thank you guys so much.

This chapter was inspired by the lovely covers of the St. Louis Ocarina Trio. There isn't much on YouTube, sadly, but if you have Spotify, definitely check them out! Throw them on while you're reading.

In other news, I've gotten more than private message and review asking about the ending.

To answer them all right now: you'll just have to stick around and find out. I'll let you know now there isn't a fairytale ending, where Link magically decides that he still loves Zelda and runs to the castle and then they kiss and ride off on Epona into the sunset. If you haven't already figured it out, this story isn't exactly happy. I've got something crazy planned, and most if not all of you will be knocked out of your seat. And about half of you are probably going to hate me. Take that however you will ;)

Hope you enjoy the next installment!

~Alyssa

Proditione fieri nequit nisi amare.

….

Betrayal can only happen if you love.

Then

"Casperlight is about a mile west. We ought to be getting there in the next hour."

Our company let out a collective sigh of relief, straining our necks to try and see the city over the trees and hills.

"Have you figured out what we're doing when we get there?" I asked.

Baxter grinned. "A good friend of mine lives on the edge of the city. Garrett contacted him last night, and he agreed to keep us for a while."

"Who?" asked Linden.

"He was my friend's older brother growing up," Baxter replied. "Got married really early. I remember making fun of him. He's got five kids now, all girls. We've got a lot of catching up to do."

We made good time, getting to the city gate in half an hour. As we walked through the lively streets, the strangely exuberant townsfolk danced around us, jamming a wreath of flowers on Linden and Zenith's head as they passed, gushing something about a wedding.

In fact, this wedding was all that was on anyone's lips. We were moving too fast for me to get anything cohesive, or why it was the talk of the town, but it would be impossible not to find out eventually.

After a several minutes of shoving through the overjoyed—and seemingly deaf—citizens, Baxter stopped in front of a giant manor house, starting up the way to the giant iron gate.

We all stared after him in shock.

I had never cared for material things. I was always content with what I had. And it wasn't like I had ever really wanted for anything. I had food, a roof over my head, and a family. That was all I ever needed.

But this house but Hyrule Castle to shame. And we were staying in it.

We followed Baxter up the walk, and watched as he lifted a hand to grab the solid gold knocker and rap three times on the door.

A few moments later, a girl with dark auburn hair answered the door. "Hello," she said, looking mildly shocked as she took us in. "Can I help you?"

She looked about my age, though she stood half a head shorter. She wore a dark green dress trimmed with lace that complimented the ruddy shade of her curly hair. Freckles dotted her face, but not in an unbecoming way. It was kind of…cute. Her soft brown eyes met mine. This must be one of Baxter's friend's daughters.

"You must be Kassia," said Baxter, smiling and gesturing towards us. "My name is Baxter, and this is my family. Your father is expecting us."

"Oh." She said stupidly, pinching her nose between her fingers and shaking her head. "Oh. I completely forgot. Of course. Come with me."

Looking down at my muddied boots, I was very wary at stepping into the beautiful house. Though we cleaned up best we could in the rivers and lakes that dotted the mountains, I hadn't exactly bathed in over two weeks.

However, neither did anyone else, and none of them gave it a second thought, so I trailed in behind them.

Kassia lead us up the grand double staircase and down a hallway, knocking gently on an opulent oak door trimmed with gold.

"Enter," said a pleasant voice from within, and she turned the knob of the door.

Sitting behind a huge mahogany desk covered with papers and inks and books, a large man with his dark hair pulled back in a short ponytail, his glasses slightly askew, sat, biting down on the tip of his quill while he read something.

"Father, our guests have arrived," Kassia said, smiling as the man's head shot up, his face looking briefly harassed.

"Baxter!" A wide smile stretched across his face as he stood, reaching out to shake Baxter's hand. "It's good to see you, friend. How have you been?"

"Well enough," Baxter replied. "Kakiriko was raided. Ganondorf's work. As far as I heard, there have been minimal survivors. We had to get out very fast, otherwise I would have never asked you for such a favor."

"Think nothing of it," he said, waving his hand. "Please, introduce me to your family!"

Baxter smiled. "You remember Garrett. This is my wife, Zenith. My daughter, Linden, and my sons, Archer, Nox, and Wolfe."

If either Kassia or her father found this odd, they said nothing.

"Charmed," he said, taking Zenith's hand and kissing it, and doing the same to Linden, who giggled. "My name is Colin. You are very welcome here."

"Thank you," said Baxter.

"We have some catching up to do, friend." said Colin. "Kassia, can you call Jane and show the others to their rooms?"

"Of course,"

We were lead down the opposite hallway by a servant, and given separate rooms. The one I was shown was bigger than the whole downstairs of our old home, complete with a four poster bed with violet silks, a balcony, and a separate chamber with a sink and bath.

I gratefully cleaned myself up, pulling on the soft robe that was slung over a chair. I was about to use the rest of the water to clean up my clothes when there was a knock on the door.

"Come in," I said, expecting it to be Linden, gushing over the splendor of her own room.

It was Kassia that walked in, much to my shock. My face grew bright red at my indecent apperance, but she was unfazed.

"Hello," she said, her voice filled with laughter at my discomfort. "Father is letting you borrow some of his clothes. They're probably a bit too big, but these will have to do for now."

She handed me a bundle of jade colored clothing, grinning. "I thought the green would suit you."

I went behind the divider in the corner of the room—thinking to myself how convenient it was that it was placed there until I realized it was there for exactly that purpose—and changed.

"Thank you," I said. "You have no idea how nice it is to have clean clothes."

She laughed, the sound filling the room. "Of course." Her voice was deep for a girl's, but melodious. Pleasant. "My name is Kassia, but you already knew that. I didn't catch your name, though."

"Nox." I replied, holding out my hand. "It's a pleasure."

She gently took my hand and shook lightly, an inquisitive look coming over her face. "Nox. Odd name, hm?"

"A bit," I agreed, grinning.

We stood in silence for a moment, until something hit me.

"Hey," I said. "Do you know why everyone in town is celebrating? We spent half a month traveling over the mountains; I've been a bit unattached."

"Haven't you heard?" She asked cheerfully. "The Princess of Hyrule finally accepted our Prince's marriage proposal!"

ox(O)xo

Sitting on the cool stone railing of the balcony, my eyes fixated on the beam of light shining from the towering lighthouse, listening to the joyous sounds of celebration and fireworks.

Archer was right. The city was beautiful at night. But it was wasted on me. I didn't care about anything.

Zelda was getting married.

Zelda.

My Zelda.

My heart wrenched painfully as I pictured it, biting down on my lip so hard I drew blood.

Zelda standing on a balcony with another man, his pinched lips curled into a smirk as his roving fingers wandered down her back, curling over her hip, and down further, the places where only my hands had the right to lay.

Zelda in the arms of another man, her lips touching his, his hands tangled in her hair and around her waist, her arms around his neck, a content smile on her face as he pecks her neck and collarbone, places where only my lips had the right to touch.

Zelda walking down the aisle to face another man, beaming as he lifts her veil, sliding a golden band onto her finger, whispering endearments that only her ears can hear to make her laugh, kissing her and relishing in the triumph of finally having her officially, a place only I had the right to fill.

Zelda lying in bed beside another man, his arms wrapped carelessly around her waist in sleep as she lifted her golden-haired child up onto her lap, letting his tiny hands pat her slightly rotund belly, laughing at the awestruck expression on his face, savoring the sweetness of the perfect family moment, something only I had the right to make with her.

But no matter my right, no matter the declarations of love or promises for the future, I had to face the harsh, broken reality that was the present.

The prince of Noamas would tug playfully at the stays of her dress, snorting with suppressed laughter at the shock on her face, appreciating the beautiful crimson of her blush as she excused herself from the table full of confused dignitaries.

The prince of Noamas would have the pleasure of kissing her at the several balls and banquets in celebration of the engagement, sneaking away to secret places behind tapestries and in concealed compartments, wanting something more than the chastise pecks that were considered proper.

The prince of Noamas would stand in front of the entire kingdom and watch her walk down the aisle in white, watch her flushing with joy as tears of happiness trailed down her cheeks, slipping a ring onto her finger and claiming her for his own.

The prince of Noamas would start a family with her, raising many children to inherit both his throne and hers, never having a dull moment, always having something new to teach, loving every second of growing old by her side, their kingdoms prospering under their reign.

The prince of Noamas. Not me.

I didn't even know the man's name, and I hated him more than I had ever hated anyone before.

I pulled Saria's ocarina from my pouch, fitting the cool wood to my lips. The Song of Time echoed in my ears, and my entire being ached for the song to take effect, begging it to take me far away from this world, to take me to a place where nothing terrible happened and Zelda was safe and happy and content in my arms.

But there wasn't even a shimmer in the air.

Knock it off. Whispered a voice in the back of my mind.

I ignored it, changing around the notes until they formed her lullaby, my heart aching in my chest.

Stop. It insisted, its tone strangely gentle and soothing. You're hurting yourself.

But it was worth it, I thought back. I could almost feel her lips against mine, her eyelashes against my cheek, her fingers laced with mine. I could almost smell her hair, her skin, the scent of flowers and sunshine and vanilla that always present on her clothes I wished I could bottle and wear. I could almost hear her voice, laughing, singing, whispering my name as she slept.

Each memory was a separate stab to my heart. It wouldn't take long before it gave up entirely.

Impossible to remember, but impossible to forget. I was terrified that one day I would wake up and forget the exact shade of her violet blue eyes, the texture of her silky soft hair, the sound of her laugh, the graceful way that she walked, a huff of breath when she was annoyed, the glimmer of a smile.

Heartbreaking to remember.

But I would never let myself forget.

"Your playing is lovely."

I jumped, nearly dropping the precious instrument in the process. I turned from the balcony, and there she stood.

She had changed out of her dress into a tunic and pants, her long auburn hair tied into a plait, her hands on her hips and a small smile tainting her face.

"Kassia," I acknowledged, inclining my head respectfully.

I spent much of the day trying to distract myself. She took me through a tour of the house, noticing how I took an interest in the horses in the stable. We went riding for most of the afternoon, and she sat beside me for supper. She was a good conversationalist, and a fun person to be around. But as much as I enjoyed her company, I wanted to be alone.

"Are you okay?" she asked, climbing up on the railing and sitting beside me.

"I've been better." I replied, looking down at the ground two stories below my feet.

"Can I help you?"

"You can distract me."

"Well…alright," Her brow furrowed, searching her mind, until something came to her. "Were you born with the name Nox?"

"Yes," I said, giving my mechanical answer.

"Interesting," she said, following my gaze to the perpetually spinning light. "Nox is an old Sheikahn word, you know. It means darkness, but also sometimes night, depending on how it's translated. There's a demon called Nox in one of our mythology books that's said to take on the form of the thing you fear most that the great dragon Faron supposedly sealed away centuries ago."

Something about Kassia that I had picked up right away: she had a gift for knowledge. She knew almost everything one would need to know about anything, and enough information about useless things like what she had just told me to fill several novels. It was sort of endearing, in an odd way.

My eyebrows rose. "Is that so?" I asked in a politely disinterested voice.

"Mmhmm." She nodded.

"I've been told I can be grumpy," I admitted, a small smile creeping on my face despite myself. "You think I could be demon material?"

She grinned at me, a eyeing me up and down with a calculating look. "Well…maybe if you grew some horns, ripped up your clothes a bit, dropped your voice about three octaves—"

"Three!" I protested. "My voice is plenty deep!"

"Just like a baby Zora," She snorted. "As I was saying, once you get the look down, all you have to do is pillage a town or two, sacrifice a couple people on an alter, kill the crown prince and princess before they get a chance to get married and ruin the state of the kingdom, and you'll make a—hey, are you okay?"

"Fine," I dismissed her, biting the inside of my cheek to keep from screaming, or crying, or both. "I just…have a lot on my mind."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"Not entirely," A harsh laugh escaped my lips at the idea.

What could I say to her?

I saved Hyrule, but then the Princess of Hyrule, Zelda, my lover at the time, sent me back in time, and I am still deeply in love with her, but she doesn't remember who I am, and now she is getting married to another man, and up until you showed up I was planning his demise at the end of my blade?

Yes, that would work out fine. So would the following years locked up in an insane asylum.

"Keeping things bottled up isn't good, you know." She said in that matter-of-fact voice of hers, frowning slightly. I didn't like that; making her upset. "You can talk to me. I won't judge."

After a moment consideration, I realized she wouldn't let it go. If I denied her any longer, she would begin to realize that it was something huge and awful and life destroying—which it was, but she didn't need to know that—and I didn't want to deal with that.

"Father, I have sinned." I said dramatically, hoping that any of my pain showing would be written off as playacting. "There is a thing of great beauty that I have coveted for years, and it has fallen into the hands of another. I request your forgiveness. "

She leaned close, examining my face. "You don't look guilty." She noted.

"I'm not," I admitted, my voice becoming solemn. "I'll never feel sorry for chasing it. But sometimes…like right now…it doesn't seem worth it."

Her gaze went to her lap. "I think you're being too hard on yourself." She said.

"I know." I muttered, struggling for the correct words. "I just…I need to forget the world for a while."

"I…could help you forget." She whispered, leaning closer, her eyes flicking upward to meet mine. "…If you still want a distraction."

Brown met blue, and for the briefest instant I discovered how deadly a combination they could be. But in that moment, I didn't care.

Her lips gently pressed against mine.