A/N: So… officially I'm a knight now. LOL, I began my summer term at the University of Central Florida now, home of the Golden Knights. But anyways, talk about a first week. I apologize in advance, I haven't used this excuse in about a good year: I'm sorry if I'm not updating as much anymore, I have classes now. And they're going to keep me busy… but I'll try my best to update whenever I can.

If anything, I have to make sure to do so to make ShinobiKitten happy. It's her story after all.

Calling

"Stop fooling around."

Link shook his head violently. He gripped his dark emerald sheets around him and held them tightly with white knuckles. His naked chest, beaded with sweat, rose and fell in rhythm to his heavy breathing. In a moment, Link let go of his sheets and his hands found themselves to his hair, grabbing his locks. He kept muttering under his breath as he tossed and turned. And then, he finally began to calm down. His breathing quieted, his heart slowed, and his muscles began to relax. He laid his hands out to the side and breathed in deep.

"We still have work to do."

Link shook his head again. He began to ball his hands into fists as he tried to keep his mind clear.

"Zelda escaped. The little slut got out. What does that say? Not to mention it's a risk."

Link had enough and sat up in bed, his hair falling into his eyes, the cold sweat allowing his blond tresses to stick to his forehead. Taking one deep breath after the other, Link looked over to window to see nothing but the cold night. He combed back his hair and closed his eyes once more. Link already knew what he had to do. But sometimes there was always that part of him that antagonized himself. The one that told him the better ways to do things even though Link thought some of them were a little too extreme. But there were some things that made perfect sense.

Link swung his legs and placed his feet on the cold floor below. He got off his bed and walked over to the shut window in his room to which he had been staring through. Clothed only in his tights he usually wore under his tunic and in the soft moonlight that reflected over his slightly sweaty body, he had propped himself against the pane so he could look out to the small marketplace. Link watched all the darkened houses that were under his rule. Under his law. Under his command. They were his people. Link knew what was best for them. He wouldn't cast them aside or use them for his own advantage. That was his goal since he even took the throne, to make sure the people of Hyrule would have the best King they ever had. And that made him smile a bit. In his mind, he was doing the right thing for Hyrule. There were no ifs, ands, or buts.

Though, even with all the darkened houses and the many people asleep in their beds, Link couldn't shake the thought of the precious princess and her dedicated followers out there, planning to overthrow him like he did her. He couldn't forget that they were out there. Not after the big deal about them escaping had happened. They were going to try and get him. Somehow, someway they were going to do so. Link was going to make sure he was ready for them. He knew that if he was having a sleepless night because of them, they were having a sleepless night because of him. And somewhere out in the dark houses of Hyrule were all of them. Zelda, the King, Impa, Malon, and of course, Vincent, they were all out there trying to figure out the way to get passed Link's defenses. They were determined, Link gave them that much.

Link's smile faded a bit before he tore himself from the window. He knew he needed rest. That was what he was going to get. He wasn't going to give them any advantage.

Because they were out there. They were waiting for him to mess up and take the opportunity to kick him out of the castle. Biding their time, waiting for the chance to strike, and watching the hours pass before they could work up the strength to come to Link.


"Oh, Goddesses, I love apple pie!" Vincent exclaimed as he was helping himself to his third - or possibly fourth – piece of pie. He took his slice, forgetting the fact that it had been hours later after dinner, and walked over to the couch in the living area and sat down in it. He sank into the soft cushions as he took a pronged fork to the crusty surface and stole a bite. Vincent put his feet up on the coffee table before him and enjoyed the moments he had with his new slice of apple pie.

"Vincent, how can you be so… calm," Zelda said, struggling for a better word, "at a time like this? You do know that we're going to have to go up to the castle one of these days and be in the fight for our lives and country."

"You should know how Vincent is already, Zelda," Malon said as she sat down next to Vincent. "After all, weren't you with him while I was away? Didn't you take any time to actually figure Vincent out?"

"Malon, Zellie," Vincent said as he took another bite. He could feel the tension beginning to build between the both of them. And it only made sense, especially now that Malon was a little more assertive than before. Not to mention that Zelda got back her backbone so she wouldn't take anything lying down. The both of them had been at it for the entire while they had been free. Vincent, being Vincent, took it upon himself to be the peace maker. After all, they were arguing about him. "Both of you, try to stay friends with each other, at least, for now anyways. Like Zelda said, we gotta figure out what to do when we're in the castle."

"I know what we have to do," Zelda said as she sat down on a chair near to the couch. She leaned forward, her mouth exposing itself from the fabric used to muffle and hide it. "I'm going to sneak in. At least I'm going to be the one actually in there more until I can get both of your weapons. Until I get them, I think it's best if you stay here or something. No real reason for all of us to get caught again. If I'm the only one in there, not only do I have a better chance to get out, I'm also the only one who gets put in danger's way."

"Zellie," Vincent butted in. "I can't let you do that."

"Vincent, no."

"No, Zelda, he's right," Malon added. "Yeah, sure, if you go in alone you're probably going to be alright. But its Link and Siliva. You're going to have to go through a lot. I know Vincent is at least a good brawler and I'm Gerudo, I know how to fight when I'm disarmed. I'm sure if we go in, at least the three of us, we'll have a better chance of getting out… and I mean all of us."

"You guys don't understand," Zelda softly said. She held herself as she kept her gaze aimed downwards. "I have to do this myself. There's already far too much on my shoulders and if you two were to get deeper into this, I don't think I could forgive myself."

Malon and Vincent let up their relentless arguments and looked at each other for a moment. Malon walked over to Zelda and sat down next to her. She wrapped an arm around Zelda and held her as well. Vincent sighed and quietly finished his pie. The entire house was filled with an awkward silence as the three of them didn't say a word. And as the painful minutes ticked away, Vincent finally cleared his throat.

"Zelda, I'm going to speak for myself right now," he said as he stood up. "I know your blaming yourself for a lot of things. You have to believe me though, going in together is safer than you going in alone. How? Well, at least someone'll have your back if you do get spotted right? Don't worry about me. It's my choice going back in there to get my swords back, you know."

"He's right Zelda," Malon added. "It's our choice. We want to come along and help."

Zelda stiffly smiled, "You really want to help?"

"Yes," Malon and Vincent both answered.

Zelda nodded slightly, "Okay, fine. You guys win. You'll tag along but it's going to be dangerous."

"Tell us something we don't know, Zelda," Vincent said as he headed toward the kitchen.

"What are you getting now?" Malon asked, placing a hand on her hip. She had a look of disbelief as she was waiting for the answer.

"More pie, of course," Vincent said with a smile. He turned into the kitchen and sighed as he looked at his visitor. "And why the hell are you still here? Shouldn't you have gone back to Silvia by now?"

Aivlis looked up from the table, herself enjoying a slice of apple pie. She cleared her throat and thought about what Vincent had just mentioned. She remembered the kiss she had to give Link in order to keep up appearances. And then she thought about the wrath she would have to endure when she did return back to Silvia. That wasn't a good thing by Aivlis' logic so she decided to stay somewhere… safe, for the lack of a better word. "No, I think I'm fine here. You guys are worth my time, be honored I want to waste it."

Vincent crossed his arms and stared at her, "I know I didn't make this a point before but you and Silvia are really different."

"You think?" Aivlis uttered. She took another bite, "Silvia's pies are better. You know, I could help you getting back your weapons."

Vincent looked at her for a moment to see if she was joking or not, "You should've said something beforehand. Zelda was having a fit in there."

"I said I could," Aivlis stressed. "I didn't say I was."

"I knew that was too easy," Vincent added as he walked passed her, going over to the cooled off pie on the counter. "You really know how to dangle a little hope and yank it away."

"Tell you what," Aivlis said. "I'll sleep on it." She got up from the table and went out into the living room, making quite a scene with Zelda and Malon.

Vincent sighed, no matter what; it was going to be a long night.

Zelda, Malon, and Vincent did manage to calm down enough to get to bed that night. None of them had a real night's rest though. Zelda sat in bed, scared for the following day and what was awaiting her when she would sneak into the castle. She would've really preferred it if Vincent and Malon sat it out but she knew that they wouldn't. But Zelda had to keep an eye out for their safety as well. Malon, on the other hand, simply lay in bed as she tried to deal with the fact that kept slapping her in the face every time she tried to deal with it. Vincent and Zelda had been together in a more physically tender relationship than she and Vincent had ever been in. That bothered Malon but she couldn't blame Vincent. She had known what kind of person he was but she couldn't help but feel hurt. She kept telling herself that it was more important that she moved on. She accepted Vincent's proposal finally, he would stay faithful no matter what. And then there was Vincent himself, who had boundless confidence over a core of insecurity.

But they got sleep. Not the best sleep in the world, but they got sleep.

And the sun began to rise against the horizon.

And Silvia was up that morning. The sun barely peaking through and she was already up. As usual, she was doing her normal rounds of the castle, never trusting Link's oblivious shadows for the job. And as Silvia rounded a corner, she was taken aback as Link somehow kept himself from being detected by Silvia, stood in front of her, blocking the rest of her way to finish her duty. There was definitely something different about him, though Silvia didn't know or could put a finger on what it was. And it wasn't something as shallow as noticing that he dressed himself a little differently that morning. There was something more about Link. Something that didn't seem like himself.

"Morning Silvia," he said, his voice toned a little lower than usual.

"Link?" Silvia asked, surprised by that air of confidence all around him. She slightly looked away as she finally took a good look at how he was dressed. She noticed he had looked different, but didn't notice how. There he stood, his cotton white long sleeve pressed around his torso leaving little to Silvia's imagination of how his muscles rippled across. Especially since, even with the dark forest green tunic he had on wasn't tied at the top to expose his chiseled chest. "How is your tuni-," Silvia stopped, cleared her throat, "How are you this morning?"

He gave her a smile as he took the few steps closer to Silvia to be right there in front of her. "I've been well, Silvia," he said as his finger found its way to Silvia's chin and lifted her head so their eyes could meet. "I trust you've been the same."

"Of course Link," she answered. "Just been making rounds of the castle, a little useless now that Zelda and the rest escaped but this way I know if they try to come back in."

Link kept his smile, "Of course Silvia. You know you don't need to though, right? That's why I have shadows patrolling the perimeter and area."

Silvia didn't want to bring up that she didn't trust those things to get her a glass of water. "I know but I'd feel better if I was in charge of keeping the castle safe. I sort of had to do when I had been assigned to guard Zelda. It's no hassle for me to do so once a day, at least."

"Silvia," Link said, a tone of disapproval and unhappiness strangling his voice. He leaned in closer to her, their lips nearly touching. "You don't have to do it though. I think I'd be happier if you stayed with me instead of getting up so early to just scout the area," Link seductively added, each time he spoke his lips grazed with Silvia's.

"Link," Silvia choked out. She had no idea how to handle Link's forwardness. Trying to keep that blush that wanted to creep into her face from coming, Silvia kept her composure. Link was indeed surprising her. And with little remorse for what he was implying, she really couldn't handle him at the moment. Silvia stepped back for a moment, trying to keep her distance with Link. "There'll be time for that… later. Or, you know what I'm talking about," she said. Silvia then took a deep breath as she managed to keep her stoic demeanor. "First things first, right? Zelda and the others have escaped and we know them. They will come back. I just don't want to get caught off guard when that happens. And…" Silvia decided to do it, "Your shadows aren't cut to keep guard unlike I am. You know how easily anyone can sneak by them? It's not hard, and I know I'm a Sheikah but that doesn't matter. Who else other than me is better to keep our perimeter?" Silvia gave Link a slight look of defiance and she was trying to see what he had to say.

"If you know you can do a better job, then," Link stated flatly, "be my guest."

Silvia was just glad that that Link managed to listen and be reasonable with the facts. He was just far too different though. He wasn't the same Link that she managed to fall in love with. This one was far too forward for her and Link's own good. "Then it's decided. Good, I'm glad we had this talk Link." Hoping for the best, Silvia turned around, "Link, I just don't think we're ready to move to that part of our relationship. I love you and you love me but, we're just not ready."

Silvia felt arms wrap themselves around her, gently thankfully. It surprised her a bit but Silvia knew it was Link, easily. She turned to see his face over her shoulder, his smile innocent and happy. Silvia noticed that he had growing stubble at the moment. She smiled a bit, he forgot to shave that morning and she suspected it was because he wanted to see her early. She felt safe in his arms. The only place she really felt safe. Just to feel his beating heart under the thin layers of fabric and feel his muscles tighten and flex around her, which eased her.

"Its fine, Silvia," Link said, soft and gentle, like his embrace. "We can wait."

"Right, Link," she said, the blush this time winning over her will and creeping to her cheeks.

He raised his head and kissed her reddening cheek and let her go. He walked around her so he could start down the hallway Silvia came from.

"Link, can I ask you something before you go?" she asked.

He stopped and turned around with a raised eyebrow. "Sure, Silvia, what is it?" he asked as he walked up to her again. He looked down to her, his cobalt eyes boring through her sapphire gaze. "Is something the matter?"

"We've danced around this subject more than enough times," she said. "What did you learn in the shadow temple?"

Link's eyes widened at the question. Something inside of him seemed to fight for what to tell Silvia. She knew which side kept winning whenever the question had been kept brought up. She only hoped that this time the other side won and she could finally hear his answer. But as he let out a held in sigh and combed his blond hair with his hand, his eyes seem to waver from her gaze, this time hers were boring into his. He gently closed his eyes for a moment before opening them again, this time a deeper blue than what Silvia had stared at before.

"What happened in the shadow temple," he began.

"Yes, Link?" Silvia asked, eager to hear what he had to say but not showing any sign of it.

He smiled and cupped her cheek in his rough and callous hand, "Is something I can't tell you at this moment." And before Silvia could utter an argument, Link leaned in and gave her a quick kiss. As he broke the chaste moment, "Please forgive me." He then turned on his heel and began to walk away.

Silvia watched him walk away, very disappointed that he didn't tell her anything. She was going to get to the bottom of his new found powers one way or another. And as Link rounded the corner and disappeared from sight, Silvia let out a deep sigh. She knew it was wrong to go behind Link's back to find out what had happened but it wasn't right for him to keep things to himself. Two wrongs didn't make a right comes to mind but on the other hand, keeping the truth hidden is another kind of wrong on its own level. So, with a made up mind, Silvia turned on her heel and walked the other way. Yes, a Sheikah knows the importance of keeping secrets secret but, Silvia thought what Link kept to himself needed to be known.

And as Silvia and Link worked on their own agendas, Vincent, Malon and Zelda of course were making their way into the castle. Aivlis didn't accompany for a reason unknown to them since she has her own secrets but they figured with the information Aivlis had told them, they wouldn't need her. On top of that, Vincent and Malon trusted Zelda's well-rounded – yet rusted – Sheikah skills. And with some trial and error, they managed to infiltrate the castle. Aivlis only had pointed them in the right direction, so they were on their own for the most part. Sort of.

"Last time we should ever do something like that again," Vincent said as he cracked his neck.

"Stop complaining, Vincent," Malon said as she playfully hit his shoulder. Though it hurt more than she meant it to as Vincent rubbed his shoulder afterwards. "We're in all the same so it's worth it. We need to get our swords back and this is the price we have to pay. Sneaking back into the castle… yeah, it is more ridiculous once you say it out loud."

"Come on guys," Zelda said as she led them forward. "We can't afford to stay in one spot for too long. Link's shadowlings are crawling all over the place. And we have to worry about Silvia. Let's just get them, get out, and plan our next move."

"Just lead the way Zelda," Vincent said as he placed his hands behind his head. "I feel naked enough without my swords. I'm all for getting in an out as quick as possible."

"Too bad we don't know where they might be," Malon said, brining that to attention. She walked behind both of them, taking the rear as she kept a look out. Vincent could've done it but Malon was Gerudo trained, she would be fit to get the rear instead of him. "Any clues, guys?"

"It's Link," Vincent said. "For all we know, they could still be in the throne room. On the other hand they could be in the armory. Or…"

"Or in his room," Zelda said as she was going up some stairs.

Malon and Vincent stopped for a moment, thinking about what Zelda had said. They tried to piece it together but it didn't add up for them. They didn't want to make a commotion and argue about it so they shrugged it off and followed Zelda up the stairs. They trusted her enough but it just seemed strange that Zelda would say Link's bedroom of all places. And as they followed Zelda, evading the shadow Links and bypassing all his security, Zelda reached a door and carefully opened it. Without another word she slipped in and shut the door behind her.

"His room?" Vincent asked aloud.

Malon looked at him, "That's wear Zelda thought they might be."

"And I was right!" Zelda said with a smile as she came out of the room, opening and closing the door behind her. In her arms she carried two pairs of sheathed swords. "I take it the straight and narrows are Vincent's and you have the swords that curve, right Malon?"

"Just give me," Vincent said as he reached and took his swords.

"How did you know they were in there?" Malon asked as she took her swords.

"Its Link, he keeps everything he earns and receives with him in some form or fashion," Zelda explained.

"Am I really that easy for you to read, Zelda?" Link asked from behind them.

Zelda froze and slowly turned around. Her confidence, what small amount of it she had left, left her as she came eye to eye with Link. Vincent and Malon looked over to Link, but his attention was on Zelda. He had a smile on his face though, something that wasn't as comforting as it was supposed to be. Vincent quickly grabbed his swords by the hilt and kept a stance ready in case Link tried anything. Malon, on the other hand, unsheathed her blades and was ready for a fight.

"Link?" Zelda asked.

Link looked over to Vincent and Malon before turning back to Zelda. "Is there a problem, Zelda?"


Silvia walked into the shadow temple, safe from the perpetual rain from the graveyard even though it hardly bothered her. She walked into the shadow temple, a place where things that go bump in the night and the unknown called home. A place where the normal people of Hyrule never wanted to venture into. Only the bravest or foolish of them entered to see what the temple held inside but not that many ever came out. It was also a place where Link had went into to fulfill his role as the Hero of Time. There were many secrets held within the walls and many unknown and lost to the ages.

But it was one place where Silvia could always turn to for answers.

Her steps echoed throughout the hallowed hallways and caverns of the temple but no chill went through her spine as the unwelcoming door of the temple stood open, not respectively though. The doors were violently pushed open and cracks ran along, leaving them barely standing. She didn't know what to expect but she kept moving forward toward the circle of torches, nearing the stone that was in the middle of them all. Her eyes caught the sight of more vandalism, or what she thought at the time, as the torches leaned away from the stone – a few even burnt down to little more than a stand. Even the stoned in the middle was cracked and singed.

Silvia kept walking forward; something told her that she was going to get her answer pretty soon.

And then she walked to the stone and crouched down to feel the cracks that now adorned it. Her eyes widened for that moment. She stepped back, fear finally making itself known to Silvia after such a long time. Her blue eyes looked from the stone over to the opened door of the temple. She knew what that had equaled but it wasn't something good. With the evidence that was on the stone and how the temple door was so violently opened, Silvia could only hope that it wasn't what she thought it was.

"No Link… what have you done?"