Good evening!

Remember when I told you to keep an eye out for chapters named "_ contact"? So here's the second; two more to go!

We're getting close to chapter sixteen, which I reread everytime I open the file (and I just did that). It's the most important chapter, I believe, so it needs to be perfect. AND IT IS. HELP ME LORD EVERYONE WILL DIE WHEN I PUBLISH IT

Kinnix Wolf: I believe this is the chapter you were looking for. In here, I start answering one of your questions.

I'm off to (finally) answer past reviews. I swear I read them the moment they get to me, but I open them on my email app on my phone and you know the drill right

Enjoy!

ye my tp zelink king

[edited 2018.03.13]


Second Contact


The instant when the total or annular phase of an eclipse begins.


Her body convulsed forward with the force of a cough, mouth gasping for air, lungs burning with the excess of carbon dioxide, and Zelda fell forward on her hands, chest heaving. She was dry, she was safe, and she would probably never get accustomed to the feel of being encased by the golden water. The beginning and the end were always the same; she would lose control over her body, muscles ceasing all work in order to get her spirit in the same plane as of the Goddesses, if that was what truly happened.

Zelda took a few more breaths before straightening her back, finding that no more drops fell on the small pool of water before her. Gingerly, she dipped her right thumb in it and drew a Triforce on her forehead, then another one over her bosom, feeling indescribably light and refreshed. They were going to watch over her mother for another year, she was going to reunite with her loved ones and would soon form a concrete idea of the prince, her husband – and, she hoped, she would find out what he exactly thought of her. She knew he disliked her, but had no general idea of what ticked him off so. Was it her habits, her looks, or perhaps something in her personality? Zelda had always wanted to be on good terms with him, but could not say why she was so preoccupied with his views and opinions on her as of late.

She was back to pondering the mystery that Link was, now that she only had to focus on finding the right direction to return to the palace. It would be a long ride, full of little nibbles on her bottom lip and she would feel the muscles on her forehead hurting from frowning so much at the end of the day. The words of the Golden Goddesses only encouraged her to think of it, to analyze every little aspect in their lives until she found what she wanted. They said soon, but when exactly was that? Maybe, if she thought of it for long and hard enough, the answer would get to her earlier than they foresaw.

The princess got to her feet and exited the cave, oddly finding the glow of the twilight blinding, shielding her eyes from the orangeish light as she made her way to her Shadow Kargarok, which appeared to be napping. Not wanting to bother it, she sat beside the bird and retrieved an apple from her mailbag, rubbing the fabric of her robe to clean the dark red skin before taking a bite of the fruit. She would only stick around for the time it would take her to eat three apples and take a sip of the water from the lake. It did seem edible, but she would not push her luck.


Zant's bird made a sharp turn and flew back to the palace, the prince tensely perched on its back. He went around the perimeters of the castle, but the princess was nowhere to be found. He was left with few options: they either did not search well around their home, she was still on the move, she was lost, or she fell to her death in one of the endless cliffs of the realm. The options ranged from bad to impossible, but they could not ignore that the latter had just as many chances of happening as the first.

It was past suppertime. Midna and Link did try out all desserts, but for once, his sister's secret weapon did not work on her enraged little brother. Zant guessed all things were bound to fail at some point. The problem was that Zelda's absence that evening made the young prince even more on the edge, so much that he refused to eat until she appeared. Needless to say, he would be going to bed with an empty stomach and no wife to keep him company. Midna offered to look about the castle again, but if Zelda's Shadow Kargarok was missing, it could only mean a thing: she was not in the palace.

Robyn had no idea where his master had gone. When questioned, he had stammered, but managed to say he did not know of her plans. Most of the time they spent together they were reading books or talking about trivial things. He did not ask the princess of her personal life the same way she asked of his, he respected her privacy. If she wanted to tell him anything he would let her do it on her own accord. The young Twili told them, however, that she read a lot of geography and history books, both Hyrulean and Twili ones, but upon inspecting her cabinet and drawers in the library, they found nothing. There was no side note on the pages, no piece of paper left behind with a clue. Zelda did an exceptional job in disappearing without leaving behind any traces.

None of them spared the painting of Lake Hylia a glance.

Now that he was back and just descending into the courtyard, they had only one thing left to do: tell her husband. They knew that, if Link had the power, he would demand that they be beheaded for keeping it from him, but telling him beforehand would do no one no good. He would get every living being from the palace and outside of it searching for her, would offer money as if she was some sort of outlaw or lost pet, would threaten anyone who spoke to her last and did not say where she was. Queen Elliét talked to most of the servants and King Ardian questioned most of the guards and none of them saw not even a fallen strand of her hair that day. It was almost time that they retired for bed and who knew where she would be now, with who and doing what. Link was up in his chambers where his sister left him, sitting on his side of the bed and sulking at the empty space beside him. Well, soon he would be glaring fiery daggers at them.

The bird landed gracefully and the prince dismounted it, passing the reins to a servant nearby who hastily and quickly took the beast to the stables. Everyone was agitated and fearing Prince Link's reaction over his wife's vanishing. Most hoped he would not go on another breaking-things spree, or worse, that he hurt another poor innocent servant who was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Link's outlet was a dangerous one, reminiscent of his younger days. Zant took off his huge riding helmet, a weird piece that he brought from his old home that resembled a chameleon, his family's mascot engraved in every blazon, and walked over to Midna, who stood by the door gently biting on her painted thumbnail.

"We have no choice left," he said with a slight shrug and she dropped her hand with a heavy sigh. "It's best that he knows now than later."

"Yeah," she agreed, eyes averted and distant, throat working to swallow thickly. Where could the Hylian princess be?

Together they walked to Link's chambers, taking as much time as they could. From the look on their faces, the servants could tell what was happening and what was to come, so they evaded their way and returned to their rooms or entered the first doors they could find, as if taking cover. Link often said that Zant's dark aura that manifested from time to time was frightening, but he had no idea how his was worse. He had no control over his emotions and once they got to him it was best to not stand in his way. He started showing signs of an untamable side of his coincidentally around the time he learned of the deal between his father and the Hyrulean King, and for the longest time they believed the contract was what triggered that darker part of him to arise, but later they found something else, something Midna was skeptical to believe. It was overwhelming to stand in the same room with him when it reached its highest peak and no one ever really interacted with him in one of these days, the only notable exceptions being his family. Most servants pitied his wife, though, for she would have to get used to this side of the prince and would live with it forever.

Midna could feel the hairs on the nape of her neck and arms rise as they got closer to his room. Every step they went up on the staircase was a step closer to a wrath that would be unleashed by themselves, and the princess closed her eyes and prayed to Fierce Deity that he try to control her brother for once. The castle did not have much furniture in sight but Link would go for them anyway the moment he stepped out of the room. They could try to keep him inside so he would wreck only one place of the palace, but keeping him in one room was as hard as trying to calm him down once it started. Her knuckles hesitantly rapped on the door thrice and the only sound that greeted their ears was loud, barely controlled deep breathing. Inhaling deeply to gather their wits, the couple allowed the door to slid open and entered the room.

The insides were utter chaos, with pillows thrown about and ripped bed sheets lying by the feet of the bed. Books were strewn open across the entire expanse of the room, pages either torn or wrinkled. A vase was broken by the closet door, the water under the shattered crystal pieces stained the fancy carpet that sported a tear or two around the edges. Instinctively, she knew where to look, at the shadowed corner across the window with now tattered black curtains. The last time something like this happened was a little over five years ago, but Midna could remember exactly how she found her brother and he was in the same exact position, as if her memories were happening all over again.

Crouched low where the walls met, Link had his palms firmly planted in the space between his bare feet, back curved so deeply that the vertebras of his spine could be easily spotted under the gray material of his tunic. His hair was in a state of disarray, pointing at all directions, while few bits of it clung to his face and neck due to the thin sheet of sweat that coated his skin. His eyes were feral, lips pulled over to show teeth, nostrils flared out. A stance ready to pounce at anyone who stepped closer. They could hear the low grumble originating from within his throat, the sound getting louder and louder as they advanced into the room.

He looked like a beast, but she refused to believe he was one.

Midna stood a little ahead of Zant and spoke slowly, calmly. "Easy, Link." He sunk down a little lower, eyes on hers. "We came to talk... About her."

In a flash, he shot from the corner, too fast for any of the other Twili to notice, and leaned over her, forcing the princess to take a step back to ensure there was some space between them. He breathed heavily, tight fists trembling by his sides, voice shaking. "Where is she?"

Link was far too short to be intimidating on a daily basis, but the Goddesses made up for his lack of height in another way, giving him a personality most would fear and feral blue eyes that were like raging seas. His sister swallowed one last time before parting her surprisingly dry lips. Her shoulders gave an involuntary slight shrug. "We don't know. She disappeared." He was silent, far too silent, but she used this opportunity to keep talking in hopes he would listen. "No one saw her. The Mirror is cold so she didn't leave the realm, but the Shadow Kargarok isn't-"

"What!?"

The princess breathed shallowly. "Her bird isn't here."

"She ran away," Zant offered from behind her and earned a dirty glare from his wife from over her shoulder.

"Or she can be lost out there somewhere." She stressed the fifth word before whipping her attention back to her younger brother and lightly touching his arms. "But we will find her, she can't be too far."

Link jerked away from her hands and stalked towards the door, Midna was far too slow to tell Zant to hold him back, but the man would be too slow to even reach him. The youngest prince immediately broke into a run, fingers bent in a way that resembled claws and striked at the first pair of decorative armors he could find, the pieces tumbling and clanging as they fell to the floor. He kicked at them mercilessly, misjudging the strength he put in one kick that sent the helmet flying and left a dent in the wall where it collided. His vision was too red to even notice and so he kept on going down the hall to yank down a fine pair of curtains his mother got as a gift from an old family friend, a violent snarl coming from him.

Zant and Midna were out of the room three seconds after the first armor was hit, and they did their best to follow him down. "We could shoot him with tranquilizing darts."

She shoved him hard against the wall, and somehow her husband did not topple over. "It's no time to joke, Zant!"

The taller of the three jumped over metal shin guards and kicked out of their way an arm piece. "I'm not joking!"

"Link is not an animal!" Midna protested even as her brother let out a guttural roar from somewhere ahead of them, followed by a loud crash and a muffled yelp. A servant tumbled out a door and ran in the opposite direction they were heading. "You! Get the King and Queen! It's an emergency!" The man nearly tripped on his own feet as he made way for the royal chambers on the floor above.

"But he has the spirit of the wolf in him!" He tried to reason, but his wife did not want to listen anything that had to do with that.

She scoffed indignantly and ran around the pieces of another broken vase, something that only helped to prove his point. "That is all but a flawed, old legend!"

There were chips of wood lying by a mangled decorative table when they rounded a corner, and their feet crushed torn and bent little flowers as they went. "Then how do you explain this, Midna!?"

She shut her eyes tight and refused to think of it, refused to consider it a possibility, but at times she believed this was a curse the Goddesses put on her brother just for fun. Not only was he born that way, but he also had the possibility of be housing that spirit within him, the one spirit that made him act as a reckless animal from time to time. Her beloved little brother was the subject of a divine prank and there was nothing within her reach that she could do to help him rid of it.

"He's going to the library," she heard her husband say, so together they went for Zelda's favorite room to stop the man she married.

Link had a tendency to go for their most valuable or rare, sometimes both, possessions. This value could be measured in money or it could have a high sentimental value to any of the members of the Royal Family. They were glad to find that the only books that suffered irreparable damage were simple fairy tale books or novels, things that could be easily replaced as opposed to the old manuscripts from families before them. He was fast as he pushed at a bookshelf and made it fall with a loud bang, and somewhere in her mind, Midna noticed he would not get close to Zelda's things. Her chair, desk and cabinet were intact and untouched, the same way she last left them before disappearing. This sparked some interest in her. If Link did not want to ruin his wife's belongings then there was something definitely happening with him that was making him change his mind about her. Never once in her life her things were spared from his tirades, and now he was consciously, or not, choosing not to break them.

Because they belonged to Zelda.

Unbelievable.

King Ardian and Queen Elliét appeared by the library door a heartbeat later and both picked up on their daughter's train of thought. The only one who did not seem to notice was Zant, who looked back and forth between his brother-in-law and the far wall of the library, something the other three did not quite seem to understand. It was only when Link was done wrecking the pile of Midna's erotic books, something he had been longing to do for a while, that he moved across the area and instantly latched his hands on the edge of the only painting present in the room. His mother gasped, hands coming up to her lips, and Zant went forward to stop him, evading his wife's fingers that tried to grab his robes.

"Your Majesty!"

He would not let him break that painting. It was far more important to Zelda than it was to Elliét and he was sure the queen knew that, he was sure she knew that the woman who painted and signed it was Zelda's mother. It was the only token left of her presence in the palace that the Hylian princess found by accident. It was her only connection with the one who loved her unconditionally. It was the only thing she could look at and feel back in Hyrule again. It was no wonder she spent so much time in the library. But Link had already yanked it away from the wall with nails and all, and was holding it above his head whilst moving closer to the window. He would toss it outside and then it would be ruined.

Zant reached and grabbed another edge of the frame, for once glad that his arms were abnormally longer than normal, and narrowed his eyes at the young prince when he snarled and turned his head around to look at him. He gave one hard tug and then –

"She is back! Princess Zelda is back!"

Then Link released the painting as if it was hot iron and bolted out the library, pushing the servant out of the way and leaving everyone behind to grasp what just happened before following him to the courtyard.


The ride back to the palace passed faster than when she left for the lake and Zelda could feel her back muscles aching from riding for so long. She felt abnormally spent and blamed it on the bird. Riding it was far more difficult than riding horses, which explained why every part of her body seemed so stiff and hurt, but the angular dark building was already in sight and soon all the pain would go away.

Her Shadow Kargarok, which she had yet to name, glided smoothly under the darkening orange and pink clouds, a sign that a storm was coming, and entered the castle limits. From above, she could see that the Palace of Twilight was made up of three buildings, each placed on different lands separated by cliffs, and all of the time she was in the one in the middle, which seemed to be the main and most important one. Zelda wondered why they needed the other two since no one ever seemed to go there, yet she could see there were guards standing outside the doors. She made a mental note to ask Midna or Zant. They would be the ones more willing to tell her, if they were allowed to say what was in there in the first place.

She barely had time to enter the courtyard and dismount her bird for the Royal Family appeared running through the back door, Link in the front. Immediately, she knew she had been caught. The creature's paws only slightly grazed the grass when her husband was already standing beside them, touching her all over and trying to get her to come down from the Kargarok. With her mind spinning, the princess slid off its back ungracefully and let Link touch her arms, waist and neck in search for injuries or abuse marks, and she silently took in his wild expression, his tousled hair and ragged breathing. Accidentally, she glanced over his shoulder and caught Midna's worried gaze, and shamefully she averted her blue eyes.

They were all surrounding them, not too close but suffocating her the same, and Link had yet to stop his atypical gesture of fussing. Managing to catch his wrist in a loose hold, the Hylian slid her hands up until it was wrapped around his own. "I am fine." She declared, and Link's wide eyes blinked once before instantly shifting to a scowl.

"Where have you been!?" He all but screeched as he yanked his arm away. She let him have his way, though it pained her somewhat to see him pulling away from her touch.

"Link!" His father chided sternly and his son turned away with shaking shoulders. "Manners!"

Elliét gently touched her on the shoulder. "We will have a meal prepared for you, dear. Let us rest, you can tell us what happened in the morning."

Zelda nodded numbly and turned to Zant when he spoke. "Sorry for the room," it sounded informal to her ears, something she had a suspicion that they did quite often among themselves. "We'll get to it tomorrow." Frowning in confusion, she missed the disapproving glare shot his way by his wife, and the princess let herself be led to her chambers with everyone in tow.

The halls were a mess with destruction visible after every ten steps they took and she was left to wonder what had transpired in her absence. Link, now down from his wrath but not exactly in peace, seemed to notice for the first time the damage he caused to the palace, but showed no signs of remorse or guilt – if anything, he seemed almost refreshed. It was nice to release bottled up emotions at times. They parted ways when it was convenient, and the interracial couple was left to walk in a tense silence to their shared bedroom, which, she noted the moment the door slid open, was in a critical state of disorder.

Link stepped over imperfect books on his way to his side of the bed and proceeded to take off his tunic with no hesitation before letting his weight fall heavily on the mattress, and Zelda stood in place looking at nothing as his heated stare fell upon her. "Well?" He inquired in a restrained tone. Never in her life would she imagine he would get this mad at her – and for not interacting with him for an entire day! "Where were you?"

She caught her tongue between her teeth, the mailbag suddenly too heavy on her shoulder. She owed him, above everyone else, an explanation. If Queen Elliét's satin robe told her anything, it was that she had misjudged the time it would take her to get to the lake, and that these birds were in no way faster than horses as Zelda had believed. In addition, something told the princess that Link had something to do with all the ruined things she spotted in her way from the courtyard, and whatever it was that hit him had to do with her momentary disappearance. In short, it was her fault. An explanation was the only thing she could give them. And maybe some rupees to pay for the repairs, but even after five months in the realm she did not know what currency they had. "I needed to find a lake."

One of his eyebrows lifted in an arch. "What for?"

Zelda swallowed. "To pray."

"Pray?" He asked suddenly, incredulously, voicing the thoughts that just ran through his mind. "You disappeared so you could pray?"

Her husband went silent, hand over his mouth. Pray. She went away to pray, in a lake. Could she not have done it somewhere else in the palace? A bathtub would be a great replacement for it. She could fill it with water and pretend to be wherever she 'needed' to be. Distantly, he recalled a foggy memory of Zant trying to force a painting out of his grasp – a painting of a lake he had never seen – and somehow he knew that was where she needed to be. Something also told him his dear brother-in-law knew something he was not aware of. Darkly, Link narrowed his eyes. Zant had some explaining to do.

She said nothing, letting him rage on. The Goddesses said she would find where she stood, and while she was musing over what Link thought of her, now she knew exactly what it was. It was too obvious not to see, the princess would have to be blind to miss it. It was there, in front of her, in the way he glared, in the way he spoke. He did not like her.

"Was it necessary? Really necessary?" The prince scoffed, throwing his hands up. "Here we were thinking you were kidnapped, or that you died, but in reality, you ran away just so you could pray?"

No, perhaps 'dislike' was too much of a weak word to describe it. Her mother used to say hate was a strong word, but now it seemed to describe his feelings perfectly.

"Gods, goddesses, deities – they don't exist!"

Zelda felt breathless, face contorting in something she could not quite describe, and in haste, she fled to the adjoining bathroom seeking refuge. The realization that he hated her was too much to bear. Suddenly, her riding gown was too tight around her chest, constricting her muscles and making it hard for air to fill her lungs. She uselessly clawed at the small round collar, as if it could somehow ease the pain she felt and force oxygen in her body, but soon the need to support herself was far greater than the need for air, so her sweaty hands gripped the edges of the sink counter. He hated her, he hated her. Her eyes shut tight and it took her knees much effort not to buckle under her weight.

Dear Goddesses, he hated her, and it hurt too much now that she was aware of it.

Link, on his part, immediately halted on his tirade when her expression changed from neutral to pained, and his mouth was hanging when she quickly escaped to the other room. Rage slowly dissipating like winter fog on the first days of spring, the emotion gave space to something he had not felt in some time – guilt. It was only after he spoke that he remembered a passage of the book, only a couple of lines, which read that she was extremely religious for someone her age and that at a certain time every year she needed to get away to pray. Now he believed this was the time they mentioned, and now he saw he should have thought twice instead of letting his emotions get the best of him. Whatever her reasons were for leaving, he should not have gotten angry. It was part of her, it was possibly something that had to do with her religion, and even though he in no way believed in such things like his parents and sibling, Link was in no place to lash at her for it. Zelda could not help it and he could have refrained from hurting her if he had more than half a brain working correctly.

Cursing under his breath, the prince suddenly felt out of place on the bed. Should he go check on her? Should he pretend nothing happened and go to sleep? He had just done what he was hoping to avoid and likely ruined any chances they had of ever understanding each other in the future. However, things would work out to her, she would be loved by all, even if it meant that he make her hate him to achieve it.

Outside, rain fell, strong and unforgiving as it hit the closed windows of their chambers, drowning out any sounds that came from the bathroom.

With a heavy sigh, Link leaned back on the headboard and did what he did worst – he waited.


Post chapter notes:

- "what the hell is going on" you ask, yet again, because nothing here makes sense and I refuse to explain. When nothing makes sense, just trust the flow

- BUT ARE WE SEEING SOME SORT OF CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT HERE? hooo boy, is Link finally starting to act like the gentleman he should be?

- Am I going to make them get closer only to later on make them argue again? hmmmmm HMMMM /rubs chin