A.N: I haven't got much to say here, other than this story is nearly over! Only a few more, two at the least, chapters left! O.O Wow! I gotta say, and this is gonna sound so cliché, but thank you guys for all the support! Even all the favourites and follows, rather than the reviews. It still shows that you guys care enough to fave and follow it, so I must be doing something right with this story. Thank you all.

Chapter Twelve

"I must kill the purple Link."

"Good. Now, go! And, Layla?"

"Yes, Master?" Layla turned back to Staegl.

"Make sure he's alone when you do it. I'd hate for his little... pet... to step in."

Layla nodded, promptly hurrying out of the dungeons and heading back to her own private room before she could arouse too much suspicion from the others in the Palace. Sneaking around late at night would be sure to raise a few questions if she was caught.

Meanwhile, Vio and Shadow were attempting to haul a certain intoxicated wind mage back to his room.

"I... love you guys!" Vaati blurted out, followed by a series of hiccups.

"We know, Vaati," Shadow sighed, bringing Vaati's arm further up his shoulder so he could support him efficiently. "We know..."

"Hey, Vio..." Vaati began, hiccuping again.

"Yes?" Vio replied, tripping slightly under trying to carry Vaati's weight.

"D'you... wanna have some fun?"

"Oh hell no!" Shadow protested. "Vio's mine, Vaati. You know that, even when you're pissed."

"C'mon, Shadow!" Vaati whined, before winking. "You could join in, too, if you wanted."

"No," Shadow replied abruptly as the three stopped outside a door. "Oh, look. We're here now. I'm off."

With that, Shadow let go of Vaati. Vio had to quickly do the same, so as not to get pulled down as the wind mage fell.

Vaati staggered to his feet and slammed open the door to his chambers.

"And with that, I bid thee... GOOD NIGHT!" The sorcerer declared, hand raised high, before passing out where he stood.

Shadow just sighed and walked off. Though this was the first time that Vio had seen Vaati in such a state, it wasn't the first time for the mirror-born Link. Vaati had been intoxicated like this several times before, be it when he was depressed or when things were going his way.

To say the wind mage wasn't at least the slightest bit of an emotional drinker would be an outright lie.

Vio stared after Shadow for a second, before making his way to his own room.

Vio's room. Naturally, it had been gifted to him once he agreed to stay in the Palace of Winds. He rarely used the room for rest, preferring to stay with Shadow of a night, but he didn't mind falling asleep there for once. Shadow seemed a little angered by Vaati's drunkenness, so Vio thought it best to leave him be until he calmed down in the morning.

The room itself, though quite small, had a homely feel to it. The bay windows were low enough to sit in, with a gorgeous view of all the outward-facing clouds beyond it. A medium-sized double bed lay in one corner, with purple bedsheets covering it to make it look untouched. The walls were a light cream in colour, one that seemed to fit in almost perfectly with the rest of the room.

The only flaw about such a warm room was the ever-present feeling of emptiness that seemed to linger; the feeling that Vio missed so much had been stripped from the room just like it seemed to have been stripped from his heart. The feeling of friendship that he shared with his counterparts.

Of course, Vio had friends here in the Palace. He had Shadow, he had Layla. Heck, he even considered the usually snappy and arrogant Vaati as a friend. But all that couldn't fill the gap that linked Vio to the other Links. Nothing, except themselves, could.

Before long, Vio found himself trying to fall asleep. Trying.

One solemn candle remained lit as the night began to pass, slowly dragging into daylight... and Vio didn't manage to sleep a wink. He had been kept up all through the seemingly endless night, thoughts consuming him until temporary insomnia struck.

He yawned; not from waking up, but instead from being so tired. Vio knew he had to get out of bed and face the day. The old clock on the opposite wall signaled the time being nine in the morning.

'I stayed awake all that time?' Vio thought to himself, rubbing his eyes as if that would rid all thoughts of sleep from his mind. A yawn escaped his mouth in defiance. The blond chuckled sarcastically to himself.

'Today's definitely going to be fun.'

"Green! Look over there!" Red pointed to what looked like a tall staircase, seemingly leading up through the mountains. It was carved from stone and worn over time, fitting in with the scenery.

The red Link started running up the staircase, Blue and Green swiftly having to run after him.

"Red, come back; you don't know what's up there!" Blue called in a panic.

"It could be Vio! We've been right so far!" Red exclaimed, still running.

"You don't know that for certain! At least slow down a little," Green chipped in.

Red sighed, before stopping to allow the other two Links to catch up.

'We've gotta find Vio soon...' Red thought to himself with a worried sigh as the three Links now slowly climbed the stone staircase. 'We just have to keep trying...'

'It's been four months now. It feels like years,' Vio contemplated inwardly, though keeping an external sense of nonchalance.

Four months. That's how long it had been without his three counterparts- Red, Blue and Green. He missed them, of course he did, but he saw what they had done. They had just given up on him, he saw the scene in the Dark Mirror. It broke his heart, but he decided not to let that get to him. At least he could have some of his own solitude here, without constantly being around others.

Vio could encapsulate himself in his room, be completely alone to his thoughts, unlike when he was travelling with the other Links. He had more of a sense of freedom, more of a chance to really live. He felt trapped before he came to the Palace, though now he was technically more trapped than ever. Even the vast expanses of Hyrule Field never compared to the sense of freedom he seemed to feel now, though he was cooped up in a building at the Palace.

Vio was sat in the grand lounge on a wooden chair, all but perched at the very edge as he listened to the idle conversation in the room. Layla and Shadow were chatting about trivial little things- the weather, daily activities, the Hinoxes and other creatures in the Palace, as well as just random conversation topics.

The blond couldn't help but let out a small chuckle at how friendly the two seemed to have become. When Layla first came to the Palace, and even when Shadow regularly visited Bryony before that, Shadow seemed to harbor a strong dislike for the girl. Layla seemed to tolerate Shadow, almost as if she really did want to be his friend, though that tolerance hadn't been returned back then.

Now the two sat talking as if they had been best friends all their life; it was quite ironic.

Vio guessed it was because Layla spent so much time around himself that Shadow grew to at least tolerate the brunette. It was nice, seeing his two closest companions getting along. The thought seemed to calm Vio, after he had endured such a sleepless and thought-filled experience the previous night.

Layla glanced over at Vio occasionally, and the purple clad Link couldn't help but feel like something was off about her. She seemed more serious than her usual, carefree self...

What could possibly have changed Layla like this?

That night, Layla lay wide awake in her bed.

She knew her mission- kill Vio for Staegl. She also knew the price for not doing this- her own life.

What would she rather do, though? Sacrifice herself for her friend, or kill her friend in order to retain her own life?

Staegl had threatened her, she had the marks of his warnings. Several bruises lined her lower abdomen, but she wouldn't let anyone see. She was warned not to let anyone know that she was in contact with Staegl.

Layla couldn't help but wonder, however, why Staegl would need Vio dead. What had he done to Staegl in the past? What had driven the cloaked man into wanting to kill him?

If only she knew. Maybe she could warn Vio without revealing anything about Staegl. It would be risky, but, for the sake of her friend, she knew it was worth it.

A.N: Layla's having second thoughts? This'll be interesting...

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