This chapter needs a big shout out to lunamew (aka devkyu) for being an inspirational genius. If not for her, this chapter would have never happened.

Zelda's day could not get anymore awkward. Gibdo had agreed not to mention her late night outing to her father, out of respect for her reputation, but there was unfortunately no hiding the news of her "suitor." The stable boy had excitedly run off and was hollering the newest bit of exciting news, so no matter what she did, her father was going to hear of her most outrageous lie yet. And as a result, she received a message from her father, inviting her to sit for a cozy dinner in his office, just like the old days. She had been hiding in the hedge maze as she read the note, and in her frustration she crumpled it up and threw it aside.

Hiding forever was not an option for her, unfortunately. Miserably, she headed to her room and changed into a proper dress for dinner, rather than the riding dress she hadn't bothered to change out of since her luckless choice of words just earlier. Given the option, she would have dug a hole, gone inside, and never come out to see the light of day again. That would be delaying the inevitable, however, so she did her best to hold her chin high and entered the Prince-Regent's office.

Link's eyes brightened when she entered the room. Like the proper gentleman he was, he rose when she entered, guiding her to her seat and then taking his own again.

Silence followed.

Zelda made no effort to try and speak, choosing instead to focus all of her attention on a specific spot on the desk in front of her. She would rather think of anything than what would no doubt be one of the most awkward conversations she would ever have in her life.

"So Ione, you're always vanishing in the afternoons." A small wince came upon her as her father began. "And the rumors have certainly exploded as to why. I hadn't expected to hear anything about a suitor, I'll admit." She dared to look her father's direction then, surprised to see he didn't seem to be put off at all. In fact, he wore a smile. "Is it safe to say you vanish so often to meet with this young man?"

Inwardly, she huffed. After all, the "suitor" was likely older than her father, even if he didn't look it. But the redhead couldn't bring herself to vocalize a proper answer, so she simply gave a stiff nod with her burning face and went back to trying to focus on the desk.

Link nodded back, but conversation was halted for a moment as the maids came in and brought their meals. Zelda merely poked her food, but couldn't bring herself to eat. Honestly, her stomach was jumping hoops, and she wasn't sure that she'd be able to keep anything she ate down. With her father going ahead to continue the conversation, she wasn't willing to chance it.

"I do remember on your birthday saying that I'd no longer interfere if someone wished to court you… But as your father, I do feel it necessary to warn you to not get too careless. Please, be careful. Men, especially men your age, aren't always honest with their intentions."

You have no idea, Daddy. The princess thought to herself. The anxiety building within her didn't cease its nagging. Thirsty, she reached for her glass of water.

"Is this suitor of yours anyone I know?"

She nearly choked.

Link immediately rose to help his daughter, but she held her hand in protest and did her best to regain her composure. When the coughing had died down, she took a breath and then hoarsely responded, "Y-yes…" Not anyone you'd approve of, certainly. Not that Vaati was courting her!

Worried from her choking fit, he looked at her uneasily, but he nodded, getting back to the conversation. "Ah… that's good to know. Hopefully that will not make it too awkward for him, though I'd have liked it if he came to declare his intentions for you to me, firs-"

He was interrupted by the sounds of laughter from the hallway, causing both father and daughter to look at the door to the hallway in surprise. The laughter didn't last, as the pair that was having such an apparent good time likely took notice of where they were in the castle and contained themselves. Link looked to his daughter with a tired, but not unhappy, expression. "The official Harvest Festival celebration may be postponed, but I hear that it's not really stopping most people from having pre-celebratory parties."

People did like any excuse to party, she thought to herself. I was like that once too. Now, she just wanted people to stop looking at her.

"Perhaps when the official celebration does happen, however I can meet this beau of yours?"

Immediately, she stood up. "I-I have to go. Please excuse me, Da- Father." She didn't even wait for a response, hastily heading towards the doors despite hearing her father rise and raising a protest. She didn't heed them, throwing the door open quickly as she made to rush out.

But she was foiled in her quick escape. Where she thought there would be empty space perfect for her to break out into a full on sprint, instead a person stood there. A woman.

Malon stood right in front of her, surprise clearly visible on her face. The ranch mistress was wearing a thin layer of makeup and a dark blue dress that Zelda had never seen on her before. Being so close to her, the princess could even catch a whiff of a light floral smell. If Zelda hadn't nearly crashed into her, she might not have even recognized the woman as her father's longtime friend.

"Your daughter isn't the only one who thinks of you as precious!" The words echoed in her mind, then. Malon's words, spoken to her father in privacy, behind closed doors when his fate was still so uncertain.

Without even saying a word, she stepped around Malon and resumed her hasty getaway. I'm… I'm in the way.

Her father had invited Malon to dinner. Zelda was just an afterthought, brought in at the last minute upon the rumor mill churning out her lie of a suitor. After all, why would he want to spend time with her again like "old times?" Too much had changed between them, there was no more trust between father and daughter. He wants Malon there, not me.

And that was… fine. It was just fine. After all, he'd never even looked at another woman aside from her mother. Even a faithless liar like him deserved to find happiness with someone else, she thought bitterly; and Malon certainly deserved to find her happiness. Who was she to butt in? She was an adult now, after all; and with all the mistrust between them, being a daddy's girl was no longer in her realm of possibility.

No longer a possibility and… it was fine. In fact, she had stopped her rushing to her room, and had begun to take a more leisurely pace. Even when she arrived, she was able to go in and close her door quietly. Whereas before the thoughts of her father possibly leaving her life forever in some way had bothered her, now she was perfectly okay with it, not as bothered by the prospect as she had originally thought. What really bothered her was-

"A suitor, eh? I must say, dear Princess, I'd no idea you thought of me in such a manner."

That. That was what was really bothering her. The girl looked over to her balcony doors, partly opened since she had never closed them earlier. Sitting upon the balcony balustrade was a singular beholder, its eye looking incredibly smug. Irritated but otherwise unaffected, she walked over to the balcony and leaned over the balustrade near the creature. "Poe's brother was suspicious and I was put on the spot; I simply blurted out the first thing that came to mind." With a sigh, she hung her head in shame, "Now everyone is spreading more rumors about me. It seems I'll never cease to be a source of entertainment."

"It's the price of being a public figure," Vaati said matter-of-factly through the beholder. It flitted off from its perch and hovered below Zelda's face, the singular red eye meeting her gaze. "But what does it matter what they think? Why should you care about what anyone else has to say of you?"

Zelda's heart skipped a beat, unsure what to make of this sudden change from teasing to concern. "B-because I'll be leading the kingdom someday, their approval-"

"Means nothing if you're the goddess chosen heir to the throne." The beholder Vaati spoke through flew back to its previous perch then, its singular gaze still upon her. "All it serves to do by paying attention to their words is make you a pathetic and miserable mess. It's irritating." Now that sounded more like Vaati, she thought. She stood up straight and put a hand on her hip, glaring at the beholder. The creature's eye seemed to have a sparkle in it now. "There's that annoying haughtiness of yours I've come to respect. It suits you better than being a sobbing mess."

"Why are you even here?" Zelda asked, exasperated, "To mock me about my slip of the tongue?"

A chuckle warbled through the bat-like creature, "It was an amusing slip, I'll admit." The beholder again took flight, hovering inches away from her face, yet again. Except this time, she could almost see Vaati on the other end of its pupil. His expression would be cocky, as it always would be, but teasing. "Perhaps it was even wishful thinking?"

Her hand went to swat at the creature, but her strike was half-hearted and it dodged easily enough. Another chuckle escaped from the beholder, "That aside, my visit is in relation to your little slip. People are going to be having their eyes on you all the time, much as you may hate it. Gossip is such a past-time for your kind, after all. That would make it rather tricky, I think, to continue our lessons as they've been going. But I suppose you make decent enough progress, as well, so you can consider this a vacation: no lessons until further notice."

The princess's jaw dropped. "What?" It wasn't shock that came from her mouth, but indignation. "No! I need to continue! If I stop now, I'll lose progress!"

"Amazing how one day you go from saying I'm too rigorous to now craving your torture," the wind mage drawled, the beholder's eye rolling in displeasure. But it quickly focused in on her, its pupil narrowed and anger emanating from its gaze, "Unfortunately, I'd rather keep your father from finding out I'm alive and well. Unless you want someone to follow you and, as a result, a mysterious statue will take residence in Hyrule Field?"

The hiss in Vaati's voice had her unconsciously step back for a moment. He was upset… and she could see why. It was unreasonable right now, when rumors were flooding about who her "mystery suitor" was, that she could even think of wandering anywhere without being followed. Vaati was her secret; she made a promise to him, a promise on her very soul that she would make no move to use the Four Sword on him. In her mind, that also extended to her father. If Zelda was caught with a man who looked like her father's foe from thirty years ago, her father would take up the Sword again. "I'll consider it a test of patience then…" she conceded.

The beholder hovered in front of her silently for a moment, "Good." Vaati's response was curt, but the beholder then went and circled around her, "Very good." This time, it seemed genuine. She let out a breath she hadn't known she'd been holding.

Laughter erupted from down below then, catching both the attention of Zelda and Vaati. Off duty guardsman were walking along, bottles in hand, exclaiming how they were heading to the town for a good time. The princess sighed, hoping the townspeople wouldn't get all their festivities drained away before the postponed celebration began.

Vaati seemed less impressed through his Beholder, the bat creature holding itself in a manner she could only describe as self-important. "You Hylians are a confusing lot; I fail to see the merits of losing all sense of motor control in 'celebration.'"

The princess shrugged, "Say what you will, people will have their fun in ways they see fit. Maybe you should try it sometime."

With a sniff, the beholder 'poofed' away in a puff of purple smoke. It was Zelda's turn to roll her eyes. To think of all excuses she could come up with, it had to be that she had a "suitor." Again, she felt the embarrassment well up inside of her. I just keep putting myself into corners… Yet despite the fact it should have been a miserable chain of thought, a small smile played upon her lips. Cornered she may have been at every turn, but she felt she'd grown so much. Insufferable as he can be… I do owe him thanks.

It was an unusual request from the Master, Poe thought. Vaati tended to be fiercely independent, and if there was one thing the wind mage made absolutely clear, it was that Poe was lower than the dirt beneath his boots. As such, the soldier felt incredibly out of place, yet highly honored, that Vaati had invited himself into his house and said, "Show me around this hovel of a town."

So now, in deathly silence, Poe was guiding his Master, who had glamoured himself with a more "human" complexion and darkened hair, around the very active and boisterous town. The off duty Poe simply led his Master around, identifying some establishments as he knew them and making no small talk with the Master – his Master wasn't fond of small talk. Even loking over his shoulder at Vaati would send chills up his spine, as the wind mage seemed to have a pinched look on his face constantly – as if everything he saw was offending.

Luckily, anyone that might have known Poe was already too drunk to recognize him, so no one stopped to ask who the stranger with him was. If there was one thing he could say, it was the Harvest Festival's official celebration may have been delayed, but he was glad people were still getting drunk. Yet evidently, that seemed to be the primary reason that Vaati was so intrigued with the town right now.

"Ten years I've observed all these celebrations in Hyrule, and they still never cease to amaze me. I fail to see the point in all of this." Vaati had finally confessed when they had taken a break from their exploration. They stood in the corner of a big pitched tent, where crowds of people were gathered around tables hooting and hollering their drunken heads off. The wind mage didn't seem at all impressed, and even seemed to look like he'd seen something incredibly uncivilized as a group of men all stood up with arms linked and began to slur a song loudly that the rest of the tent sung along with them.

Poe fidgeted, then, unsure as to how to ask when he knew a line of questioning similar to the one he had right now didn't go over well with the Princess earlier. "Erm… if I'm free to speak, sir… Ah, where you're originally from… they didn't do things like this?"

A blast of wind came from nowhere, the tent's canvas blowing around wildly while woman giggled as they attempted to keep their skirts up. It was a spot of strange weather for the folks in the tent, when it actuality it had been a knockdown blast Poe, who was writhing in pain as Vaati's heel dug into the base of his back. "Oh, Poe, you seem to have fallen down. How unfortunate." His heel grinded harder, and Poe let out an extended "aaaaaaargh" before managing a, "I-I'm sorry – a th-thousand apologies, M-Master…"

The sweet release of freedom came after a moment when Vaati had apparently thought the apology passable, and Poe shakily brought himself back up. His Master's face was clear in that his anger was barely contained, and the off-duty soldier was all too glad when a minor distraction came in the form of a serving girl with a tray of mugs. "On the house, sirs~" She said sweetly.

Poe quickly took a mug and downed it instantly, needing the extra fortitude to deal with his unruly lord, while Vaati looked at the girl uninterestedly and eventually took a mug when he realized the girl wasn't leaving. Upon Vaati taking the mug, she gave a poor curtsy and left, leaving the mage to sniff the contents of the mug and grimace. "It smells like alcoholic sewer water."

The soldier smiled nervously, "Well, it doesn't taste like it, thankfully. It's actually sweet."

Sloshing the contents of the mug suspiciously, the disguised mage didn't seem convinced. "What's the point of it? Drinking this "sweet" swill and losing all sense of yourself? I fail to see the benefits of it. Explain it." He commanded.

"Uuuuuuh," Poe had to think on it for a moment. Never having been a spiritual or religious man, he wasn't quite sure as to the origins of the Harvest Festival, but he could make educated guesses. "Erm, well, I think it started off as a way to give thanks to Farore for providing a good bounty in the harvest, or maybe a way to keep her happy. Either way, I think it went from that to just a reason for people to have fun."

"Tch," Vaati's tongue clicked in displeasure. "The girl said the same thing earlier."

Ah, now Vaati's sudden interest in the Festival made more sense. Zelda had mentioned that the townsfolk had fun in all of this, Poe guessed. It wasn't something his Master was likely to admit, but the princess was having the tiniest little influences on him. After all, when you went and built a bridge, it did cross both ways.

Another silence came upon them, with Poe noting that his Master was still sloshing the drink around curiously. "… Did you, erm, want to try, Master?"

Vaati looked at him with indignation and spat, "Don't be absurd."

With a flinch, Poe dropped the subject… but Vaati still kept waving the drink in his hand around. "Ah, well, it's true the free stuff they give out here isn't great but… Back at my place there's a homemade brew that my father used to make before he… uh, died. It's sweeter, tastes much better than this stuff…"

More silence passed, but after a moment, Vaati had seemed to come to a conclusion. He dumped the mug's contents onto the grass and then tossed the mug, proudly declaring, "I shall try your family's recipe. But only once."

Going to bed without properly eating was a miserable experience. Awkward as it had been attempting to speak with her father, she should have at least tried to eat something… But she refused to go out and have drunken servants pester her as to the identity of her fictional suitor. So with little choice, she had curled up in her bed and had her blankets pulled around her tightly, all while attempting to ignore the far off sounds of servants having their "unofficial" fun.

But it was getting hard to ignore that annoying tapping sound… until she realized it was coming off the panes of her balcony door. Ugh, what does he want now? He had just told her there wasn't going to be training for the next few days, and they hadn't done nightly training in a while. Zelda had resolved herself to ignore the tapping, but the more she heard, the more irritating it became. So she had given up and began the annoyed march to her balcony, but slowed down in alarm when she noted the odd sight behind her doors.

There were three beholders, one rolling on the floor, the other also on the floor but attempting to fly and failing miserably, and the last one who was rolling back and forth, its little horns tapping her doors with little rhyme or reason. In all the years she'd noted the creatures, she had never once seem them act like this.

Gingerly, she approached and opened one of the doors. The little winged eye rolled numbly, and she noted that it was half-lidded and unfocused. "Z-Zelda?! Zelda, are you there?!"

Her eyes shot open in panic, and she picked up the limp creature. "Poe?! Poe, is that you? What's wrong?" He sounded terrified!

"Zelda-" he sobbed, "It's awful, it's Master Vaati! He just won't sto-"

"Poooooooooooooe, Pooooooooooooe-" it was Vaati's voice, sounding as if it was from far away. The little beholder in her hands swayed half-heartedly. "Whu-whus going on, there? Whater you doiiiing?"

"Oh goddesses no, Master Vaati, put that down! I'm over here!"

"D-don't speak t'me like that! I'll tear down this whooooole place! Wipe it cleeeeeear off the map! R-remember who I am!"

A cold sweat came upon her. What was happening? Was Vaati so clouded in anger and rage he could barely speak properly? "P-Poe, are you all right? Where are you?!"

"Zelda, please, I need your help – just come to my house right away!" And just then, she heard something crashing down and Poe screaming.

Without a second thought, she tossed the beholder aside, and threw on a pair of shoes. She didn't even care that she was still in a nightgown; the princess just did her best to tear down the halls and sprint out, not even paying attention to how lucky she was that anyone who saw her was sloshed out of their wits or unable to recognize her from how fast she forced herself to go. In her worry, she'd barely paid any attention to any of that, until she was in Castle Town and realized that she'd only ever been to Poe's residence a couple of times.

Tearing this way and that, trying to force her memory to remember the route to her friend's house, she couldn't have been more grateful to the goddesses when she found the house. Zelda didn't even knock; she threw open the door and rushed in, "Poe!?"

What she saw was not at all what she had ever expected to see.

Vaati was twirling and spinning on a support beam of the house, dancing and grinding up against it as nude as the day he was born. "M-Master, noooo!" She heard Poe cry from the other room. The next thing she knew, the soldier had tackled the mage to ground and threw his cloak upon him, to which the wind mage cried out all sorts of obscenities.

In all honesty, the princess wasn't sure whether to back out of the house and pretend she hadn't seen anything, or stay and attempt to help. What made the decision for her, however, was seeing Poe break down into a sobbing mess as Vaati had escaped the soldier and flew off into the next room tangled in his cloak, and a deafening crashing sound rung out through the house. She closed the door behind her and stepped in, her mind attempting to forget the sight she'd just seen and failing miserably. "P-Poe?"

From his crumpled heap, her friend looked over his shoulder at her, tears streaking down his face and crooked nose. He rose up and immediately went and embraced her, bawling, "I-it's terrible! He just s-said he'd try one, and th-then he ended up-p-p liking it! And I was l-like, 'this is nice, bonding with the Masssster,' b-but I had no idea h-he had no t-toler-eraaaance!" She patted him awkwardly as he cried into her shoulder.

Here she had thought that Vaati was in an inconsolable rage. Instead, he was just… really, really drunk.

"Poe."

The sound of Vaati's voice sent a chill up her spine, and even in her arms Poe felt like he'd frozen in place. She could see Vaati picking himself up from what seemed to be a newly broken bookcase. Zelda was all too glad that his cloak covered him up, but, drunken haze he may have been in, his anger was very obvious.

With a yelp, Poe was torn away from her. Zelda gasped, wide eyed with terror when she saw that Poe had flown towards Vaati, and the mage had a healthy and tight grasp around her friend's neck. The soldier hacked, trying to keep his lungs filled with air, while Vaati just eyed the man with venom in his gaze. "What… do you think you're doing?" Angry as he was, there was still a slur in his voice.

The princess immediately ran forward, grabbing into Vaati's outstretched arm and attempting to get him to drop Poe. "V-Vaati, stop! What are you doing?!"

"I never gave him permission for that." His voice was still slurred, but his words will still sharp and his grip on his servant's neck seemed to grow tighter. As Poe's color faded and began to slowly turn blue, Zelda's panic only rose. Tears began to spring to her eyes, "Permission? Whatever it was he did wrong, he didn't mean it! Please, let him go!"

At first, she thought her plea went on deaf ears; but to her great relief, the vice grip the mage had upon Poe was released. The soldier fell to his knees and clawed at his neck, taking deep breaths in. The princess took a step towards Poe, but found herself yanked by her waist and held to Vaati's side. The hacking and coughing of Poe was momentarily forgotten as Vaati's face hovered so close to her own. A furious blush came upon her face as his red eyes bored into her blue. She'd almost forgotten that he was wearing nothing but his cloak. Almost.

Like a deer frozen by the sound of a hunter, she didn't move unsure as to what would happen.

Vaati's free hand cupped her chin, and his intense expression softened for a moment, turning into one of fascination. "Goddesses, you are beautiful."

The blush on her face intensified, but she couldn't help but wince at the smell of alcohol on his breath. "Ah, thank you but…" She wriggled herself out of his grip, stepping backwards and taking a glance down to see Poe was recovering well and now looked at her in worry. "Vaati, perhaps you should put on some pants?"

If the mage heard, he made no move to acquiesce to the suggestion. Instead, he glided quickly over to her, the wind knocking her off her balance and releasing a yelp from her. But the mage caught her, dipping her down as if they were dancing. Again, his gaze bored into hers, and the girl wasn't sure if her face was capable of getting redder than it already was. "It's not… not so absurd." The mage slurred breathily. "I could be your suitor."

"H-huh?!"

The mage's free hand grabbed one of her own hands; he never broke eye contact. He had the look of a man that had decided on something and wouldn't be stopped. "You and I will marry."

"Wha- wait, n-no-" precise words and phrases were escaping her, confusion and all sorts of crazy thoughts running through her brain all at once. Vaati, the enemy of her father and all of Hyrule, drunk beyond all reason and wearing nothing but a cloak and his birthday suit, was dipping her dramatically and proposing marriage. No, no, proposing marriage involved asking. He was declaring it like fact. And with that, the redhead's confusion died down, and her expression went from flustered to flat. "Vaati, you're drunk."

He pouted, the last expression Zelda ever thought she would see the mage wear. He opened his mouth, clearly having something on his mind and about to say it loud and proud. And then his eyes rolled back and he schlumped ungracefully to the floor, the princess going down with him with an "oomph" of discomfort. "V-Vaati, get off of me at once!"

But it was no use, the mage was completely passed out.

Poe scrambled onto his feet and picked his master up, holding him up against his shoulder. Zelda picked her own self up, brushing herself off and not sure she'd ever get the lingering scent of a naked, drunk Vaati off of her nightgown. She paused in her thought process when she realized what she was wearing. The flush returned to her face, but she supposed it was far too late to run to the castle and get something more appropriate. Exhausted and with a headache coming on, she said, "Come, Poe, let's set him on the bench there."

The soldier nodded, setting the passed out mage upon the bench by an old, clouded window. Zelda sat for a moment as she went to place a pillow under the mage's head. But the mage was still not out of surprises. The moment the girl had went to move his head, the mage shot at her, embracing her waist and then sliding back down to her lap. Zelda let out a sigh of frustration, looking at the mage's sleeping face and noting how dumb and satisfied it looked. She was about to push him off, but Poe stopped her, hoarsely saying, "No, no, he… he might wake up again…"

The glare she sent at her friend was like ice, but she made no other motion. She simply sat there, finding herself grateful that at least the mage's cape was keeping him relatively decent.

After calming herself down, she looked to Poe, who was attempting to pick up the shattered remains of his home. "Are you going to be all right?" She asked him. "I can help – you should get some rest, I think you've had a chaotic night…"

Poe waved her off, "No, I've got this." But as he said that, he slumped to his knees and began sobbing again. "Oh goddesses I'm going to be in soooo much trouble tomorrow…"

It pained her to see her friend like that. She tried to move her legs, see if she could somehow maneuver her way from the passed out Vaati to go comfort her friend; but her slight movement had the mage's unconscious embrace tighten on her. She sighed, "I'm sorry, Poe. I was not much help…"

The solider looked up from his sobbing, wiping the tears from his face and offering her a smile. "N-no, thank you, Princess. For just being here, at least." He then rose, shuffling uncomfortably in place, as if embarrassed by what he'd just said. "I, uh… I'll continue trying to clean up…" With no choice but to leave him to his work, she nodded.

The girl looked down at her "charge" then, so content to make himself comfortable on her lap. This sleeping Vaati, she noted, was so much more different than temperamental and unruly mage she knew. She had never guessed she would ever see him like this. But I never guessed I would see him drunk either. She snorted with the thought, yet couldn't help but wonder why he would get drunk in the first place. Especially after he had expressed such disgust for servants earlier who had so looked forward to their wild drinking sprees. Then again, she had told him that he should "try it sometime."

Her brows knit in confusion. She brushed his purple locks aside from his eyes, leaning down to get a closer look at his stupidly calm and content face. Despite your terrifying and angry self… you're just the same as any of us, aren't you? Zelda thought. She sat up again, but her eyes never left the sleeping face of the supposedly terrifying wind mage, the enemy of Hyrule… You're just an angry man with the power of the gods at your fingertips. She had begun to absently stroke his hair, Just a man…

Briefly, she recalled the time he had carried her through the sky to show her the Palace of Winds. She remembered thinking that he was handsome… Now that she saw him sleeping so peacefully, she couldn't help but think of him as cute almost. B-but try to remember just what he did before to Poe! She scolded herself in her mind.

He was a terrifying and powerful force… But she remembered her most recent thoughts: just a man with great power. And right now, he was just a sleeping man.

When Poe next arrived to check in on the princess, her head was leaning against the age-fogged panes of the window, sleeping just as peacefully as his Master. It was a sight that he never thought he would see, but a sight that warmed his shriveled serial killer heart. He didn't look forward to the pain that would no doubt be brought to him in the morning… but for now, everything was fine.

He had ended up falling asleep at his kitchen table, his home still a mess…

Until he heard a thunk, followed by a hissing series of cusses. Poe sat up immediately, making sure he was hearing correctly. Assured that he was, he gingerly stepped towards his doorway, being careful to try not to step on the broken shards of pottery that had fallen from the broken shelves of the night before. Through the doorway he saw his Master picking himself up from the floor, cussing silently while Zelda remained asleep on the wicker bench.

"M-Master…" Poe whispered, attempting not to be too loud for both the sake of his Master and the sleeping princess.

At first, the only response from Vaati was an irate growl. Then the mage peered over his shoulder with deep shadows under his eyes, misery and anger etched in his gaze. He looked from Poe, and then to the princess, and then all around the house. Another angry growl emanated from the mage, but he kept his voice down. "Clothes."

Poe did his best to quickly and silently hand his Master the clothes he had discarded when he had claimed the night before that the air was unseasonably warm and humid, he'd drown in his own clothing. Vaati yanked them from his servant and hastily put them back on himself, and as he did so hissed, "What happened? Why is the girl here?"

Poe did his best to explain the situation without seeming too offensive: about how Vaati had tried his father's homemade moonshine and insisted on another, and another, and another, until Poe realized it was far too late. He left out the mention about how once nude, Vaati became inspired to try a dance he'd seen illustrated in Wind Tribe manuscripts around one of the house's support beams – a dance that was supposedly "empowering and inspiring." There was no trying to hide the fact that he had called Zelda out of desperation, however.

Vaati was not happy to hear that. "She saw me in such a state?!"

Poe visibly winced, noting how it looked like a vein was about to explode upon Vaati's head. "I-I will gladly accept a-any punishment you see fitting f-for this, M-Master!"

In a repeat of the night before, Vaati had his hand on Poe's throat. The soldier couldn't help but notice how the very arm of his Master seemed to warp, blacken and sharpen – reminiscent of his beastly demonic form. He hadn't seen his Master this angry in a very long time, but as his vision fogged through his very life fading, he couldn't register it entirely. Not until he was released, taking in deep, hacking breaths and he fell roughly to the floor again, writhing in agony as his lungs burned for oxygen.

When his vision began to clear, he saw his Master standing over the princess pensively. Vaati was clearly still livid, and no doubt wondering what he'd said to the girl. As Poe picked himself up, he wondered if his Master had remembered at all. If he had, the soldier couldn't tell.

Vaati then scooped up the sleeping princess, who stirred lightly but otherwise stayed asleep. "Master?" Poe asked, his voice even more hoarse than before.

"I'm taking her back," he whispered in a hiss. "It'd be an uproar if she wasn't found sleeping like an idiot in her room. And an idiot she is for falling asleep around a demon." To Poe's surprise, however, the initial irritation seemed to die down as Vaati looked at the girl in his arms. Satisfaction was now upon his face, as if he had just seen some great comedy act and was remembering the best punchlines. "How lucky am I, to have such a trusting moron as my pupil?"

And without any other explanation, a small cyclone enveloped his Master and the princess. Poe held his arms up in front of him to protect his face from the debris of the mess last night until the wind died down. When it did, he lowered his arms and saw that Master and the princess were gone.

Zelda awoke when Vaati had landed his warp at her balcony doors. In truth, she had wanted to flail and scream right out in surprise. But for some odd reason, she was able to contain her initial surprise, and she kept her lids closed. Her eyes opened with the tiniest crack, trying to see if she could read his expression. But all she could see were his pale lips, fallen into an expressionless flat line. Desperately, she wished she could crook her head a bit, to see his eyes and if they reflected the same intensity they had last night. No… the same intensity they always had.

Her heart was actually racing… Could he feel it, she wondered? The princess couldn't tell, and she was rather afraid to find out – why, she couldn't say. She remained limp in his arms as he pushed his way through the balcony doors she had never bothered to close in her rush the night before. He simply walked over to her bed and laid her upon it. When he placed her down, her head had naturally rolled so that it was facing away from him. Inwardly she cussed; for some reason, she desperately wanted to see his expression, to see what he would do.

There was simply silence… He hadn't moved, she could tell because she hadn't heard him step away from her. The mage simply stood there, and she could even feel his gaze resting upon her. Like a drumbeat at a crescendo, her heart was ever deafening in her ears. He had to have known she was awake! But then she heard steps that calmly left her bedside; the balcony doors closed with a rough rattling sound and the wind howled. Zelda shot up and looked immediately to the doors. Vaati was gone, but her heart was still racing.

But why…? Why was her heart racing? What had she been hoping for?

A drunken whisper from the haze of last night surfaced in her memory, "Goddesses, you are beautiful."

I bet you all thought it was going to be a WHOLE 'NOTHER YEAR BEFORE AN UPDATE, EH? WELLP, you were wrong. XD Seriously, this chapter was not planned for at all, but when somehow lunamew mentioned something like this happening I was like "Wait... I can work with this. This can be a thing. I CAN MAKE IT WORK." Like I mentioned I think a chapter or two ago, things would be falling into place really quickly. I, truthfully, felt they were going a bit too quickly, so when this came up, I jumped on it. This chapter, to me, cements the foundations of the things I've been trying to build up - things that otherwise just would've been written in without indication of them happening prior. Does that make any sort of sense? Whatever the case, I'm glad I wrote this chapter. To me, it progresses the "romance" well.