A/N: I drop off the face of the earth just as Ganondorf makes his appearance. Real nice.

Explanation on my LJ. If you don't read it, that's fine. We're just gonna move along and pretend that this chapter was posted right on time.

Chapter Fourteen: Don't Cry, Aryll

I hear Sheik shouting something about danger, though I can't think of anything that could possibly be dangerous in a hole in the ground. Well, I could be buried alive, but the hole isn't that deep.

"ED-RAY AIR-HAY!"

Red hair. Hmm. It can't be Romani or Cremia... Who else do I know with red hair?

"OLD-GAY EYES-WAY! OLD-GAY, OLD-GAY!"

"Is Sheik saying he's gay?" Link stage whispers. I ignore him, because I'm starting to feel a bit freaked out. Red hair plus gold eyes equals...well, I know what it equals, but it can't be right. There's no possible way he could have randomly washed up on Termina.

"I need you to do me a favor," I whisper quickly. I snatch Link's sunglasses and shove them onto my face, then I grab some sand and rub it into my hair. I don't know if it'll distort the color, but better safe than sorry. "Listen to what I say and play along. Are you good at improv?"

"What's that?"

"Acting on the spot. No lines."

He pauses. "I've never tried it before."

"Well, we don't have time for practice." He'll probably be here any second. "My name is Aryll and I'm your sister, younger by two or so years. We get along great and I'm very shy around strangers. Okay?"

"If you say so." He resumes pushing sand into the hole.

"Hello."

I shudder. I forgot how menacing his voice sounds when he isn't trying to be seductive.

"Hey," Link says, glancing at him. Their eyes don't connect for more than a second. Ganondorf doesn't like to let his attention linger...with one exception. He focuses on me and he doesn't move. His appearance hasn't changed one bit. I look directly into his shiny gold eyes, refusing to back down.

Then I remember I'm supposed to be in character and look away. I try to blush. I don't know if you can do it on purpose, but it's worth a shot. I even bite my bottom lip a little bit.

"Sorry about my sister," Link tosses over his shoulder. "She's a bit shy."

"I see." Ganondorf doesn't say anything else, he just stands there, glancing back and forth between us.

"Is that your friend who was shouting gibberish just a moment ago?" he suddenly asks.

"Yeah," Link says. "I don't know what he was saying, though."

"No, it didn't sound like anything anyone would know." He clears his throat, and I know what's coming. His sugary-sweet gentleman voice. "I was just wondering if you could help me. I'm looking for an old friend of mine, and I heard that she might have come to Termina. Sometime around last week or so? Anyone new pop in?"

I bet he rehearsed this. It just sounds so flawless and honest, and even though he is technically telling the truth, his motives are a complete lie. I move my hand slowly up the side of the sand wall to pinch one of Link's fingers. He looks at me and I subtly shake my head no.

"Not that I know of. Z—Aryll, have you seen any new girl?"

Praying Ganondorf didn't notice the slip, I shake my head and try to look even more shy. I need to sell this.

Link turns his entire body around to face Ganondorf completely. "Sorry, dude. Why don't you tell us what she looks like, and if we see her, we'll let you know."

He nods in an understanding way. "Well, I haven't seen her in quite a while. Blond hair, blue eyes, comes up to about here—" His hand hovers around his lower chest. "—and come to think of it, she looks kind of like your sister. Minus the eyes, of course."

Okay, so the sunglasses are working, but the whole sand-in-my-hair thing isn't. That's okay. He still doesn't know.

"So, a girl that looks like sort of like Aryll?" Link scratches his chin and pretends to ponder something deeply. I wonder if Aveil ever gave him acting lessons. "There isn't anybody in Termina like that. I'm pretty sure your friend will be easy to find."

"Perhaps. Her name is Zelda, by the way."

I knew he was looking for me as soon as Sheik shouted his warning, but the confirmation still makes me want to cry in frustration, because now that I think about it, maybe telling dad about my wish to go to Termina wasn't the smartest idea. I should have lied and said I wanted to go sightseeing in Hyrule.

I feel stupid.

"That's a pretty name," Link says, sounding completely honest. "If I hear about a Zelda anywhere around town, I'll let ya know."

He makes a humming sound. "That would be very well appreciated." He pauses for a moment to smile warmly at me. I focus on my feet. "Thank you for your time. I'm sorry to have bothered you two."

Then he turns and walks away, just like that.

As soon as he's far enough away, I throw off Link's sunglasses and let out a somewhat silent scream. "I can't fucking believe this! How? Why? Why? Why is he...he..." My eyes begin to build up with tears and my nose tickles uncomfortably.

Link jumps into the hole—yeah, it's big enough for him to do that—and puts an arm around me, rubbing my back and patting me on the knee with his other hand. "Shhh, it's okay," he says, "I don't know what's wrong, but it can't be that bad. Don't cry, Aryll."

The tears fall in serious streams.

"Um, I mean, Zelda."

Gruesome scenarios pop in and out of my head, with Ganondorf in all of them. Him, looking triumphant and powerful, surrounded by gold and diamonds and other valuable crap. Me, lying at his feet, barely alive, covered in numerous scratches and scars, begging for him to please leave me alone.

I'm exaggerating, of course, but even so, Ganondorf isn't above that sort of thing.

"G-g-go tell everyone else," I hiccup, "that until further notice, Zelda has left T-termina. She hopped on a boat a few hours ago and went b-b-back to Poveglia. Tell them what I told you, that I'm Aryll and all that other stuff. O-okay?"

He nods and says more soothing stuff before jumping out of the hole, and I'm left alone to stew miserably in my own fear.

But now's not the time for that. I need to stay calm and focused if I'm going to get through this with minimal damage, physically and mentally.

The first order of business is getting rid of Zelda. Link is doing that for me. Okay, okay. Next: a disguise. Thank goodness I'm shorter than Link, at least I can actually pretend to be his younger sister. All I need is some different clothes and contacts to change my eye color and it's all good. After that...

"Zelda!" Sheik hops into the hole next to me and grabs my face so that I can't move. "What happened with that guy? Did he like, abuse you or something? He's so scary, I told him you weren't in Termina because he was looking for you, and I didn't know what to think! You didn't invite him here, did you?"

I smack his hands away, but God bless him. I can actually talk to him without worrying about him telling anybody else. "I'd rather slit my throat than willingly invite him anywhere with me. He followed me here from Poveglia, with some unintentional help, I think." I rub my eyes slowly and try to stop the headache from attempting to take over my entire body. "I'll tell you about it later. Go talk to Link, he has some stuff to tell you."

Sheik stiffens at this. "No."

"Not about that! I told Link what to do in case Ganondorf comes back. Now go."

He gives me a suspicious look but he gets out of the hole anyways. I peer out of the hole and see that Sheik and the guys are all focused on Link, who looks like he's telling a very interesting story, what with all the hand gestures and movements. I take this opportunity to make a quick phone call.

(What? I didn't feel like leaving my phone with our stuff because I really had no plans on getting in the water.)

It only rings twice before he picks up. "Zelda, honey, is that you?"

I frown. Normally my dad answered calls in a deep, business-like voice, regardless of who was calling. I say in a nervous sort of whisper, "Daddy? How did you know it was me?"

He chuckles. "Caller ID, of course. I specifically remember you saying that you wouldn't call me unless there was an emergency, but it sounds like you're doing alright—how is Termina, by the way? Are you doing well?"

…

Wow. Either his stocks have skyrocketed, or somebody drugged him. "I've never heard you so cheerful before, Daddy. You aren't drinking, are you?" I just have to ask. Because if he has, then at least I'll know how Ganondorf learned my whereabouts.

This time he laughs, long enough to make him wheeze. "No, no, dear, of course not. I have just recently received some very good news, of which I will share with you momentarily. I believe I asked how you have been these past few days, if there is no trouble?"

"Oh yes, I'm doing quite well," I say, trying to sound more sophisticated so he won't tut-tut me for speaking like a "commoner." (Yeah, he still uses that word.) "I just called to ask a question. It's quite important."

"Well, go right ahead."

"Did you tell Ganondorf that I had gone to Termina?"

A pause. I don't know what I want more, for him to say yes or no. Yes, and I know who to be pissed at. No, and Ganondorf could have a spy somewhere just oozing with more information that I probably don't want him to learn.

"No, I didn't. Is this the reason you called? To ask me such a silly question?" He sounds displeased.

I sigh, unsure if I'm happy or disappointed. "Yes, it was. I'm sorry, but I simply had to kno—"

"After you explicitly explained to me that you wished to visit your cousin so that you could take a break from Ganondorf?"

"I don't remember telling you that—"

"Do you mean to say that Ganondorf is there, in Termina? With you?"

"Yes, he's here! He's not with me presently, but he's around," I exclaim, eager to get at least a full sentence in.

He pauses again. "I see," he says, with no emotion at all.

In an effort to steer the conversation in a more family-friendly direction, I say with almost false enthusiasm, "You said before that you had some good news, which put you in such a wonderful mood? Why don't you tell me."

This gets him. "Oh yes! I simply must. I think you will enjoy hearing it just as much as I did."

"Yes?"

"Are you ready?"

"Yes, Daddy." I'm actually grinning with anticipation.

His voice changes, and my grin is immediately dismissed. "I found you."

A/N: I am later than late with this chapter. I was having a little writers' block solo-pity party, and I'm sorry. I didn't want to force myself to write, because then it would end up even suckier.

After New Year's, I'll have one chapter at least every month. Maybe every week or so, if the homework isn't too terrible.