It was as if they had never agreed to separate themselves. However, they unconsciously decided to keep a degree of decency when out and about. When leaving the castle grounds, a guard followed them on occasion. When they were completely certain of having privacy, they sat closer, their knees touching through their clothes. They would stay up late, talking in the library, or not.

Once more, Link's hopes of being at her side in a more romantic way were kindled. His favorite thing to do was sneak up on her in the library, her back turned to the doors, and press his lips to the back of her neck. It never failed to elicit a gasp from her, and he would wrap his arms around her waist and pull her in close.

Zelda's favorite thing to do was curl up with him in one of the massive lounge chaises, her arms around his shoulders and his hands on her sides as they kissed. Link's hair was soft, and curled expertly around her fingers when she reached up to pull on it. Oh, they were so young and dizzy for each other. Zelda forbade Link from biting her skin, to negate any telltale marks, but she took free range of him, even leaving marks through his shirt. Under their noses, the betting pot grew.

-

In their ardor for each other, though, they'd forgotten about a tiny problem that would not go unnoticed. Zelda only remembered when, like usual, she headed downstairs to find Link for lunch and instead encountered Corbin Golliet. He looked as if he'd just entered the castle, and he beamed at the alarmed princess. "Good day, Your Highness. I was… thinking that it might be a good day for us to picnic for lunch, if I am not imposing on other plans…?" He was smiling so hard that his mouth twitched at the corners, and Zelda, putting a hand to her throat, forced herself to smile at him.

"That sounds like a novel idea, Master Golliet. However, um…" Zelda looked past him; Link was heading down the corridors, and he narrowed his eyes when he saw that it was Corbin. Corbin followed Zelda's gaze and turned, nodding in Link's direction.

"Master Tolrise," he spoke in a low voice, his smile gone. Link stopped a few feet from him, eyeing him carefully, glancing over to Zelda.

"Your Highness, are we still to lunch in the maze?"

Zelda reached up and rubbed the edge of one ear. It was still tender from yesterday's lunch. "Master Golliet here wishes to attend us. I think that it would be a most pleasant event, don't you?"

Link did not think so at all, but Zelda looked desperate to appease Corbin. "Yes, I think that will do quite nicely," he spoke, louder than usual for him.

So, a lunch for two was hastily rearranged into a lunch for three, and they headed out to the maze garden.

Corbin and Link stared each other down as Zelda poured the tea and handed out the sandwiches, waiting for one of them to break the icy silence. It took some time, and though Zelda commented on the weather and the lovely flowers and the food, the two men did little but grunt in affirmation.

Corbin's will broke first, and as he took a bite of sandwich, he commented, "honestly, Your Highness, I do wish you would reconsider the company you keep. When you reach the position of ruling queen, you will be judged by such most severely, as will I."

Zelda sat down her teacup with a sharp clink, and Link glowered at Corbin, his eyes narrowed. "The princess is capable of taking care of herself, no matter what you might believe you see with your own eyes," he returned, trying to keep his cool.

Corbin gritted his teeth. "You say this, but what do you know of the court life? You're virtually unknown, a mere Viscount's son, and not even his first. And before that you were a farming boy; to find you in the castle grounds at all is astonishing, not to mention how well they cleaned the reek of pig shi—

With that, Link stood up and punched Corbin in the mouth. He was tired of his babbling and jealousy, and remembering that accusatory, insulting note that was sent, a torrent of unknown rage flowed through him. He grabbed Corbin by the collar and pulled him up from his chair, headbutting him and letting him fall to the ground.

"You despicable little good-for-not!" he shouted, standing over Corbin with his fists clenched. "I ought destroy you right here, right now! Get up and fight me like the man you claim to be!" Link was pulling off his coat, the guards were running, Zelda was standing in panicked alarm, and Corbin rolled around weakly, holding his bleeding mouth and nose. "I'll make you unrecognizable to yer own mother!"

"Link, calm down!" she shouted, running around the table and taking his arm. The guards found them quickly, one helping Corbin to stand and the others partially-surrounding Link, trying to keep him at bay.

"That base little bastard attacked me!" Corbin screamed at first chance, gesturing with a bloody hand. "He's a madman, a manipulative liar! He should be beheaded!"

Link broke free of the guards' wall and grabbed Corbin with a growl of rage, knocking him down to the ground and delivering several good blows to the face with his fist. The guards grappled with him and pulled him up and off, and Zelda reached through them to touch Link's hand with her own, trying to calm him down. It worked, in its own warped, strange little way, and Link let the guards pull him back. Corbin was helped up and escorted inside to be cleaned up, and Zelda stared at Link, fear making her pale. She wasn't sure what the punishment would be, but it would not be good.

-

Within the hour, the castle was privy to what had happened. Rumors and spiteful whispers followed the workers of the castle around as they talked in low voices.

"Well, you know, most people suspect he's not a Viscount's son at all."

"Always knew there was something dangerous about him."

"He seemed likely to snap at any second."

"Do we really want the princess being guarded by such a deadly person?"

"There's a reason we nicknamed him 'Bruiser', it's what he does."

And so on. Link was escorted to his old, private rooms and the door was guarded, and Zelda was taken to her rooms, apologized to for the inconvenience, and shut in for her safety. The king heard the story from the guards first, who confessed they saw little of the actual fight, and then Corbin, who had lost a few teeth and was crying for his injured pride, stressing that Link had attacked him when he was "merely trying to offer advice to the princess about the court she would build someday". After, he asked for Zelda to be brought in.

Zelda had been in her father's study very, very few times. Once for some sort of punishment, another for when her mother passed, and once when he had asked her to help him select a worthy suitor from the marriage proposals, not long before Link had returned. She sat down in the leather chair and stared at her father's grave face, feeling sick.

"Dear daughter," he started. "I would like a mostly-unbiased account of what occurred this afternoon at lunch."

"I will do my best, Father," she responded, staring at him and fiddling her thumbs together.

The king nodded and sighed heavily. "How did it start?"

Zelda hesitated, licking her lips. "Master Golliet was granting me his unsolicited opinion that he did not agree with the people I spent my time with."

"Do you believe he meant Master Tolrose?"

"Yes."

"Go on."

Zelda recapped the fight, trying to be as neutral as she could, stressing that Corbin had not been attacked without provocation. The king nodded, listening to her. It did not take very long, and when she finished, the king sat in silence, thinking, and finally nodded. "You are dismissed, daughter. You will be summoned when I have reached a decision. Until then, I wish for you to refrain from visiting Master Tolrose."

"Father, you can't be thin-" Zelda was silenced by the king's hand going in the air to stop her. She nodded her submission, and stood, heading to the study door, stopping with her hand on the handle. "You… won't behead him, will you?"

The king looked at Zelda for several minutes. "Let us hope it does not come to that."

-

Waiting. The worst feeling in the world, no matter if it was for something good or bad. Zelda sat in her room, a few of her maids standing around her, watching and waiting for a command, something to do. Every little thing rubbed Zelda's skin wrong as she stared at the far wall, sitting on her bed with her arms folded. He couldn't behead Link, it wouldn't be right! He'd done little but react to an insult, she'd pushed that point.

But the king would not finalize his decision just yet. He had servants and knights of the castle called up at random, one at a time, asking them what they knew about Master Tolrose. For the most part, he got from them that while he seemed a polite and down-to-earth person, there was also something a bit scary about the young man. The knights he called upon all gave some variation on the idea that he would make a formidable opponent, and a deadly ally in battle. The maids, overall, thought he was a very charming and handsome young man, and they thought the princess certainly liked him, although he was a little scary when he was woken up.

"He's sorta ferocious, you know? Like a wild animal or somethin'," one of the less nervous maids said.

The king sighed when the last of the interviewed had left, rubbing his forehead with his knuckles. It had taken most of the day interviewing those people, but he could not stop now. He had to make a decision.

-

Zelda sat bolt upright when the guards came for her, staring at them with wide eyes.

"His Majesty requests your presence at the Great Hall, Your Highness," one of them spoke, his eyes dark. Zelda nodded and stood up, putting on her shoes. She had put on a heavier robe over her loose day clothes, dark red taffeta encrusted with semi-precious stones at the hems. It was a hearing, after all, though no one said such a thing. She only prayed that it would not end with a death sentence.

The castle was quiet, holding its breath. Zelda entered the Great Hall through one of the side doors, so that she would not interrupt the congregation of subdued employees. She looked towards them as she headed to her father and the thrones, surprised that there were so many. Link and Corbin were both in attendance, one guard standing near Corbin, and four of them surrounding Link. Zelda was both appalled at this display and a little proud that it would take so many (if they were lucky).

She sat down in her chair and bit her lower lip as her eyes met Link's, looking away quickly. He had not looked scared, but determined. The king cleared his throat, and a silence rushed over the crowd, as perfect as the breath before a storm.

"Today, We will hand down Our decision on the matter of the maze garden confrontation."

The king paused a moment before continuing, his gaze zeroing in on Corbin. "To Master Corbin Golliet. Though you were the one assaulted physically, you were not an entirely innocent party. To question the people my daughter spends her time with, particularly those that I approved of, is an insult not only to my daughter's intelligence, but mine as well. I cannot, in good conscience, permit her to marry a man who would wish to control her in such a manner."

Corbin's mouth fell open, and he tried to splutter a rebuttal. "Your Majesty, I am only concerned for the future of the kingdom after the rumors I have heard following Master Tilress and his affections fo—

"SILENCE!" the king shouted. He waited a minute before continuing. "Therefore, I annul the betrothal agreement that was set in stone between the kingdom and Grand Duke Golliet."

Zelda closed her eyes, but she only felt a brief flare of relief. After today, she was no longer sure if she would have ever been able to tolerate a marriage with him. She opened her eyes again when she heard her father shift in his seat.

"To Master Link Tolrose," the king stressed, glancing at Corbin quickly. Link straightened and set his jaw. He was ready for anything, now.

"Though, by all accounts, you were right to take a temper to such insults, I cannot, in good conscience, permit a dangerous person to walk the castle halls. Although most seem to respect you, there is also a fear of you, and the common knowledge that you have nearly slain a few in my employ, albeit on accident."

Link remembered every incident, and winced with shame.

The king continued. "I would not wish my people to be ruled by fear, nor my army to be run by it. Therefore, with a heavy heart, I strip you of your titles, and send you back to your home, to be escorted from the castle within one hour."

Link stared at the king, his mouth open in shock. Even a beheading would have been less cruel. Zelda looked at her father, and then out at Link, her eyes wide with alarm. Link bit his tongue to keep from saying anything out of turn.

"I am sorry," the king muttered. He stood, not noticing that Zelda did not, her legs locked into place with shock. "Let it be known!" he shouted. "Master Corbin Golliet is no longer my daughter's betrothed, and Master Link Tolrose is no longer my daughter's guard! Both are to be escorted from the castle within the hour! Dismissed!"

Zelda shook her head, breaking the stun over her legs, and flung herself from her throne, running. She slammed open the side doors and ran as hard as she could, tears running down her cheeks. Zelda did not stop until she reached the back veranda and grabbed the railing, stopping herself and clutching it tightly with her hands, shuddering in her sobs. Well, what did she think would happen? At least he could keep his life. But her father had a point; Link was somewhat unnerving to the staff. But why couldn't just Corbin go away? Why did they both have to go? She curled up against the cold stone railing and cried into her hands, until her throat was thick and she could no longer feel.

Link's first instinct was to run after her, and he did take a step or two, but the king ordered him to stop. Link turned back towards the king, glowering at him.

"Guards," the king said with a sigh, "escort Master Golliet to his waiting coach. Have a second prepared for Master Tolrose with his belongings."

"Your Majesty," Link replied, "I rode here on my own horse. I'd like to leave that same way."

The king nodded his head. "Very well."

-

Link sat in his once rooms, watching the maids carefully fold and pack the few outfits the castle had furnished for him, and a set of his old clothes. He wished they wouldn't; he would never wear them again.

"You still have some time before you must go, sir," one of the maids asked him. "Is there anything you would like to see one last time?" Link had an answer, but he doubted he would be allowed.

Epona was being an outright terror about leaving the stables; it was as if she knew exactly what was going on and was fighting it as hard as she could. Link headed outside as the clock struck the hour. Epona calmed when she saw him, but her eyes were still wide. "Calm down, girl," he urged her as the reins were handed over, rubbing her muzzle with his knuckles. She snorted and bumped her nose against his jaw, and Link headed around to her side, climbing up.

He turned and stared towards the castle, but he did not see Zelda. He closed his eyes and looked away, nudging Epona onward. The carriage was not far behind them. But where would he go? The charade they'd kept up was going to splinter when the coachman found Link had no other place to live. Link kept heading east for a little while, until they were out of the castle grounds and the building was tiny on the horizon, before he stopped his horse and turned towards the carriage.

"Something wrong, sir?" the driver asked, pulling his horses to a stop.

"Yes, uh, there's… something I have to tell you," Link replied, walking up. He took a deep breath. "I have nowhere to go. I don't have a home outside of the castle."

The coachman stared at him for several minutes. "But sir… didn't the king tell you? So as it wouldn't go to waste, he's granting you the little house that would've been your duchy."

Link stared at the driver. "Seriously?"

The driver nodded. "Sure enough, sir. It's actually more south than this, though, according to the map. I'll lead us that way."

"Why wouldn't he have told me?" Link demanded.

The driver shrugged. "Perhaps, sir, he wanted you to secretly know you were still in his favor."

-

The house was an hour south. They got up to it, and Link stared. "This cannot possibly all be for me," he asked the driver.

"Oh no, no, there's your servants' quarters inside, room for guests, the stables are out back…"

They rode up into the roundabout drive before the main doors of the house. It was far too big, in Link's opinion. The house was at least two stories tall, with wide windows all around, and an obviously new garden beginning to spring up. Ivy would be encouraged to grow over the rough brickwork, but for now they were tiny plants, getting their first grasp of the dirt and stone. Green plants dotted the rich black dirt that built a perimeter around the house, not yet growing in. Link dismounted Epona, and walked up to the doors. The driver was not far behind, holding a key to the house.

Link unlocked the doors and stepped in. The floor was polished wood, with thick rugs scattered every few feet. It was wide open and airy, with freshly plastered walls, a delicate border painted at the top of the walls. Most of the furniture was polished wood that matched the floor, and the upholstery was varied, depending on the room. He wandered the house, even peeking in at the kitchens, two empty and clean firepits at either end, a wide low table in the center for preparation, and a sink bordering the outside wall. There was a small side door near the sink counter, presumably for goods delivery. Over the main prep table hung a collection of copper-bottomed pots and pants, old but well-polished and clean. Link returned to the main hall, where the coachmen were unloading his clothes and several other belongings for the house.

The driver handed him a large parcel of money, clearing his throat. "This is to hire servants on, and get some of the first supplies for the house. You'll receive a monthly stipend from the castle, deposited for you in an account in town." The driver also handed him some papers with the name of the banker and where he could be found, and when he could expect the stipend. Link took the papers and money without a word, and once his few belongings were settled in at the house, the coachmen packed up and left.

Link walked the house one more time, ending at what he supposed was the master bedroom. He put the papers away in a drawer in a dresser near one of the wide windows, hesitantly, and went back downstairs, outside into the front lawn. Alone. The sky was getting dark, and he sighed heavily, realizing that if he wanted to maneuver around his house, he would have to start lighting candles.

He lit a single candle in its holder, and maneuvered to the kitchen where he worked on lighting a fire to cook himself something to eat.