Chapter 14: Just Another Day in Hyrule
Over the course of the next few months, things had slowly gone back to normal. Triest and Link had gone back to their job as the "Swords for Hire of Hyrule." They were actually making more money than ever now. Because of the recent happenings, more mosters had been invading Hyrule. Link and Zelda were closer than ever, and every once in a while, she would join the guys on their missions. Link even had the Lumberjack bros. create a makeshift bow and arrow that he could use. It was attached to the little arm he had left on his right side. He could move it as if he once again had two arms, but it couldn't bend, and he couldn't grab with it. He could easily slam an arrow into it with his left arm then fire it by simply tightening his muscle. He was simply thankful he could once again use his arrows, one of his favorite weapons besides swordplay. Triest had also found himself a girl. Her name was Maria, and she was exactly the right type for Triest. She had long brown hair and brown eyes. Triest custom-designed an armored battlesuit not unlike his own for her to wear, which she was extremely grateful. She carried two small katanas with her. One shined blue and had a snowflake engraving, and the other shined red and had a fire engraving. She always wielded them together, and named them the Frost and Blaze blades, respectively. She wore a tight pair of blue jeans as well. When they first met, Triest thought to himself, "Man, if I were a woman, that would be me!" However, this was only her "adventuring outfit" as she called it. When she was wearing casual clothes, you would never know she was as tough as she was. She normally wore a pair of shorts with a t-shirt, and looked just like any other normal girl about her age. Triest and Maria were a perfect match, and they both knew it, too. Although they never admit it, they deeply care for each other.

"Hey, Triest! Wake up!" Link yelled as he walked into Triest's bedroom. "Man, how things change! Usually it's me who stays in bed all day!" he laughed as Triest slowly got out of bed.
"Laugh it up, man. Hey, aren't we gonna meet the girls today?" Triest asked, putting on his armor and shirt.
"Yeah. they said to meet them down at the game corner for the contest tonight." Link replied.
"Contest? What contest?"
"The singing contest. Don't you remember?"
"Oh yeah. 1st prize is 500 rupees! How could I forget!"
Link smirked, "Yeah. Let's go."
"But the contest doesn't start for another couple of hours, right?"
"Doesn't mean we can't hang out with the girls!" Link grinned and walked out the door, and headed toward Hyrule Castle. Triest said he'd meet him at the game corner in time for the contest. He eagerly headed over to Maria's house. When he arrived, she was waiting outside her door.
"What took you so long?" she asked.
"Uhh...I took the long way..." Triest stuttered.
"Yeah, right. You slept in, didn't you?"
"No!"
"You sure?"
"Well...maybe just a little..." Maria laughed, as did Triest. Then, he unsheathed his sword, and pushed Maria out of the way with a look of determination on his face. "Look out!" He shouted. He stared into the woods, but nothing was there.
"Uhh, Triest?" Maria asked.
"Hmm, but I thought..." Triest muttered to himself, "Maria...did you see anything over there?" he asked as he sheathed his sword.
"No. Did you?"
Triest shook his head, then said, "Nah, just seein' things is all! Cmon, let's go find Link and Zelda!"
"Ok!" She agreed, "Race ya!" she exclaimed as she took off.
"Wha...got back here!" Triest took aff after her, both of them smiling as they "insulted" each other.

Link and Zelda were waiting at his house for Triest and Maria to show up. They had almost started to head over there when they both arrived, out of breath. "I won!" Maria exclaimed.
"Yeah right, you wish!" Triest came back
"I don't wish, I know!" she responded. The two looked at Link and Zelda, who were staring at them both confisingly, then burst out in laughter. Link and Zelda, although confused, couldn't help but to join in. They all headed to Kakariko for the night's contest. While on the way, though, Triest made an interesting comment.
"Hey, Maria, if you live in Kakariko, right next door to the game corner, why did we have to walk all the way back to my house to pick up Link and Zelda?"
"Hmm...I don't know..." she responded. Then, Link chimed in
"Would you rather you come and get us, or would you rather me and Zelda completely lose track of time and forget about the contest?"
"How would you..." Triest begain, then caught the hint, then chuckled, "I'd rather come and get you guys." They all started laughing, and headed toward the game corner. They soon arrived after the singing contest had started. The contestants could sing whatever they wanted, and they walked into an older man's performance.
"How do you like me now?! Now that I'm on my way? You still think I'm crazy, for standing here today..." Triest covered his ears, and shouted, "Next!" The crowd laughed and the man stepped off the stage. Not before being a good sport and saying, "Thank you, goodnite!" He was applauded by the crowd for his effort and was given 10 rupees for participating. All four of them were entered, and lucky enough, Link was up next. He was nervous as he could be, but was persuaded by Zelda to enter and do a duet with her. After gaining his composure, they began...
"I wanted you know, that I'll love the way you live. I wanna hold you high, and steal your pain away. I'll keep your photograph, and I know it serves me well. I wanna hold you high and steal your pain. Cause I'm broken, when I'm lonesome. And I don't feel right, when you're gone away..."
When the two finished, they recieved a standing ovation for their performance. Link fell to his knees, due to his nervousness, but not before giving Zelda a kiss after the song was over. For all they knew, that's whay they were applauding! They recieved their 10 rupees for participating, and headed back over to their table. As the next few contestants went by, Link asked, "How'd I do? Well," he looked at Zelda, and added, "we do?"
"Not the best I've seen, but not a bad song. Where'd it come from?" Triest asked.
"Zelda wrote it. I don't know how she does it!" Link responded. Zelda blushed. The announcer called out Maria's name, and she stood up, eager to go.
"Man, she looks great in her battle outfit! Dont you think?" Triest asked.
"Dude, why don't you actually, oh, I dunno, Ask her out?" Link replied sarcastically.
"I...well, I just don't know..."
"As weird as this sounds, she's a female you! It'll work, trust me," Zelda winked at him. Triest nodded, and they eagerly watched her performance.
"Hold on, slow down. Again from the top now, and tell me everything. I know I've been gone for what seems like forever, but I'm here now waiting. To convince you that I'm not a ghost or a stranger, but closer than you think. She said just go on to what you pretend is your life, but please don't die on me..."
The crowd applauded her performance, and Triest, obviously was hollering over the rest of the crowd. She bowed to the crowd, and gave a big smile. Triest was next, and was the last contestant. He stepped up to the stage and begain speaking,
"This is a song that I wrote. It says alot about who I am, and alot about my past. This song is called, 'I Am All of Me.' I hope you enjoy it.
"I see no, hear no evil. Black writing's on the wall. Unleash a million faces, and one by one they fall. Black-hearted evil, or brave-hearted hero. I am all I am, all I am. Go ahead and try to see through me. Do it if you dare. One step forward, two steps back, I'm here. Do it! Do it! Do it! Do it! Can you see all of me? Walk into my mystery! Step inside, and hold on for dear life. Do you remember me? Capture you or set you free? I am all, and I am all of me!..." As Triest sang this line, Link stood up, and gave him a thumbs up. He knew all that Triest had been through, and what he must be feeling singing this. Next, Zelda stood up, followed by Maria. Triest noticed their gestures, but continued his song. Soon, the whole crowd was on it's feet, and begain singing the chorus with Triest.
"Can you see all of me? Walk into my mystery, step inside, and hold on for dear life. Do you remember me? Capture you or set you free? I am all, I am all of me." He finished. Triest recieved a standing ovation for his performance, but when he went to recieve his 500 rupee prize, he looked out a nearby window, and his eyes widened. "No...no! It can't be!" he unsheathed his sword, and his look changed from fear to determination. Link could sense Triest's fear, and looked out the window as well. He also had a look of shock over his face. He looked at Triest, who already was ready to go. They both nodded to each other. They headed outside, swords in hands, and prepared to face off.