How Zelda Got Her Groove Back

by ZeldaRubix

Seven years after the events of Twilight Princess, Zelda is now queen. However, there are still unsettled matters regarding herself, the Hero of Twilight, and Queen Midna. Zelda embarks on a journey to right the wrongs of the past with the help of an old friend. T-16 for language, action, and adult situations. THIS IS THE REEDIT.

25. Chapter 25

Inspiration: Deconstructive thinking (irrationality made rational), and deductive (if and only if…) & inductive logic (if…then …); Napier Euler, the scene in 'Twilight Princess,' where Zelda summons the light arrows (that scene is one of the greatest scenes in the entire game), and The Cretan's Paradox, the idea is things are done contrary to what is said or truly felt (it will be the Hylian Paradox in this story lol); logarithms, and the azimuthal series.

Shout Outs: Nice, Feer, Dshjh, Zephyrcitrus, DarkAngel of Sorrow, AmethystJoker, thanks for reading new readers.

New Shout Outs: The Ancient Deruvish, thank you for reading new reader.

Recommended Readngs: "Birth of the Fourth Goddess," by Anywaysgirl (awesome, awesome, awesome story you guys).

Author's Note: Some of you may have already taken note but chapter 24 is twice as long as it once was. If you haven't read it please read it because the beginning of this chapter won't make sense if you don't. So if the shift seems familiar but abrupt towards the middle that's why, and thank you to everyone else regarding the 'well wishings' of my late father.

Word Count: 16,656

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Chapter 25

I stayed back as Link mandated, but readied my bracelet just in case. I knew it would be riskier for me to get involved due to what Ghirahim would try to bargain me for if I got captured. However, I also knew there was no way I was going to allow Link, Hylia, and Elbourne to put their lives on the line if there was something I could do to help. I wasn't going to just stand back and watch like a useless damsel in distress, I was going to intervene when the time came for it. I just needed to stay focused. In the mean time, Hylia, Link, and Elbourne readied their weapons and spread out, creating a perimeter. Ghirahim steadied his pace with the aide of his shadow beasts in front of him. The demon lord was at the center of the horde with his hands outstretched as if he was manipulating his minions like a puppet master. His black eyes looked more soulless in this perpetual twilight, and he sent a shiver of fear down my spine when our lines of sight met for a moment... he even smirked at me while licking his lips.

It made me shudder and step back again.

"He's such a deviant," I whispered to myself.

The goddess, having caught that, stood defensively with her kodachis readied in front of her.

"We have to be careful in this fight like the last!" Hylia informed the others. "As I've stated before, the demon lord is not at full strength and is probably using these shadow beasts as a decoy for his true intentions."

Link and Elbourne both took note of Hylia's words and readied their weapons as well. They knew they needed to work as a unit to be successful. After receiving those brief instructions from the goddess, Link then turned his attention back to me.

~SSS~

Link's POV

"Zelda, I want you to stand clear of the carnage!" I called to her over my shoulder. "Do not involve yourself in this! Understand?"

She nodded, but didn't answer right away and was hesitant at my mandate. That only served to deepen my concern, so I repeated myself.

"Understand?" I said again, waiting for a response.

The Hylian queen suddenly avoided my eyes now and took in a deep sigh.

"Right," she finally verbalized.

I kept my eyes fixed on her for a longer moment than I intended to. I had a feeling she was not going to stay true to that reluctant promise, but I had no time to probe her more due to the imminent threat now in front of us. Instead, I gave her a quick look of warning and hurried into the tall grass after Hylia and Elbourne. I groaned to myself at the queen's reply. Zelda was the most stubborn woman I knew, and there was no telling what she would do if she saw that her friends were in danger. The same things that made her so wonderful were the same things that made her so pigheaded. I just hoped she understood that her getting involved right now would be more of a hindrance than a help. And speaking of hindrances, this tall grass was going to make it all but impossible to travel quickly through these wet marsh lands underneath. It was unfortunately going to have to be another obstacle we were going to have to overcome. As the distance lessened, I stopped my advance when I saw that Ghirahim and the shadow beasts were about twenty or so yards out. This was not going to be a predictable fight. There was no telling what the demon lord was going to try to do now.

"We'll just have to see how this plays out," I whispered to myself getting into my battle stance.

As Hylia and Elbourne advanced a little farther into the tall grass to meet the shadow beasts head on, Ghirahim suddenly put his hands up to create a circular rotating barrier of dark matter. The dark matter presented itself like concentrated energy projectiles with a red hued luminescence surrounding the outer edges. The caustic missiles substantiated around the demon lord to protect him from side and aerial attacks. With the way he was going about his defense, I could already tell he was much stronger than the last time we squared off with him.

Hylia stopped her advance promptly when she saw how much energy he was transmitting.

"This isn't good," she muttered to herself, then turned to look at Elbourne and I, "be careful of his long ranged attacks! If you have a shield or armor, you need to engage them now!"

It was an obvious tactical request that unfortunately was going to be easier said than done. We we were traveling light and our basic armor was our standard fair. While I had my Hylian Shield, Elbourne only had his axe, and Hylia was working with just her breastplate and standardized daggers. We didn't have much in the way of defenses. Even so, we did what we could could to ready ourselves. I wasn't going to lie, this was going to be a difficult battle to win in terms of strategy alone. We had everything working against us: from our numbers, to the typography, to Ghirahim's new set of abilities. How in the world were we supposed to successfully fight off these monsters and deflect Ghirahim's projectiles when he finally used them?

It wasn't like me to worry, but this situation was starting to stack the odds in the demon lord's favor. However, we were going to have to do our best, using things like stealth maneuvers and basic battle informatics. Even so, I sensed just then that the demon lord thought our actions were rushed and foolish, because now Ghirahim readied the displaced matter surrounding him into attack formation, then without warning sent two of the projectiles flying towards us. I immediately raised my shield and braced myself to block the oncoming onslaught. Hylia faired differently having to jump out of the way, while Elbourne was forced to use his adamantine axe as a defensive maneuver. The matter ricocheted off our weaponry and ironically hit several of the oncoming shadow beasts. A good number of them fell within the marsh grounds dead.

Afterwards, I looked over at Elbourne who obviously took note of what just happened.

"Did you see that?" I called out to him anyway.

He nodded and readied his axe again.

"That might be the only way to level the playing field!" he called back to me.

The dragon prince was right, however the only problem now was, would Ghirahim continue to use his projectiles knowing that we could take out his small unit with them? I already saw a change in the demon lord's battle formation because of the result of our actions. He suddenly shifted his energy barrier so that his missiles were pointing downward instead of straight away like before. Afterwards, he raised his hands and abruptly sent a pulsar of energy to the shadow beasts, who admittedly looked like they were in a trance-like state. Their usual aggressive nature seemed at one time pacified, but now with that sudden jolt of energy, the shadow beasts looked to come alive so to speak. Since the demon lord was exhibiting control over them, their actions were apparently being switched on and off at will. Instead of relying on a propulsion orb like before, the control reverberations were coming from Ghirahim himself, and the combatants were more aggressive because of it. We no longer had the luxury of using his power against him. Seeing this new development, I along with the others had to switch modes, using the same battle tactics we relied on previously. However, at this point we were going to have to make a straight attack path to the demon lord to get him to use his projectiles once more. We had to neutralize him in order to stop the sudden vigorous behavior of his minions.

We were going to have to take out as many as possible.

"We need to stop him directly now," I called out to the others, "we have to attack head on without let up!" I then turned my attention directly to Elbourne. "Kill on sight! No mercy!"

Elbourne just smirked without replying, knowing that I put that extra mandate in for him. We couldn't fight these beasts the way we did at the palace.

"Understood!" Hylia called back, and got into her battle stance.

Rushing at us with renewed speed and vim were about twenty or so shadow beasts. This wouldn't normally be considered a difficult fight due to the low level skill sets these beasts presented. However, what made this battle so unpredictable was the leader in amongst them, Ghirahim. There was no telling what his new plan of action was. Even now, he was rushing towards us in an unusual way with the invigorated shadow beasts, smiling a twisted smile, while his lean muscular build suddenly got more taut with each step he took. We were all looking at him befuddled.

"What the hell is he about to do?" I whispered to myself.

Suddenly without a cue, Hylia immediately took flight, not waiting for the horde to come to her first. She took off at full speed towards the charging mob and when close enough, engaged the horde from the left, initiating her ninpo ninjitsu ninki as her primary attack. She landed hard and worked skillfully to take on two warriors at a time. She slashed her way through four beasts pretty easily before I realized why.

My eyes abruptly widened at what she was about to do, which prompted me to take several steps forward.

"Hylia wait!" I suddenly called to her.

However, it was too late for her to heed my warning, as the hotheaded goddess took an aggressive lunge at Ghirahim. Her hope was to catch the monster off guard, but Ghirahim countered her strike by stopping suddenly in his mid run and redirecting his projectiles at her. He fired off four missiles immediately and blocked her strike with the parrying of his... arm(?). He couldn't be damaged by her weapon? Holy... shit. All his projectiles missed her and instead came at Elbourne and me in the distance. We deflected and defended the missiles like before, and in the process we took out eleven more shadow beasts coming towards us. The goddess's surprise attack did have its benefits, but even so, when Hylia tried to disengage Ghirahim and redirect her strike, he caught hold of her blade and yanked her weapon from her grip. Hylia's eyes widened in disbelief, while the demon lord just smirked. His retribution was going to be relentless.

Oh no, I thought as I watched helplessly.

"Did you honestly think your puny little relic was going to stop me Hylia?" Ghirahim growled at her. "Haven't you learned anything from your lover's fights with me?"

Hylia narrowed her eyes at Ghirahim and didn't back down.

"I've learned plenty," she said, "and I know enough to know you aren't invincible the way you think you are."

Hylia's words may have been strong willed and filled with conviction, but she had to know she was a sitting tektite out there with no weapon and at the mercy of a madman. She needed to maneuver, draw herself away, run, flee, do something! Talking should not have been an option.

Why is she just standing there? I demanded to myself, having to draw my weapon and defend against an oncoming shadow beast.

A moment later, Ghirahim raised his hand over her head, ready to strike her with her own kodachi. I looked on through my parry in disbelief and suddenly pushed off the beast fighting me and took off towards her.

"Hylia!" I called out, and made quick work of several more shadow beasts in front of me to get to her.

However, it was Elbourne who engaged Ghirahim first to protect the goddess.

"I've got her!" he called to me and raised his adamantine axe and swiped at Ghirahim's right side where no shadow beasts were protecting him. "Argh!" Elbourne grunted.

At seeing the oncoming attack of the dragon prince from his side view, Ghirahim side stepped out of the way before the axe met him, then jumped back and out of the attack. With the diversion from Elbourne fully implemented, Hylia was able to scuttle away unscathed. However, at catching sight of Elbourne, Ghirahim suddenly no longer seemed concerned about the goddess. His attention abruptly became completely focused on the dragon prince.

The demon lord gave Elbourne a long once over and narrowed his eyes at him.

"Well, well, well," he said to him with a cunning undertone, "look who we have here, if it isn't the illustrious prince of dragons."

Elbourne looked at the creature taken aback for a moment at knowing who he was, but then got back on guard and raised his axe once more.

"How the hell do you know who I am?" he demanded. "Answer me now!"

Oddly, Ghirahim just smirked at him.

"You know those muscle theatrics never work," he replied, "a dull cliche that almost seems beneath you your highness."

Elbourne took a step back, but never let his guard down.

"What are you doing here in the Twilight Realm?" he demanded ignoring him. "What are you trying to find?"

Ghirahim paused and gave him another quick once over before suddenly raising his hand and narrowing his eyes more.

"Surprisingly enough, I think I just found it," he replied, then out of nowhere summoned a wave of reverberations around him.

What the hell-? I thought shocked.

The dragon prince suddenly let his axe go and fell on his knees when the high frequency of sound pierced at his ears. He put his hands over his ears to try to get some relief from it.

"Ahh!" he cried out in pain.

Hylia nearby suddenly looked on in panic.

"Elbourne!" she called out to him.

I too was stunned for a moment with what was taking place. I had to quickly barrow through two more shadow beasts to get my senses back, but I couldn't believe what was happening. Was Ghirahim eliciting control of Elbourne? I heard Zelda gasp out loud behind us. I wanted her to have no part of this. I just hoped she didn't get presumptive because of what she was seeing. Hylia on the other hand got a little closer, and looked more troubled with what was going on than I expected her to. She was even juxtapose to Ghirahim near his left side, but she didn't engage him. Instead, she kept her attention solely focused on Elbourne.

"Elbourne I need for you to listen to me very carefully," she said all of a sudden, "do not engage him in any conversation. That is what he wants from you."

It was obvious there was more going on here than what met the eyes. I wasn't going to pretend that I knew why she was speaking to him this way. I was completely out of the loop as to why she was telling him this. What the hell was going on? Elbourne didn't seem to have any bearing on what Hylia was saying either. The poor man seemed to be trying to keep his head afloat from Ghirahim's attack, even so he managed to answer her.

"What are you talking about?" Elbourne groaned to the goddess.

However, surprisingly Ghirahim spoke first before she.

"It makes you wonder why she's so concerned, doesn't it?" he replied cryptically, then mercilessly exerted more energy on him.

Elbourne groaned louder.

"Argh!" he cried out.

Hylia's eyes widened frantically just then.

"Dear goddesses!" she whispered to herself.

That was definitely ironic coming from her.

Ghirahim kept his focus on the dragon prince.

"Why don't we discuss that your highness?" he taunted more. "Haven't you wondered why certain things are the way they are Elbourne of Dragon Roost? Why you have the thoughts that you do? Why you have the dark desires of your heart? Why everything you want is within your reach, but always seems to evade your grasp?"

Elbourne's pain in the midst of all this was turning into open confusion.

"What the hell are you talking about?" he demanded.

The demon lord concentrated more energy on him to keep him in submission and the dragon prince cried more.

"Ahhh!" he screamed in agony.

"You know what I'm talking about!" he snapped. "Don't pretend to be naive with me your highness! I know how much you long to be accepted by your ungrateful father! Xavier is quite the bastard isn't he?"

Elbourne groaned more in pain but managed to answer him.

"What the hell do you know about my father?" he demanded.

The dragon prince's question made the demon lord laugh.

"I know more than you realize... Elbourne," he divulged, "and of course Xavier would never tell you, his only... son, that he was in league with the great demon lord, Ghirahim, now would he? I know your father far better than you think!"

"What?" Elbourne said in disbelief.

The demon lord laughed.

"I don't need to repeat myself," he uttered, "you heard everything I said."

The dragon prince groaned more and surprisingly reached for his weapon.

"No!" Elbourne snapped, attempting to reclaim his axe within the force field. "I refuse to believe that! You're a goddamn liar!"

Ghirahim saw his resilience and raised a brow. I sensed he expected him to give in already.

"I'm a great many things Elbourne," he said to him, "a killer yes, a lover of surface women yes, a deviant and fiend yes, servant to my lord and master Demise yes," he said, but then narrowed his eyes, "but… a liar I am not," he said, "I never lie, unless it is necessary. Why the hell are you resisting this much?!"

Elbourne looked at the monster in complete disbelief. However, to be honest with Ghirahim's confession I wasn't too surprised Xavier was proxy to such a revelation. His actions in this entire matter had been suspicious from the very start. I just hoped the wayward monarch was still alive out there somewhere so we could protect him, but given this creature's power I wasn't too sure of Xavier's safety any longer. Even so, in the here and now Ghirahim needed to be stopped. I couldn't just watch as Elbourne got tortured. Again, I defeated the shadow beast trying to stop me quickly, but was then confronted by three more particularly aggressive ones and suddenly got sidelined. They were the last three of the whittled down horde. It was an obvious diversion to keep me preoccupied. Fortunately, Hylia was already trying to intervene in my stead.

"Elbourne I'm coming!" she called to him. "Hold on! Don't give in!"

She snapped her fingers and made another kodachi appear, then without waiting went into another jump strike. This time she proved more successful as her interference caused the demon lord to shift his attention from Elbourne to her temporarily, freeing him from the force field.

Ghirahim growled at her.

"You meddling bitch!" he retorted.

Hylia landed hard from the strike on Ghirahim's opposing side, but turned her gaze momentarily to Elbourne on the ground in her side view.

"Are you alright?" she asked him.

The prince grabbed his neck, but didn't have much in the way of a reply. He just nodded.

"I'll be okay," he replied.

She then narrowed her eyes at him.

"I told you," she said again, "don't listen to him! That's what he wants!" She then front faced again. "He's trying yo distract you!"

Ghirahim then got in his own battle stance.

"I'm so sick of you Hylia!" he growled. "I swear to you by the end of all this you'll be a dead goddess!"

Hylia switched her attention back to her foe.

"You couldn't kill me then and you won't kill me now Ghirahim!" she replied. "You know you're nothing without your master!"

He narrowed his eyes at her.

"As are you and your worthless hero without the Master Sword!" he rebutted.

"Which we will get to defeat you!" she stated. "I fear nothing from you you cowardly bastard! You've forgotten, you aren't on your home territory! You are not at full power!"

Ghirahim smiled at her assertion.

"We'll see about that goddess," he said sarcastically, "why don't you back those words with some action you useless whore?"

Unfortunately, the taunting tactic worked. Without thinking about the repercussions, Hylia ran at him and jumped into a mid-aerial somersault to attack Ghirahim at his right side. That wasn't the best method of strategy because I realized from his fighting style that his right side was his strong side defensively. Ghirahim already had his parry planned, and when she attempted a connection, he countered her with another pulsar. It was particularly strong, because it sent her flying in the opposing direction while she was still in mid air.

"Ahhh!" she cried out before she landed hard in the grassy reeds and muddy marshlands.

The goddess looked like she was seriously hurt.

I looked on shocked.

"Hylia!" I called to her in alarm. "Hylia! Are you alright?"

Hylia didn't move at the sound of my voice. Her entire body was motionless. I had to keep my senses and hurried to defeat the shadow beasts trying to overtake me. Afterwards, I looked to where Ghirahim was and saw that with Hylia now out of the way he once again had Elbourne in his sights. I gripped my sword and hurried over to where the dragon prince was and stood in front of him. Elbourne already had his axe ready, but with Ghirahim's apparent mechanism of control over him, I wasn't sure that him trying to defend himself was even a feasible idea. I looked back over at Hylia and saw she was still lying stationary on the ground. However, I felt a small glimmer of relief when I saw that she was breathing.

"Just stay down for now," I whispered to myself, "please don't get up after that."

Ghirahim groaned and sneered when he saw me in my battle stance in front of the dragon prince.

"Get out of my way!" he demanded of me. "You know in your current state you are no match for me!"

And he had the nerve to talk about dull cliches from Elbourne?

"Not a chance in hell demon lord!" I replied.

The demon lord groaned loudly with open annoyance.

"Very well," he replied.

He wasted no time raising his hand and sending out another shock wave pulsar, the result of which sent me flying backwards into Elbourne behind me. We both landed hard by a nearby tree. However, quickly afterwards we didn't have a chance to stand up and regain our positions, we were both subdued by the binding force field that Ghirahim once used only on Elbourne. The magnitude of the gradient was beyond great, it was down right torturous.

"Ahhh!" I cried out almost involuntarily, closing my eyes and covering my ears immediately.

Elbourne too didn't fair any better.

"Argh!" he groaned as well.

Ghirahim's baleful black eyes widened as he walked towards us with his arm still outstretched. He watched us squirm in anguish.

"How does it feel?" he whispered in sick twisted kind of way. "How does all that hatred inside you feel when it's ready to consume you?"

I realized then these words weren't meant for me, he was talking squarely to Elbourne, but it was hard for me to concentrate on what he was saying anyway.

Ghirahim then looked beyond us to Zelda in the distance.

"How does it feel knowing that the only woman you ever loved is completely and totally in love with the man you hate the most, the Hero of Twilight?" he continued this taunt.

Elbourne covered his ears and squeezed his eyes shut, it was almost as if he had no choice.

"Shut up!" he yelled at the monster.

Ghirahim suddenly grunted and scoffed.

"The truth hurts doesn't it?" he goaded.

The pulsar was becoming unbearable. If there wasn't some relief provided soon, this monster was going to kill us, and I was quite certain that those were his intentions. The next few moments seemed to go on forever. However, suddenly an intervention came in a woman's voice.

"Stop this!" she yelled out suddenly from the distance. "Please! Let them go, there is no need for this! Take me instead!"

It was Zelda, and I knew with her seeing this she wasn't going to remain idle for long. But what the hell was she thinking? Why was she trying to negotiate with a monster? This wasn't time for diplomacy.

Ghirahim raised a brow and shifted his attention briefly.

"You?" he replied.

"Yes," she said without hesitancy.

I didn't want her taking this any further,.

"Zelda stay out of this!" I managed to yell.

She didn't answer me.

"Zelda!" I repeated in frustration.

Ghirahm then narrowed his eyes and kept his attention on her. Her plea inadvertently worked, because for a moment he stopped the pulsar, and Elbourne and I were both able to breathe a little easier now. However this was far from curtailed.

"I'm listening," he said to her.

Zelda spoke up once more.

"Let them go," she repeated from afar, "I'll only come to you if and only if all three of them are safely away."

Ghirahim suddenly licked his lips at the proposal and merely stared back.

"I might be willing to forgo what I need for a little while for a consolation prize like you," he said, not bothering to mask the desire laced throughout his voice.

Zelda was quiet for a moment.

"Then I must have your word," she said, "I won't go anywhere with you until you give me your word."

The demon lord groaned sexually at her utterance.

"You really are beautiful," he said ignoring her whole spiel, "I'm telling you when I get you alone…" he trailed, not finishing, "ohhh," he moaned like he was having an orgasm, "I'm getting excited just thinking about you whimpering from when I ravage you and drink the blood coming from one of your orifices," he narrowed his eyes just then, "I'm particularly fond of tasting the feminine one."

"What the hell?" Elbourne managed to retort.

That was all I needed to hear as well before I found enough strength to jump up in pure disgust within the force field and redraw my sword.

"If you go near her I swear to you I'll kill you," I promised, "that is not an empty threat!"

Ghirahim cut his eyes to me and raised a brow.

"Shut up," he said quietly and tried to exert more energy.

However this time I wasn't going down so easily.

"If you want to stop me, you're going to have to kill me Ghirahim!" I said to him.

The demon lord had no qualms about the idea.

"Very well," he replied, stopping the force field and causing a backward gradient to his palm.

It was then I realized he was pulling in the surrounding energy and concentrating it into a ball of light. Ghirahim was planning a single strike with that energy attack. However, when he let the power off, I dodged the attack and unfortunately as Elbourne was finally able to find his footing, get his senses, and reclaim his axe, he was hit with it squarely in the center of his chest.

"Elbourne watch out!" I tried to warn, but it was already too late.

I watched dumbstruck.

"Ahhh!" he screamed as the energy coursed through his body.

After the surge was over, the dragon prince looked down at the targeted space shocked, then, as if a delayed reaction, his eyes rolled to the back of his head, and he fell down onto his knees before collapsing face forward onto the ground. I caught him in time before he hit the marshlands below, but he didn't move at my grip. My eyes widened.

Sweet Farore! I thought at how white his complexion now was.

"Elbourne," I said to him in complete disbelief, trying to shake him, "Elbourne, come on man wake up!"

The dragon prince didn't respond.

Surprisingly the demon lord looked on stunned at what happened as well, his reaction was beyond what I was expecting or anticipating.

"No!" Ghirahim whispered angrily. "No... nooooo!"

Elbourne lay in my arms still not moving. Zelda screamed from behind, witnessing it all.

"Elbourne!" she called out with a broken voice. "Elbourne are you alright?! Link is he answering you?!"

I felt my eyes widen more at his continued immobility. No... no he wasn't answering me.

Dear Nayru, I thought staring down at the unresponsive dragon prince, is he dead?

~SSS~

Zelda's POV

I took several incredulous steps forward, not caring that my skirt was becoming sodden from the earth below. I looked on stunned, not knowing what to say, not knowing what to do. I felt numb. I couldn't believe what just happened.

"Dear goddesses," I whispered, "Elbourne please be breathing!"

I then watched as Link placed Elbourne's limp, lifeless body down in the reeds and turn his attention back to Ghirahim. The demon lord looked more furious than what was reasonably understood for the apparent mishap, his face was now full of rage.

"You," Ghirahim growled at the hero, "this is all happening because of you!"

Link didn't answer, but readied his sword to defend himself.

"I see it differently you bastard!" he replied.

Ghirahim wasted no time raising his palm again.

"It's no matter," he said pulling in more energy for another attack, "I won't miss this time! I promise you, when I kill you it won't be painless!"

Link braced himself and narrowed his eyes at him.

"That's assuming if you can kill me," he taunted boldly, "you haven't displayed any real power here Ghirahim. You're a long way off from the likes of your master Demise or Ganondorf."

Ghirahim kept drawing in more energy.

"You are every bit the nuisance as that confounded bastard the Hero of Sky!" he growled angrily. "I'm going to enjoy this!"

Link raised his shield, readying to defend himself again, when Ghirahim released the large score of concentrated matter. The missile pounded hard onto the holy metal before ricocheting into the treetops and causing a blinding explosion in the skies above. The fallout sent Link flying backwards, hitting a black gnarled tree in the process. He slumped to the ground with a bit of vertigo for a second, but bounced right back immediately to get up and defend himself again. I covered my mouth to keep a gasp from escaping it. After all that I had seen enough. I knew I needed to now intervene. Hylia was down, Elbourne was down, there was no way I was going to watch until Link was defeated too. I needed to do something and do it quickly. I gripped my bracelet and didn't hesitate to summon its energy.

"Triforce of Wisdom and ancestors of the past lend me your strength!" I cried out in a strong voice.

All of a sudden, a bright light shined brilliantly from the jewelry and engulfed itself all around me. My cloak and dress suddenly disappeared and was replaced with a skin tight Sheikah armor and my two toned blonde and platinum black tresses wrapped in bandages. I felt that surge of power as I once did in the Arbiter's Grounds, and my eyes changed from blue their blue hue to red. Once it was all complete I was ready to go.

"Yes…" I said with a trail in my now unisex voice, and then cracked my neck from side to side, "that's more like it."

I didn't waste time hurrying over to where Link was, and when I took my position next to him, he looked beyond upset.

"I told you to stay out of this!" he snapped at me. "It's too dangerous for you!"

I never took my eyes off Ghirahim.

"If we attack him together," I said to Link ignoring his concerns, "there's no way he can defeat the both of us in his current state. We both have the Triforces of Courage and Wisdom, and Ghirahim is merely a shell of his former self. There's no way he can defeat the both of us together."

Ghrahim didn't take to kindly to my boast.

"Oh really?" he said with quiet menace.

I narrowed my eyes at him.

"You know it to be true," I said back to him, "otherwise you wouldn't have had an army of shadow beasts with you as a distraction."

Link looked at me surprised, probably unaware that I was so astute to battle informatics now. How could I not be? I was traveling with the greatest set of warriors in Hyrule and Dragon Roosts. Even so, Link had his doubts.

"Zelda-" he tried.

I turned to look at him from my side view.

"Trust me," I interrupted, "why do you think he hasn't attacked us yet?"

Then without waiting for a reply, I turned my attention back to the demon lord and lunged at him.

"Zelda!" Link called to me in alarm, but had no choice but to reengage his battle stance and fight. "This woman... damn it!"

I aimed to strike Ghirahim on his left side, his weak side, and knew my strategy had to be playing the decoy while Link was the muscle. Ghirahim turned his attention solely to me and snapped his fingers to make his projectiles reappear. He sent two off without warning, but I back flipped twice to dodge both missiles, then afterwards I ran back towards him and jump kicked him square in the center of his chest. He stumbled to the ground where Link was waiting to pounce him with a jump attack. The demon lord didn't see it coming. However, as with Hylia before, the blade merely made the appearance of piercing Ghirahim's body, it didn't actually do any damage. Something about his tangible self was not fully substantiated anymore. I wasn't going to lie, I was a little befuddled by that.

What in the world? I thought.

Ghirahim was furious when Link jumped off him.

"You will pay for that!" he said angry.

Link reengaged his attack stance right in front of me, however I think we both knew this battle strategy needed to change. There was no way Ghirahim was going to be defeated by brute force alone, at least not with the weapons we had now. I had to remember what Hylia reminded me of constantly. These trials were of wisdom in the truest sense of the word, and because of that, any inclinations of any kind had to be defeated by means of wisdom until we garnered the power of the Master Sword.

It was then I spoke up.

"Link we're going to have to switch places," I said abruptly, "I'm going to have to be offense and you'll have to be defense!"

Link turned his head and looked at me like I was crazy.

"What?" he demanded. "What the hell are you talking about?"

We didn't have time to argue.

"It's the only way!" I insisted. "You forget these are my trials, trials of wisdom!"

Link grunted at me.

"I don't give a damn if these were trials of a conundrum!" he replied back. "You're insane! There's no way in hell I'm letting you take the offensive stance! He's too powerful!"

I shook my head.

"I'm serious!" I said. "I know how to defeat him now!"

"Well, then tell me so I can do it!" Link shot back. "I won't let you fight him! I won't!"

I groaned.

"It won't be close combat," I reassured, "I can displace space now because my power as a sage has amplified," I explained, "I need for you to be the decoy long enough so I can concentrate, summon the arrows of light, and send him back to his dimension!"

Link was looking at me as if I were ridiculous.

"How?" he demanded of me. "I don't want to put you in any unnecessary danger!"

I gave him a pleading look.

"Please... you're going to have to trust me," I said, "we can do this if we stick together."

Link wasn't reassured by my words, but realized we had very little choice. He turned his attention back to Ghirahim and made a quick concession.

"You better be right!" he said to me then reengaged his broad sword. "I'll buy you some time, whatever it is you have to do, do it quickly."

After saying that he didn't wait for my reply and lunged at Ghirahim.

"Argh!" he cried out.

I was more aware than he knew.

"Right," I called back, then suddenly closed my eyes and clasped my hands together. "Light guardians of Hyrule I beseech you," I chanted softly, "hear the sage of the mother land and grant me the golden power of light!" I said it again. "Light guardians of Hyrule I beseech you! Ordona! Faron! Eldin! Lanayru! Lend me the power of of the arrows of light!"

Suddenly, everything got very quiet like the listening of white noise, then the ground began to shake violently, and afterwards I disappeared and ascended to a different space and time. When I opened my eyes the heavens appeared dark, but the ground underneath me was like an aqueous solution with Ordona, Faron, Eldin and Lanayru flipping over and around me like a rhythmic cadence. When the cadence ended, the guardians came together and created a ball of light. Through the light was a nebulae of space, and within that space was the legendary arrows of light. Only the Sage of Hyrule who bore the Triforce of Wisdom could call upon the great power. With the arrows now in hand I looked to the guardians gratefully.

"Thank you," I whispered to all of them before disappearing once more.

They all bowed at my utterance and afterwards I descended back to the Twilight Realm. When I reappeared I saw Link was still holding Ghirahim at bay. I wasted no time pulling out my bow, readying an arrow, and pulling the string back.

"Link!" I called out suddenly. "Move!"

Link looked over his shoulder at me startled and surprised, but didn't hesitate to hurry a parry and push himself away from the monster. With him cleared safely away, I let the arrow fly. Ghirahim saw the projectile, but rose his hand thinking he was going to stop it, however, he was in for a rude awakening. The arrow pierced through his hand and nearly severed his limb off.

"AHHHH!" he screamed in shock and pain. "What the hell! You insolent worm filth!"

His words had no bearing on me and I let another arrow fly. However this time I didn't shoot the arrow at him, but behind him, demarcating the space between the dimensions to create a vacuum. All Link needed to do now was push him through to the other side.

"Link!" I called quickly. "Hurry! Send him off!"

Link, seeing this as the perfect opportunity, got up and pushed Ghirahim through the displaced matter. However, Ghirahim was not giving up without a fight. He latched onto the edges of space surrounding the wormhole, and he was staring right at me.

"You better pray to Hylia that when I come back that you aren't my victim!" he warned. "You will be begging for death before I'm done with you!"

I narrowed my eyes and set another arrow in my bow. Without giving him the response he so desired, I shot him right in the chest. The demon lord screamed and was forced to let go of the edges of space and was sucked into the dimension. Afterwards, the hole closed over itself and everything got deathly quiet and still. Ghirahim was gone. I took in a deep breath and closed my eyes before hurrying over to where Link was. He was on his knees trying to catch his breath.

"Are you alright?" I asked, touching his shoulder.

He nodded, but closed his eyes to catch his breath. I came up to him and hugged him, but it was then I saw Elbourne lying on the ground not moving near him. My eyes widened immediately and I went to see about him. I knelt down, took him in my arm, and saw that his skin was as white as snow and his lips were blue. His chest was not moving up and down. I shook him to try to arouse him.

"Elbourne," I whispered in a shaky voice.

The prince didn't answer.

"Elbourne," I said a little louder.

He still didn't answer.

Link turned and saw me trying to wake him.

"I tried too," he stated, "he... he wouldn't respond."

At hearing that, I transformed back to my normal state and then hurried to rummaged through my bag for a potion of some kind. When I found the bottle of golden chu jelly I put it to Elbourne's lips with a shaky hand. He didn't even look like he could drink, so I had to open his mouth a little and force the contents inside for him to swallow. I waited to see if there was any visible changes, and there was a hint of warmth that suddenly came back to his cheeks, but I was more relieved when I saw his chest start to rise and fall again. I couldn't keep it together after that, I buried my head in his chest and sobbed in open relief. As Elbourne's breathing got more and more steady, he finally had the strength to open his eyes. And when he saw me, he looked at me with open confusion.

"Zelda?" he whispered.

I bit my lower lip as more tears poured down my cheeks. I smiled through it all and nodded.

"Yes," I whispered.

Elbourne continued staring at me puzzled.

"Why are you... why are you crying?" he asked in a hoarse voice.

I just smiled more and didn't answer him. I hugged him tight.

"No reason," I said softly, "I'm just happy you're alright."

I glanced over and saw Link watching. He had a little bit of a grin on his face.

"You gave everyone a scare," he said to the dragon prince, "we thought you were dead."

Elbourne looked at him surprised.

"Dead?" he repeated.

Link nodded.

"Dead," he said again, "Ghirahim shot you with a huge bolt of energy. You were unconscious for awhile, you weren't moving."

Elbourne then looked back at me.

"Is that true?" he asked.

I nodded.

"It's true," I said, and felt more tears fill my eyes, I had to avoid looking at him because I was so emotional, "I was so afraid. I-I couldn't imagine life without you Elbourne," I confessed suddenly in a broken voice.

The dragon prince looked at me surprised.

"Zelda..." he trailed.

I had to cover my mouth as another sob was manifesting itself.

"I was so scared," I said again in a broken voice.

Even I was surprised at how poignant of a reaction his near death was drawing inside me. However, I couldn't pretend that I didn't care for him, Elbourne was one of my dearest friends. I had known him for years and he had been there for me through the thick and the thicker. He sat up and attempted to comfort me now because of how much I was crying.

"Hey, hey," he said soothingly, "I'm okay, I promise."

I didn't respond, instead I threw my arms back around his neck and hugged him again. I couldn't help it. It was almost as if I had no control over it.

"I'm so glad," I whispered back.

He grinned and hugged me tight.

"Me too," he whispered back.

~SSS~

Link's POV

I didn't want to come off as rude or insensitive or anything so I said nothing. I just stood back and watched as Zelda cradled Elbourne in her arms and continued to cry over him. I understood that the dragon prince was Zelda's close friend in some respects, but the way she was doting over him at this point was a little much. Maybe I was suggesting that because I was a little jealous of how reactionary she was to him being temporarily subdued. It wasn't like she didn't have a reason. We both did think he was dead for a moment. Even so, there was a great deal of pain and anguish in her voice and it seemed to be coming from a deep place of hurt... it almost sounded like she was in love with him or something. However, I immediately attempted to scratch that thought from my mind as that assumption was coming from an immature place within myself. I knew I was being silly because I was being a little 'reactionary' myself, but I couldn't help but feel a twinge of discomfort with how much feeling she was displaying on her part for her... her friend. I looked away, groaned, hoping to get her attention, but it didn't seem to work. So instead, I decided to preoccupy my wayward thoughts by checking on Hylia.

"I'll uh... I'll go see if the goddess is okay," I said to the both of them.

The only one to acknowledge me was Zelda, and all she did was nod without looking my way. I rolled my eyes at this continued display and then went over to see about the fallen divinity. Hylia was laying on her back with her eyes closed, but fortunately she was breathing a little easier now. I knelt down to arouse her.

"Hey," I said softly, "are you alright?"

The goddess moaned softly at my words, then opened her bright disguised red eyes. She sat up and touched her hand to her forehead.

"I think so, just a little headache," she said, then looked around and added, "how's Zel and Elbourne."

I raised a brow and nodded their way.

"Why don't you see for yourself?" I inquired rhetorically with a semi sarcastic undertone.

Hylia looked at me slightly taken aback by my manner, then cut her line of sight to the prince and the queen. She was just in time to see Zelda help Elbourne off the ground and dust off his cape. The goddess then glanced back at me and noticed my unhidden annoyance.

"I see," was all she said in reply.

I took in a deep sigh, then stood back up and offered her my hand for assistance, Hylia took it willingly. She also took note of my growing disapproval of Zelda's actions with Elbourne when I now tried avoiding her eyes. I didn't want to make this out to be a big deal, and really it wasn't, so I tried not to be bothered by it, but I obviously was not being successful in my attempts. In the mean time, with everyone now accounted for and somewhat conditioned, I decided to address what just took place.

"Ghirahim may be gone for now, but there's no telling when he'll attempt his next move," I said aloud to everyone, "we need to make haste in finding this Virtue Key to awaken Midna."

I was met with no arguments, just wayward faces and nods.

"Very true," Zelda said with a sigh, then took hold of Elbourne's hand and addressed him directly just then, "are you sure you're okay?"

At seeing that, I let out another very loud groan. I was getting tired of this display. The dragon prince wasn't a child.

"He's fine Zelda," I snapped before Elbourne could reply, "what needs to stop here is you goading over him."

Zelda, along with the others, all looked at me stunned.

"Excuse me?" she replied taken aback.

I didn't reply directly to her, but Elbourne wasn't going to let what I just said slide.

"What's your problem farm boy?" he demanded. "You can't handle a friend being there for a friend? She was only making sure I was okay."

"Which you are," I replied, "she doesn't need to hold your hand and coddle you, you're a grown man."

The dragon prince scoffed and shook his head.

"Unbelievable," he said, then added sarcastically, "who needs Ghirahim when I have friends like you?"

I raised a brow and challenged that inquiry head on.

"With what just happened I wouldn't be so quick to make such a comment if I were you," I warned.

Elbourne gave me an offhanded stare.

"Excuse me?" he replied.

I narrowed my eyes at him and didn't bother answering his question.

"Forget it," I said, "as it stands now I think we need to leave this subject alone, we have other things to worry about."

My attempted circumvention didn't work. Elbourne was immediately alerted to my underhanded insinuation and chose not back away from it. He took a step forward.

"What the hell are you getting at?" he demanded.

I looked from him to Zelda and didn't reply, but I could tell by the look on Zelda's face she knew what I was going to say if I said it.

"Link..." she trailed as if in a plea.

Hylia interceded as well.

"Uh... look, I agree with Link that we shouldn't say things that are going to cause disharmony," she chimed in, "we already have enough problems on our hands as it is now."

Elbourne didn't take too kindly to her words either.

"What things? What would cause disharmony?" he challenged, then turned his attention back to me. "What the hell do you mean Linux?"

He was trying me, and in a moment I wasn't going to care about the four of us getting along. My suspicions about him were already there, they only heightening as the days went on, but especially now after how Ghirahim targeted just him for the good part of our fight. It was obvious to me that Ghirahim saw some value in capturing the dragon prince.

"I'm not saying," I verbalized, "let's just get our bearings together so we can keep moving."

However Elbourne didn't budge.

"No," he said, "I want you to tell me what you meant by that insinuation!"

I narrowed my eyes and Hylia could see that if she didn't mediate soon then we would have a serious issue on our hands.

"Elbourne really," she said, "now isn't the time for this. Let's just forget all this pent up frustration and discuss this when we have cooler heads," she suggested, "we barely got away from that monster with the skin of our teeth."

I grunted and kept my gaze fixed on the dragon prince.

"Hmph," I moaned, "not all of us."

The dragon prince then took another step forward.

"I'm not waiting for anything," he said to Hylia, then turned his attention back to me, "out with it farm boy."

That was enough provocation for me.

"Fine," I said with a hint of contempt, "I think you have some explaining to do your highness."

Zelda looked at me surprised just then, but said nothing.

Elbourne narrowed his eyes.

"Regarding what?" he asked.

I scoffed.

"Do I need to spell it out for you?" I demanded.

Again he didn't take too kindly to my tone.

"Apparently you do," he said, "because I don't know what the hell you mean!"

I paused for only a moment.

"Why was Ghirahim able to exert control over you?" I demanded getting straight to the point.

"Excuse me?" he demanded.

"You heard me dragon prince," I said not backing down from my accusation in the mood to be trifled with, "first the barrier at the palace and now this! Why was that monster able to elicit control over you?"

Elbourne rotated his shoulders, loosening himself up before stepping forward.

"If I recall he subdued you too," he accused, "don't go getting one sided on this!"

"Cut the dragon shit Elbourne!" I snapped. "You have to know more than what's meeting the eye! Now tell the truth!"

Elbourne looked at him incredulously.

"I want answers the same way you do you spineless dog!" he retorted. "And I'm telling you I don't know!"

I made no apologies about not believing him.

"We'll see about that..." I trailed, "we'll see."

Elbourne scoffed at my tone

"We'll see or what?" he demanded. "What the hell are you going to do?"

This was the last thing we needed considering what just happened, and I knew I was probably wrong for provoking an argument, but something about all this was just plain odd, and I was done being quiet about it. Neither one of us said anything to each other after awhile, but the tension was seismic.

Elbourne then looked to Hylia and Zelda to get their thoughts on the matter.

"I have no idea why that took place earlier," he swore, breaking the silence, "you have to believe that." He was met with silence and looked between the two women imploringly. "I give you my word!" he insisted.

Zelda said nothing and looked to the ground, while Hylia sighed and decided to speak up.

"Look," Hylia started, "right now we're not going to get anywhere fighting, we're fortunate that we were able to buy ourselves some time with Ghirahim's disappearance," she went on, "what's important now is that we regroup so we can find Azimuth, and given what we learned from Exerion we're going to need to double our efforts in finding Xavier."

Zelda raised her brows.

"I just hope Ghirahim hasn't found him already," she whispered more to herself than anybody.

I never took my eyes off the dragon prince.

"If that was what he was looking for," I accused quietly.

Everyone looked at me surprised just then.

"Link..." Zelda trailed.

Elbourne came up to me just then and got in my face.

"Whatever farm boy," he replied.

Afterwards he pushed past me angrily, shoving my shoulder in the process and heading for the main road. I watched after him, until I caught Zelda's eye staring at me. I took in a deep sigh at her disapproving gaze.

"What?" I asked anyway.

She shook her head.

"You know what," she replied, "why did you do that? You knew that was only going to cause more harm than good."

I groaned at her question and didn't reply. Zelda in turn walked more towards the road also, but stared after her friend with open concern instead of following him. Hylia then came up to me and touched my shoulder.

"Not your best move my good man," she said honestly, "not your best by a long shot."

I closed my eyes and sighed again, and when I opened them I looked to the queen once more.

What's going on through that head of yours Zelda? I wondered as she continued to stare at the dragon prince. What are you thinking?

"There's only one way for me to know," I whispered to myself, "and that's to ask her."

~SSS~

Several Hours Later: Zelda's POV

We walked for about twenty miles heading south before we finally decided to make camp for the evening and rest. The day had been quite eventful and we needed to keep our strength just in case Ghirahim attempted another surprise attack. I tried to keep some normalcy by preparing supper. I went to gather vegetables for a stew, while Link and Elbourne got a fire going. Afterwards, the two men separated, each taking a portion of the forest's perimeter to stand watch. Hylia too was standing watch, but closer to the campsite than the others. When dinner was simmering, I decided to check on the others. Well, to be perfectly honest I wanted to check on Elbourne to see if he was okay. I was worried about him, he seemed to getting more and more introverted as the day went on and that bothered me. I knew he was troubled by what had taken place today, and he was probably thinking everyone was against him. I wanted to assure him that he had an ally in me, even if he thought the others didn't trust him.

I made sure Link hadn't seen me go away from the campsite, as I was certain he wouldn't approve, and I wanted no more conflict for the day. It had been conflicting enough. I walked down the short road that forked into a beautiful lagoon where a lovely multicolored waterfall was steadily splashing and irrigating away into a small pool. There I found Elbourne staring down at the water, and to be honest the alcove was more like a twilight version of Faron's Spring in Hyrule. I sighed at the sight of the dragon prince and went to see how he was faring. I attempted to approach him quietly from behind, but then suddenly his voice stopped me.

"What is it Zelda?" Elbourne asked without turning around.

I paused in my tracks at his inquiry, not at all surprised that he was so astute. I also wasn't surprised that he assumed it was me checking on him.

"I…" I trailed quietly, "I just wanted to see if you needed anything."

Elbourne didn't answer right away and finally shook his head.

"I'm fine," he replied after a few seconds, "go back to camp."

I noted a slight echo of contempt in his voice, and I knew where that resentment was coming from, but I wasn't going to let that deter me. I took another step forward.

"I'm afraid I can't do that," I said, "I know your moods better than my own Elbourne of Dragon Roost."

Even though I couldn't see it, I was quite certain Elbourne had closed his eyes while he sighed heavily at my reply. Again, he became silent and I sensed he was conflicted with how he felt about our friendship right now. So, I came up behind him and boldly wrapped my arms around his waist. I held him securely the way I knew he needed and rested my head against his back. I wanted him to know I still cared for him.

"What are you thinking about?" I asked softly. "Please… won't you share it with me?"

The dragon prince still didn't answer me right away. He shook his head.

"I don't have very much to say Zelda," he uttered quietly.

I squeezed his waist affectionately after his utterance.

"But you do," I replied, "I know you do because I know you."

He groaned at my words.

"Zelda please..." he trailed.

I knew he wanted me to go away, but I wasn't going to give up.

"I'm not leaving," I said stubbornly, "come on... you used to share everything with me."

I was aware that wasn't the best shift in conversation considering the circumstances, but I had a feeling it would resonate. He took in another deep sigh and finally conceded to me.

"Fine," he said finally, "I was just thinking about how much I hate seeing you in farm boy's arms. It makes me vomit a little."

I raised a brow and sighed.

"Elbourne..." I trailed, "will you be serious?"

He took my arms from around his waist just then and turned to look me in the eyes.

"I am being serious," he replied, "I'm dead serious."

I could see from his expression that he was. I didn't know what he wanted me to tell him.

"I'm..." I shook my head trying to find the words, "I'm sorry."

Elbourne gave me a quick once over before looking me back in the eyes.

"Do you think what they think?" he demanded, suddenly changing the subject. "Do you think I'm some kind of traitor to the world of light?"

I stared right back and didn't flinch.

"No," I whispered, "of course not."

He swallowed hard and took a small step towards me.

"Are you being honest?" he asked.

My eyes searched his face.

"I have no reason to lie," I said, "you're one of my dearest friends, I care very much for you."

"Your boyfriend was all but accusing me of being the devil," he said angrily.

I didn't have much of a rebuttal for that.

"I'm sorry for Link's actions," I said quietly, "I told him he was wrong."

He scoffed like he didn't believe me and looked away.

"I'm certain," he said sarcastically,

"I did," I insisted.

Elbourne didn't say anything for a long time, but I sensed some of the tension leave his body, and though he tried hard to mask it, he looked a little relieved with what I was telling him. He continued to avoid my eyes, but his actions made me grin.

"Are you going to stop with the angry charade now?" I asked with a hint of playfulness. "You know we could never stay mad at each other."

The dragon prince took in a deep sigh and cut his eyes back to me. It took him a moment, but he eventually gave me the grin I was looking for.

"Who said it was a charade?" he asked anyway.

My smile widened.

"I did," I replied boldly, "and I want you to stop it."

He snickered a little at that.

"You're demanding all kinds of things from me, aren't you?" he inquired with a hint of playfulness himself.

I nodded.

"Indeed I am," I replied.

His grin broadened.

"Well..." he started, "you know you're the only woman who could. I only care about what you think."

I felt my eyes widen slightly at his words, but I didn't want to delve into his inflection.

"Oh my silly silly Elbourne," I attempted a little brevity.

Elbourne's smile lessened for a moment and he looked past me to the entrance of the lagoon. Afterwards, there was a brief silence between us before he met my eyes and spoke again.

"Can I ask you something?" he inquired suddenly.

My ears perked, but I wasn't sure I wanted to answer that question.

"Of course," I said softly anyway.

Elbourne paused for a moment and looked past me once more.

"Why are you here?" he asked softly.

I sighed at the inquiry and paused for a moment.

"I'm here because you're my friend," I replied simply, "I wanted to make sure you were alright."

He shook his head at my response as his eyes met mine once more.

"No Zelda," he said and his voice got lower, "why are you here?"

I suddenly looked at him puzzled. What was he asking of me?

"I don't understand what you mean," I said honestly.

He gave my face a quick once over.

"You claim to be in love with another man," he said suddenly, "why are you worried about me? Why are you following after me?"

My face shifted to one of surprise. Why was he delving so unnecessarily into things he already knew the answer to?

"Those are silly questions," I replied, "a friend is allowed to care for a friend, and you happen to be one of my dearest friends Elbourne. Stop being fantastic."

Elbourne took my statement head on.

"I'm not being fantastic," he replied, "I'm being real with you. Now answer my question: why are you here?"

My eyes widened in slight disbelief.

What does he want me to say? I wondered.

"Would you rather I not be here?" I challenged. "Would that suit your whims better?"

He narrowed his eyes at me slightly.

"It might," he replied smartly.

I raised a brow and groaned.

"I know that isn't true," I said, "you're saying these things because you're being stubborn."

Elbourne shook his head.

"I'm saying these things because I want a straight answer from you," he stated.

I looked at him helplessly just then.

"I... I wanted you to know that I'm here for you," I replied honestly, "you're wonderful, funny, and caring. I just wanted you to know someone was in your corner."

I could tell my explanation wasn't what he wanted to hear, and he probably assumed I wasn't being truthful. He gave me another long once over, then came a little closer to me. I was suddenly a little nervous with the look in his eyes, afterwards he reached up and caressed my cheek tenderly.

"So... you're in my corner?" he whispered abruptly.

His tone unintentionally made me blush, which made this situation more compromising.

"I only meant that I'm here for you as a friend," I stated and took a step back.

Elbourne immediately took hold of my right arm and pulled me back toward him, afterwards he wrapped his arms around my waist.

"You mean kind of like how I was there for you last night?" he whispered.

I pushed back on his chest to give us some space, but I knew he wasn't going to release me. I shook my head at his words, having a feeling he was going to use my previous actions against me.

"Look I can't-" I tried.

"Do you suddenly realize you love me Zelda?" he asked all of a sudden. "Is that why you're here?"

I looked up at him stunned, feeling dumbstruck for a moment. I knew he was getting the wrong idea about this. I immediately shook my head no.

"No, no not the way you're suggesting," I said quickly, "but as a friend, of course I love you as a fri-"

However, instead of listening to me he interrupted me by pressing his mouth against mine before I could finish. I stiffened in his arms and stood still, hoping against all hope Link or Hylia wouldn't catch us in the act. I resisted initially, but he was insistent. When I saw he wasn't deterred, I then closed my eyes and tried to be as cooperative as possible to hurry and lessen the kiss. However, it seemed the dragon prince was prolonging it because I wasn't reacting the way he wanted me to. It was then I attempted to pull back to put a stop to this, but he negated our separation knowing what my intentions were. In fact he kissed me deeper because of it. It was only when I gave in a little and gave him some affection back that he compromised with me and pulled away after a few more moments. When we were finally separated, I looked up at him slightly upset. I stared into his eyes.

"Why did you do that?" I demanded in a whisper.

He just stared back.

"Why do you think?" he whispered back.

My throat tightened.

"I can't do this with you!" I whispered. "I'm involved with Link now."

Elbourne didn't seem fazed by my saying this to him.

"I don't care," he replied, "you don't have a ring on your finger yet. He isn't Hyrule's king yet."

I swallowed hard, not knowing what he wanted me to tell him.

"Why do you insist on proceeding this way?" I demanded in a whisper. "You know it's only going to hurt you in the end."

I could tell he didn't appreciate what I was saying to him, but he didn't seem to care.

"Because I'm not going to pretend with you any longer," he replied. "Didn't you tell me once before that friends are entitled to a little affection? That's all that happened here, a little affection. Does that only pertain to you? Was that only for last night?"

My eyes widened involuntarily and I broke away from his grasp as I pursed my lips together feeling terribly guilty.

"That-that was a mistake," I stammered helplessly, "I never should have used you like that. This can never happen between us again! Ever!"

His features dimmed a little.

"Don't try to downplay what happened between us yesterday Zelda," he said, "you know it was more than that."

I shook my head.

"It wasn't!" I tried convincing him. "It wasn't!" I then looked around suddenly at a loss. "Why isn't friendship good enough for you?"

He grunted in disbelief at the question. He probably found it a little disrespectful.

"Friendship…" he repeated with a hint of bitterness, "and nothing more? No, it isn't good enough."

I bit my lower lip.

"I-" I tried.

"It isn't good enough," he interrupted, "it'll never be good enough. I don't want to be just your friend Zelda. I've never wanted to be just your goddamn friend!"

I took a step back just then.

"Elbourne-" I tried again.

"I love you," he interrupted affectively, "do you understand that? I... love... you. Get used to the idea." He then turned from looking at me to staring back at the spring. "Now go back to camp before your boyfriend finds out you've left your post to fool around with me... again."

I looked after him stunned.

"I-" I tried again.

"Go Zelda," he interrupted once more.

I was dumbfounded by his insistence. I didn't know what to say, so I said nothing. I just stared at him, milling through what he uttered, and slowly turned back around and headed for the exit like he suggested. I was shaken, but I was trying to shake what happened off before I ran into Link or Hylia. Speaking of which, as I was heading back to the camp, I saw that Hylia was sitting down on one of the logs near the fire and stirring the pot of stew I left unattended. I paused for a moment, having a feeling she knew where I scurried off to and was going to give me a brief talking to about it. I sighed at the thought, but started walking again knowing that it was unavoidable at this point, and when I approached the log she was sitting on, I sat down next to her. She glanced over at me when she saw the troubled expression on my face.

"Everything alright?" she asked.

I shrugged, wishing I had a better answer than my next reply.

"I suppose," I answered.

The goddess grinned and paused for a moment.

"It…" she began with a trail, "didn't go so well with Elbourne, did it?"

I closed my eyes, not bothering to deny her straight forward inquiry.

"No," I said quietly.

The goddess grunted and nodded.

"I see," she said quietly.

We both got silent after her answer, but I felt compelled to go on.

"He's... he's angry with me right now," I started quietly, "and I don't know how to help him because... because..."

Hylia raised a brow when I found it hard to continue.

"Because he's in love with you?" she finished.

I took in a deep sigh and closed my eyes, afterwards I nodded. The goddess continued stirring the stew.

"That's a tough position to be in, isn't it?" she replied. "So, what are you going to do?"

I looked at her puzzled just then. I didn't understand what she was asking.

"What do you mean what am I going to do?" I inquired.

She glanced over at me and stopped stirring again.

"I meant what I asked," she said softly, "what are you going to do?"

I wasn't sure how to answer.

"I don't know," I said with a shrug, "keep being there for him."

Hylia scoffed.

"You saw how that turned out for you," she said. "Honey your best bet is to leave him be for right now, you trying to be there for him is only going to make what he feels for you deeper. His love for you isn't simply going to vanish."

I bit my lower lip.

"But he needs an outlet," I said.

Hylia then turned her attention back to the fire.

"True," she said, "and if he needs you, I'm sure he'll come back to you."

I sighed again and turned my attention to the fire too.

"You're right," I whispered.

She grinned.

"Of course I'm right," she replied.

I rested my head on my knees.

"Sometimes I wish I could act like the Hylians who had the condition of the Hylian Paradox and be done with it," I said suddenly, "Elbourne would then be happy and Link and I could go about our business."

She chuckled at my suggestion. She was aware I was referencing a literary hyperbole about how Hylians countered all their military maneuvers to save their lives in battle. It was probably a silly thing to say considering the circumstances.

"So basically you want to lie to keep the dragon prince happy," she said rather bluntly, "that will help no one Zelda my dear."

I rubbed the back of my neck.

"I know," I replied.

Something in my inflection made her chuckle more. She reached over and caressed my cheek.

"My poor beautiful ancestral daughter," she said sarcastically, "whatever will you do?"

I grinned at her teasing.

"Run for the hills at this point," I replied, "but only after we stop Ghirahim."

Hylia laughed again and turned her attention back to the fire. After a few moments I studied her a second and realized she still hadn't revealed to me what she wanted to disclose to me in private from her little excursion yesterday. It was just her and I here at the campsite, so I discerned now would be as good a time as any for her to share her secrets with me. Whatever it was must have been very important if she didn't even want Link to hear.

I cleared my throat to speak up.

"Since we're on the subject of covert intelligence," I started, breaking the brief silence, "I was hoping you would finally share with me what you wanted to tell me in private at the palace."

At my mentioning, the goddess suddenly got very quiet. She looked over at me and took in a deep sigh for some odd reason, but then broke her gaze and looked around the campsite to ensure she and I were alone. I looked around myself when her serious expression warranted it. Now that both of us were sure that the area was clear, Hylia came a little closer and lowered her voice.

"I want you to keep what I'm about to tell you between just you and I," she whispered suddenly.

My ears perked immediately.

"Of course," I whispered back.

She took in a deep sigh and came a little closer.

"You have to promise," she stated.

This had to have been serious.

"I promise," I reassured.

She turned from looking at me to the fire and hesitated for a moment. A solemn expression then clouded her pretty face. I waited and she still said nothing, it was then I reached over and touched her shoulder to cue her.

"Hylia..." I trailed, "what is it?"

She wouldn't look at me now and stared down at her hands.

"It's regarding Elbourne," she said quietly.

I looked at her taken aback just then. My heart skipped a beat for a moment.

"What about him?" I asked.

Hylia took in a deep sigh and paused again.

"I have reason to believe Ghirahim is solely after him," she divulged.

I felt my eyes widen involuntarily.

"What?" I said. "Why?"

The goddess then turned to look at me.

"When I went to check the forests closest to the palace last night there were all these strange insignia pertaining to Dragon Roost in the light of the trees," she revealed, "that is not a normal occurrence and I'm willing to bet Ghirahim has created that disturbance because he wants something from him."

My bottom lip quivered a little bit just then.

"What would Ghirahim want with Elbourne?" I inquired.

She shook her head.

"Your guess is as good as mine," she said, "but we cannot deny that it has to be something, earlier today was proof of that."

I didn't want to believe that was the case. It couldn't have been the case.

"How do you know it doesn't have anything to do with the Roostian king?" I challenged. "What if what you saw was for Xavier and not Elbourne?"

She shrugged.

"You have a point," she said, "and that very well could be the reason Xavier left the palace. He may have seen the signs and took off."

I turned away from her and suddenly felt distressed. This was turning more and more into a convoluted mess. I really wish now Elbourne had stayed back in Hyrule. Little did he or anyone know that he was going to be such an important catalyst to what was happening. I just hoped it wasn't true. I hoped Elbourne wasn't who Ghirahim was trying to capture, but if he was, why? What would he want with the dragon prince?

I sat staring at the firelight when Hylia reached over and touched my shoulder. She attempted a smile.

"Come on," she whispered, "don't look so sullen, you have to keep being Elbourne's compass. We can't lose sight of him, we have to protect him."

I nodded, realizing how grave everything was becoming.

"You're right," I whispered.

The goddess then looked over her shoulder at the hero in the distance.

"Besides..." she went on, "there's someone else for you to consider in this matter as well. I know you care for Elbourne, but don't forget that you've fallen in love with Link."

My eyes widened at her utterance.

"I haven't forgotten ancestral mother," I promised, "I know how much I love Link."

She stared at me for just a moment before nodding.

"Don't forget that," she said, "and don't forget what you two went through to be there for each other."

I looked over at Link myself.

"I won't," I replied.

It seemed to be the convincing she wanted to hear. Afterwards, Hylia got up and headed for the perimeter where Link was standing watch. I saw her speak to him and nod towards me. I grinned at her trying to keep things civil and always thinking about Link. She really cared for the hero. I wrapped my cloak tighter around me and looked up at the night sky. A few moments later I was unsurprised to see Link approach from the other side of the fire. He looked down at me and nodded in a respectful manner, I in turn smiled.

"Do you mind if I sit with you for a while?" he asked me.

I pointed to the spot next to me.

"Not at all," I replied.

He sat down and attempted to grin at me, his handsome face lit up just then. He took my hand in his.

"Are you holding up alright?" he asked.

I nodded and sighed.

"Yes," I said a little breathlessly.

He caught the glint in my tone.

"Are you sure?" he asked.

I looked over at him and my smile broadened.

"I'm sure," I said.

Link then stared at the fire and got quiet. There was something about his facial expression that alerted me that he had more to say. He must have been finding the right way to say it. I squeezed his hand a little.

"What is it?" I asked quietly.

He paused for a good while, then finally took in a deep sigh and turned to look at me.

"I'm sorry about how I approached the situation with Elbourne earlier," he said quietly, "I realize now, I've done more harm than good."

I stroked his back lovingly.

"Don't worry about it," I said, "it's over now."

Link got quiet again for awhile before he spoke once more.

"Zelda... are you still angry with me regarding what happened with Midna yesterday?" he asked all of a sudden.

I looked at him slightly taken aback just then. Where was this questioning coming from?

"No," I said quickly, "I told you before I was foolish for getting upset about that the way I did. I was completely irrational when it came to that."

He simply nodded at my reply, but his eyes never left roaming my face. I noticed the concerned look he was trying to conceal.

"Why do you ask?" I inquired.

Link shrugged and attempted to be nonchalant.

"No reason," he said, "just wanted to be sure."

I was a little hesitant with how he said that.

"All...right," I replied when I noticed he wasn't very convinced.

He gave my face a quick once over.

"How's Elbourne doing?" he asked suddenly.

I looked at him surprised in that moment and involuntarily felt my cheeks blush. That was certainly an unexpected shift in conversation.

"What?" I said in response.

Link raised a brow and gauged my reaction. I knew I was doing more harm than good.

"How's Elbourne?" he asked again. "You checked on him didn't you? You saw him alone last night in your bedroom and now you saw him alone where he's stationed in the alcove. Or did you think I didn't see you sneak off to where he was?"

My heart raced a little.

I paused for a moment.

"I wasn't sneaking off," I reassured, "but yes I did see about him. He's... he's having a hard time right now."

The hero took in a deep sigh as he looked at me seriously just then.

"You didn't think that maybe he wanted to be alone for awhile?" he countered.

I saw his point, but he didn't understand Elbourne the way I did.

"I see where you're coming from," I said, "but he needs a friend right now. He probably feels like the whole world is against him."

Link's handsome face dimmed a little when I said that.

"Zelda... I want you to be honest with me," he said suddenly, and then stared right into my eyes, "are you in love with him?"

I gave him an obvious stare and sighed.

"No," I said immediately, "you have to know that's a silly question."

His eyes searched my face again.

"I don't think it's silly," he said, "that display of concern earlier was really heart felt."

I looked at him surprised b by his reply.

"Are you serious?" I asked in minor disbelief. "You're going to hold that against me? I thought he was dead Link, you and I both did."

He looked away and took in a deep sigh.

"I just want you to be sure in what you want," he said quietly.

I then reached up and turned his face back to mine and caressed his cheek. I wanted to put his mind at ease.

"I am sure in what I want," I promised, "I want you, I love you."

Link could hear everything I was saying, but still didn't look convinced. However, he nodded at my utterance anyway.

"Listen, I need to talk to you about something," he went on and lowered his voice, changing the subject again, "it's why I'm concerned with you spending so much time alone with the dragon prince."

I gave him my undivided attention, but I had a feeling I knew what he was going to say.

"Yes?" I said.

Link looked away again for a moment and took in a deep breath.

"I... I never told you everything that went on with me and Ilia," he said suddenly.

I looked at him taken aback, not expecting him to shift the conversation so overtly.

"You and Ilia?" I repeated.

He nodded and went on.

"The night she and I slept together," he divulged in a more forthcoming way.

I raised my brows at how bluntly he stated that. I wasn't sure I wanted to hear this.

"Alright," I replied anyway.

He sighed again and continued.

"I, too, felt an obligation to her at times," he confessed, "how could I not? She was always concerned about me, she's one of my best friends, and she has this perpetual love for me in her heart. However, on my part it was because of that obligation I felt towards her that I let my guard down in a moment of weakness. It winded up hurting the both of us."

I looked to the fire and understood why he was saying this to me all too well. I didn't reply. He rubbed his hands together and went on anyway.

"We caught ourselves off guard Zelda," he said with a hint of warning, "I thought I was stronger than I was."

I pursed my lips together and still didn't say anything.

"I... I just wish she'd stop reliving those moments in her mind," he went on, talking more to himself than to me, "it's over, I just wished she'd stop thinking about it."

I raised a brow and found some of what he was saying a little insensitive. What did he expect her to do? She was in love with him.

"Link... do you think you're being fair with that statement?" I asked. "You can't expect Ilia, who has perhaps been dreaming about being with you her whole life, to forget something so special. Making love for a woman is different than for a man, it's very emotional."

He grunted.

"I understand why you're saying what you're saying Zelda, but I can't completely agree with that," he stated, "trust me when I say I've met some women who think of sex as being just sex. Women can be just as callous as men."

I saw his point, but that didn't dismiss mine.

"True, but would you really warrant that as the case with Ilia?" I countered. "Do you really think all she wanted from you was a love affair?"

Link didn't bother to delve into that further.

"Look, I'm not trying to be unfair to Ilia," he said, "I know she cares about about me, which is exactly my point when it comes to you and Elbourne. What I'm saying is, I know you care for Elbourne. I know... a part of you loves him very much, but you have to use discretion. I don't want what happened to me to happen to you."

I was quiet for a moment when he finished.

"I wouldn't let something like that happen between him and I," I said quietly, "I wouldn't betray you that way."

He looked at me once more.

"I'm not saying you would," he replied, "but what about him? I know he desires you very much, he makes no qualms or apologies about being in love with you Zelda. I will give him that credit, I know he truly cares for you, but Zelda... you belong to me."

I looked from the fire to him surprised. I never expected him to be so upfront with his feelings like this. There was no beating around the bush with those words.

"Link..." I trailed.

He reached over and caressed my cheek.

"I don't want to lose you," he whispered, "I'm done saying it simply, you need to know how much I love you."

I grinned at him.

"You won't lose me," I whispered back, "I promise."

He tried to be comforted by my words, but I sensed the worry in his eyes. I squeezed his hand affectionately.

"I promise," I whispered once more.

There was a brief silence between us with Link's beautiful blue eyes still searching my face. He finally broke his worried expression with a small smile, and I felt a twinge of guilt for what happened between Elbourne and I only a few moments ago. Link came close, kissed my forehead, and hugged me tight.

"Okay," he whispered back, "I believe you."

I closed my eyes and wished things weren't so complicated with Elbourne right now. It seemed there were still some issues I needed to straighten out with the men in my life. I couldn't forget about the mess that resulted from the previous evening between Link and I, but I was glad that was over. I didn't want to have another disaster like that again. So, I decided when I spoke up again to shift into another conversation.

"You know," I began in a quiet undertone, "there was something I've been meaning to ask you."

Link gave me his undivided attention.

"What's that?" he asked.

I raised a brow.

"Seeing that this is the Twilight Realm," I started, "why haven't you turned into a wolf?"

Link looked at me surprised by the question, but then thought about it as openly as I did.

"Well," he started, "honestly I don't know, I was given the power to control it at one time, but I haven't attempted to try and transform since after I put the Master Sword away."

I looked at him surprised.

"Oh really?" I asked.

Link nodded.

"When I adventured with Midna, I acquired a special amulet called the Shadow Crystal," he explained, "that coupled with the Master Sword allowed me the ability to shift between my human form and wolf form at will," he stated, "why I haven't changed to my wolf form yet is beyond me."

I nodded at his explanation.

"Perhaps you were given a royal reprieve by Midna," I suggested, "or maybe now that Zant and Ganondorf are gone the true essence of the Triforce of Courage has encapsulated you, allowing you to be human in both worlds."

Link shrugged and nodded at my theories.

"Perhaps," he said in a quiet undertone, "we'll know soon enough."

Immediately after that we got quiet and gazed up at the stars. There were millions in the heavens to reflect upon. However, a moment later, I saw Link cut his gave and stare at me from my periphery again.

"I better get back to my post," he said softly.

I glanced over at him and nodded.

"Okay," I replied.

He stared into my eyes and caressed my cheek once more, then reached over and kissed me softly.

"You better get to solving that riddle," he said to me when he pulled away, "we're going to need to make haste."

I nodded.

"True," I said.

Link then got up, stretched, and grinned down at me.

"I'll leave you to it okay," he said.

I grinned at him in return.

"Okay," I whispered.

Afterwards Link headed back to his post. I stared after him for a moment and took in a deep breath, thinking about the things he disclosed to me. He was right, and I never considered the Ilia situation quite the way he put it when I thought of Elbourne and myself. There was a chance that a compromise could cloud my better judgement. I think both Link and Hylia were trying to convey that to me. Even so, I couldn't ponder on it now, that would need to be food for thought later. I then opened my satchel to pull out the Book of Mudora. I stared at the green leather bound volume and stroked my fingers over the cover realizing the responsibility this text placed on me.

I need to solve the next riddle, I thought, solving the next riddle gets us closer to the Virtue Key.

With that, I made it my resolve to solve Azimuth's riddle.

"'The inverse to the lag of what is natural will purport the conservation of all things,'" I whispered to myself, reading the last page of the book where I wrote the quote.

First of all, what was 'the inverse to the lag?'

A lag was simply a way of describing something that had fallen behind. So the inverse of a lag would be something that did the opposite function, like a log, or logarithm. In mathematics logarithms were used in a variety of equations to compute and chart data. In this case however, the logarithm was being specified. How?

I looked back at the riddle: 'the inverse to the lag of what is natural…' I stopped there and thought about what was being said in that phrase. The first part was fairly simple to understand, the second part deduced that the logarithm had a precise characteristic. A natural one.

"Hmmm," I moaned thoughtful, "could it be referring to the natural logarithm of base e?"

The natural logarithm of base e was discovered by the sage Lord Gaebora Kaepora many many years ago. It was an irrational number, or a whole and a partial part of another, 2.718 to be exact. The logarithm of base e had been found in many instances in nature. The half-life of most chemicals could be calculated with the natural logarithm of base e. Engineers understood the importance of their building materials with the natural logarithm of base e. Mineral substances and their decaying properties could be calculated using the natural logarithm of base e. In short, it was an important number.

Having discovered which logarithm, I looked back at the riddle for more information. 'The inverse to the lag of what is natural will purport the conservation of all things.'

Purport, I thought isolating the term.

I looked the word up in the index. Purport meant to understand the significance of something else. In this case, it was 'the conservation of all things.' What conservation of things?

I looked up from the book to the fire for a moment and thought about it.

"The Law of Conservation of Mass?" I inquired to myself.

It was an idea. I decided to look it up.

The Law of Conservation of Mass stated that matter in an enclosed system, when broken down, will remain constant over time. For instance, if a candle were to burn inside of a house where all the windows and doors were closed, the broken down properties of the wax -carbon, oxygen, and hydrogen- would remain the same. If there were six molecules in the wax, the same six would still be present just in a different form. So how did this law tie with the first part of the riddle?

"'The inverse to the lag of what is natural will purport the conservation of all things,'" I whispered again. "The natural logarithm of base e will help signify the remains of the broken down constant," I narrowed my eyes slightly, "the constant in this instance is Azimuth."

I was getting close.

So, to understand correctly, there had to be some cumbersome manifestation in nature that was a clear evidential marker that the natural logarithm of base e was there: overgrowth of trees, extreme escalating weather patterns, nautical swells that turned to tidal waves.

Something had to be there to signify Azimuth's presence.

I paused and sighed for a moment.

Now, how were we supposed to find it? I wondered.

I pondered back to what Exerion said about the use of the other two guardian's names, and how those in themselves contained clues.

Azimuth… I thought, what does your name reveal?

I understood previously that an Azimuth was a part of a circumference, or an angular measurement of a circumference, but I needed to truly understand how its name related to the riddle. I knew in quantum measurements there was a series of numbers known as the azimuthal series. These numbers focused on the function of momentum. The first of these numbers was two to calculate the shifting differentiation of a sphere.

I paused for a moment.

Two… I thought, the natural logarithm of base e was 2.718, stating that somewhere there was an exponential constant in a spherical surrounding.

And then it came to me.

"A dome of some kind," I said to myself, "Azimuth resides somewhere in a dome where there is a massive over growth of life."

I looked around and knew the Twilight Realm was Hyrule's shadowed sister.

Where were we? I wondered looking at the roads.

I then realized we were the equivalent to where we would be in the world of light if we were in the alcove of Faron Woods.

"Looks like we don't have to go too far," I said to myself, "we're going to the Twilight Realm's version of the Forest Temple, but it won't just be a tree," I said aloud, "it's going to be a tree inside a large dome."

With that, I closed the book and sighed weary but satisfied.

We were one step closer to the Virtue Key.

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The next chapter will be up soon.