So regarding the last chapter, one of my lovely reviewers, inlesweets, pointed out a mistake I may have made when explaining the timelines. A little thing, but import, nonetheless. You can read the review and do what you will with it.

As for this chapter, it has A LOT of dialogue. But I enjoyed writing it. Hope you enjoy reading it, too.

xoxo

Chapter Twenty-Six: Shad's Sweetheart

The second time was more painful than the first, because Link landed on the floor instead of on top of Tara. For the few painful moments that followed his fall into the abyss, he simply lay on the floor of the Temple of Time staring at the spinning ceiling, waiting for the stinging to subside. After a few seconds, he heard groaning beside him, then looked over and saw Tara. She was curled up, her face scrunched and her eyes closed, holding her stomach.

"Taralisse...?"

"Shit, that hurt," she grumbled. "We really should put those pillows here."

"Or learn to fall gracefully."

"Good luck getting me to do anything gracefully."

Still reeling from what he'd seen, what he'd heard, Link propped himself up and leaned his elbows on his knees. Tara stayed curled up and soon, Link noticed that Tempest was nowhere in sight.

"Where's Tempest?" he asked.

"He disappeared when the two hours were up," she replied. "One minute he was there, the next, gone."

"Huh."

"What, you really thought he'd fall through his own chasm?"

Chuckling to herself, Tara sat up and began running her fingers through the tangles in her hair, wincing as she did. She looked as if she were staring at something very particular in front of her, but when Link followed her gaze, he saw only the entrance to the temple.

"He'll be back," he said. "He'll always come back."

"I know. He will soon enough. Come walking right through that door, I bet."

"Taralisse?"

"Hmm."

"What is he? What is he really?"

"Exactly what I told you he is. A guardian of the temple. Just a defense mechanism."

"He doesn't act like just a defense mechanism," Link said. She didn't move her head, but he saw her look at him through the corner of her eyes. Her face remained expressionless. "And you don't treat him like just a defense mechanism."

"What's your point, pretty boy?"

"Is he human?"

"No." Her answer was frighteningly quick.

"Then...what is he?"

"A guardian," she said.

"You already said that."

"And I'll keep saying it until you understand. That's all he is."

"When are you going to start telling me the truth?" Link said. His patience was reaching its limit. "I'm not stupid, you know. I managed to survive this long for a reason."

Tara froze. Her hair in her hands, her eyes staring forward, her mouth still completely straight. When she froze like that, it was as if the entire world froze. Then, she moved her hand toward her bag and pulled out the pipe. But when she tried to light it, her hands were shaking, and she couldn't.

"Goddammit, why can't I light this stupid thing—"

"Here, I'll get it."

As she sat, shaking in frustration, Link took the match from her fingers and lit it. Then, with the pipe in between her lips, he lit it for her. She breathed in so deeply, and there was such relief on her face, but she was still shaking.

"Why are you shaking so badly?" he whispered. "Is the answer that terrifying?"

"It's not the answer that's terrifying," she said in between her desperate puffs. "It's the fact that I don't know the answer."

She looked up at the ceiling and closed her eyes once more.

"And I hate not knowing things."

Right as those words escaped her lips, a shadow moved at the temple's entrance. And there, standing as if he'd never left, was Tempest. He was leaning against the door frame, smirking that dark smirk of his, letting his red hair fall over his green eyes.

"Tempest."

"How was your second trip, hero?" he asked, moving forward into the temple.

"Fine."

"Discover anything interesting?"

"That's right. You disappeared back there," Tara interjected. "Where did you go?"

Link stood up, dusted himself off, cracked his knuckles.

"I followed a young boy to the castle."

"The castle? Why?"

"Because I recognized him."

Tara laughed and lay on her back.

"How could you have possibly recognized him? You're not 200 years old, I take it."

"I saw in his eyes. I saw who he was."

"Enlighten us."

"The Hero of Time."

The silence that followed was just as tense as Link expected it to be. All he could hear was his own heartbeat, and the steady sound of Tara's deep inhalations of smoke.

"You saw the Hero of Time," she finally said.

"Yes. Princess Zelda, too."

"Wow. That's—"

"Overwhelming."

"Time is an overwhelming thing sometimes," Tempest smiled. "It grabs you by the hair and takes you places you never thought you'd go."

"True enough," Link murmured. But he still was not completely comfortable around Tempest. Just the sight of him made him jittery, nervous. Suspicious, paranoid.

"It is amazing, though," Tara said. "Actually going back, making use of the knowledge I've spent years harboring inside my crazy head. It's a satisfying feeling."

"I'm glad you're enjoying it so much," Link sighed. "At least someone is."

"Don't give me sass. Remember the rules."

"I'm not giving you sass."

"Watch yourself."

"Hero," Tempest interrupted. Tara went back to her smoking as Link turned to face the mysterious, dark-nailed guardian. "Are you ready for the next clue?"

"Yes," he nodded. "I'm ready."

"All right. You're closer than before. Much closer."

"How close?"

"Sorry, can't tell you that."

"See? Now that was helpful," she exclaimed. "At least we know it has nothing to do with your princess. Right?"

Link's head was spinning as he started coming to terms with the magnitude of his task. He was shocked that Tara could lay there, smoking her pipe, treating the situation with such calmness while he was trying not to lose his mind. He grasped for the ring around his neck, held it in his palm, tried to block out the negative thoughts. But that had been impossible ever since Zelda had left him. The silence returned after Tara's thoughts. Link had become lost once more in his memories, in that voice that was constantly in his mind. Tara was staring at the ceiling in the same lost way, and Tempest was standing like a statue.

"Food," Tara abruptly said.

"What?" Link mused.

"Food. I'm starving. I feel like I haven't eaten in days."

"I...don't think we have."

"Then let's get food."

"I don't have any left with my supplies."

"All I have left is chocolate, and I don't know how much that will help us survive."

"Chocolate? That sounds familiar," Tempest said.

"Don't tell me you don't know what chocolate is!" Tara gasped. She sat straight up, looking at Tempest as if he had just threatened her very existence. "You have to try some. Right now."

Before Tempest could even say another word, Tara was on a rampage. She reached into her bag, pulled out a chocolate, unwrapped it with the grace of a monkey, stood up in a storm, and stuffed the chocolate into Tempest's mouth. Link watched, again utterly confused, as the guardian chewed, slowly at first. But then his entire face lit up and he looked at Tara like she was his savior.

"This is delicious. Way better than that pipe!"

"There's nothing better in this world than chocolate," she nodded. "Even for strange creatures like you, babe. But now I need real food. Any ideas, Mr. Hero?"

As he considered the possibilities—leaving the grove, searching out food, maybe returning to Ordon—he could not get Zelda's voice out of his head. It was there, stronger than ever. And with it came the burdening sense of his own life waning. For a moment, he had forgotten that he was in the middle of betting his life. And with the way Tara was acting, she had forgotten, too. But one look at Tempest, and Link knew that he hadn't forgotten. That he was betting on it, waiting for it with bated breath.

"Let's travel back again and find food then," he said. "I don't want to waste any time."

"Not a bad idea. It'll be much easier anyway. All right, what time next?"

Link almost told her that he wanted to go back to that day again. The day when Zelda had been sitting in the library, reading, beautiful and oblivious to the terrors that were coming. He was so desperate to see her again, feel her again, that the ring was burning against his skin. But if he wanted to truly save her, he reminded himself, he needed to figure this out. And just as he was about to respond, tell them where he wanted to go, he realized that he still had no idea. His mind was still fuzzy, his limbs aching.

"I don't know," he admitted.

"That's okay, because I do," she winked.

"I knew you would."

"Let's go back two hundred years again, but one month later. Sound good?"

"Is there a purpose? For that specific time?"

"Once we're done there, Tempest will tell us how close we are. Won't you, Tempest?"

She placed a hand on her hip and looked over at him, batting her eyelashes in a way that Link had never seen. It surprised him, the way they looked at each other. And then, like it was the most natural thing in the world, Tempest reached forward and took some of Tara's hair in his hands. Even stranger was that she didn't react at all.

"Maybe I will," he shrugged with a smile. "Maybe I won't."

"See, it'll work."

"Whatever you say," Link sighed. "Whatever you say."

"Set up that clock, Mr. Hero. We'll be off as soon as possible because I am absolutely starving. Chocolate can only hold me back for so long."

She handed him the pocket watch, eyebrows raised.

And for the first time, as he looked into her eyes, he didn't see an illusion. He didn't see the expression that she wanted him to see. He saw straight through her. And he saw how scared—no, how terrified she was.

Seeing Tara terrified made Link even more terrified.

Stop this, my love, came the voice in his head. Singing, making the ring around his neck burn like fire against his chest. Please stop this. Tell them you don't want to play this game anymore.

I have to play this game.

You're going to die, she said. She was crying. And then everything I did will be for nothing. Is that what you want? To waste my sacrifice?

I wish I didn't have to, he responded, but I can't live with it. I can't. I can't. Not while it crushes me, knowing that I'm alive because you're dead.

I did it for you.

I should be dead.

NO, she screamed.

"Link?"

Tara's voice brought him back to reality. He realized that he had been staring at her with wide eyes, his quivering fingers running along the rough edges of the watch.

"Are you okay?" she asked him.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"You're a terrible liar."

"Well, do you expect me to be okay?" he challenged.

Tara stared back at him, the fear still terribly prevalent in her eyes. Even as she smiled, looked at Tempest, hid everything as she always hid it. But for some reason, Link could see it now. Like something within him had shifted, given him the power to look inside of her.

"No," she said. "No. I would be worried if you were calm."

"Me, too."

"Can we go, please? I'm about to starve to death here."

He could see it so clearly now. The way she covered the pain with her words. The way she smoked so that the fog could hide the real features of her face. The fierce smile constantly tugging on her lips to hide the tears. Something so terrible buried deep inside her. Link noticed something even stranger still. Every few moments, as if worried that he would disappear, Tara glanced over at Tempest.

It's Tempest, Link thought. He's bringing something out of her that I've never seen.

Those thoughts still colliding in his head, Link grabbed Tara's hand and she grabbed Tempest's and they stood in the center of the temple. Then, after adjusting the pocket watch as Tara had instructed, he began the ritual.

"Time. Time is alive. Time is like a tempest."

And then they were whisked away once more by the claws of the tempest of time.

That evening, Shad couldn't sleep. And he could tell by Ashei's movements beside him, through the darkness, that she wasn't asleep either. He couldn't stop thinking about what Auru and Carlotta had told them. Their histories, what it truly was that made them who they were. It made Shad happy, finally knowing what made Auru tick. He had considered Auru a mentor, a leader, for so long. In a way, it was rewarding to know the full story. And it made him happy to see the way Carlotta and Auru looked at each other.

"Shad?" Ashei whispered, slicing through the darkness.

"Yes, darling?"

"Auru left out another part of the story."

"What now?"

"He never told us why he and Carlotta fell out of love."

"Or if they ever did, truly."

"Yeah."

"Perhaps we should ask him tomorrow."

"You know what I think?"

"I would love to hear your thoughts about it, actually. Your thoughts are always so interesting to me."

She chuckled softly, in a way that gave him goose bumps. Then, beneath the soft covers of his bed, she inched closer until she was able to lay one hand on his bare chest and rest her head on his shoulder. He held back his shivers, spurred by the way her dark hair tickled his skin. The way her fingertips grazed the thinnest surface of his chest. The way her breath, warm and heavy, spread from his neck down to his toes.

"I think they were supposed to get married," she continued.

"Married?"

"They seem like that type, yeah? They were gonna tie the knot and everything. But it was hard, working in the castle, for Auru. Or maybe for Carlotta. I haven't worked out the kinks yet."

Shad laughed and turned his face, so that his forehead was touching hers. Slowly, he reached his hand up so that his fingers could intertwine with her fingers and he could feel a little bit closer to her.

"So they were supposed to get married. But then Auru left to explore the desert, yeah?"

"That he did."

"How long did he say he was there? Four years?"

"Yes, that sounds right."

"He explores the desert for four years. But back home in Castle Town, Carlotta is trying to wait for him, yeah? But she doesn't get word from him. I mean, how's a guy supposed to send mail from a desert."

"True, true."

"So, she gives up hope. Convinces herself that he's dead. Marries off to someone else."

"You think she married someone else?"

"Either that, or she closed off her heart to him for good. So by the time he came back...it was too late."

"Quite the theory."

"Hey, it makes sense, yeah?"

"Of course it does, dear, of course it does."

He felt her smile when he pressed his lips against hers. Felt her fingers squeeze more tightly. Felt her breath mingling with his, lost track of himself in the darkness. One minute his eyelids were drooping, pushing him to the very edge of sleep. The next minute, they were chest to chest, his hands at the nape of her neck, her back pressed against the bed.

"Did you have a sweetheart back when you were young, Shad?" she suddenly asked.

He was hardly aware of the question as he let his lips linger above her forehead.

"Hmm, perhaps."

"It's a yes or no question," she insisted.

"Then yes, I did."

"When?"

"In school, when I was studying."

His words were muffled by the movement of his lips from her temple to her cheek, her lips, her jawbone, the tender skin just beneath her chin. But Ashei was persistent.

"Was she pretty?"

"Beautiful."

"Am I beautiful?"

"No," he smiled. "You are breathtaking."

"Didn't realize the two were mutually exclusive."

"Oh come now, dear. I'm actually trying to be romantic this time. You know I think you're beautiful."

"More beautiful than your sweetheart from school?"

"Of course."

"Was she in school with you?"

"Mhmm."

"What did she study?"

Shad suddenly realized that he was treading on thin ice. He paused, his lips still pressed against her neck. Ashei froze as well, but he could feel her eyes watching his face. If he answered the question truthfully, Ashei would get angry. But if he refused to answer the question, Ashei would still get angry. And probably figure it out anyway.

"She studied time," he finally succumbed.

Just like that, Ashei pushed him off and leaned onto her elbow so that she was facing him and he could sense the tension in her glare. It was awfully uncomfortable for him.

I should have been expecting this.

"You were in love with Tara?"

"I wouldn't say we were in love," he chuckled nervously. "Love is such a strong word."

"So you just slept together, yeah? Now I understand the infatuation."

"Ashei, darling, please. We were very close then, I admit. But it's different now!"

"Close. That's all?"

"Well, I mean, w-we, well, we could r-relate to one another, a-and—"

"So you never loved her?"

"N-no! Not in the traditional sense of the word."

"Then in what sense, Shad?"

The anger in her voice was rising, for Shad knew that he was testing her patience. But he wasn't exactly sure what else he could do.

"We enjoyed each other's c-company," he stumbled. "We could talk about everything, really. But you must understand, dear, there was never a romantic spark between us."

"But you still slept with her, yeah?"

"Erm, y-yes."

She continued staring at him for a couple icy moments, moments that felt like the end of the world for poor awkward Shad. But finally, she let out a scoff and dropped back down to her back. Her frightening glare was redirected toward the ceiling.

"It's over now, Ashei," he said.

"Let me ask you something, Shad."

"P-please, go ahead."

"Is there a romantic spark between us? Or is this like before for you? Good conversation and a good night's sleep?"

Everything became a bit lighter for him then. With a smile, he sat up, reached over, and cupped her face in his hands. He could feel the tension in her cheeks releasing. Then, as softly and as gently and as tenderly as he could, he bent down and kissed her forehead. He ran his fingers through her hair, let his lips sit against her skin. He saw her close her eyes, breathe out deeply, releasing all the tension.

"Of course there's a romantic spark between us," he whispered. "Of course."

"Good," she smiled. "I think so too."

"Good."

"One more question."

"Please."

"Do you love me, Shad?"

He tensed up for a single moment, afraid of what his own mind would force from his lips. Afraid of what the answer was. Because he didn't truly know himself. Until, finally, he opened his mouth and just let whatever words were meant to flow...flow.

"Yes. I love you."

"Good."

"Good?"

"Because I love you, too."

And that's that, he thought in exhilaration. That's that.