A/N: Fixations done at 24.8.2015.

The picture I have in use as the cover for my CaH saga is from dA by an artist lychi and the picture's name is just simply Zelda.

Also, another note: I do NOT own the characters or places unless said otherwise. Nintendo has the rights. =P Honestly speaking, all I have is the idea for the story, few monsters, creatures and bit of changing the places. Oh, and couple of OCs here and there. ^^; I'm certain everyone can figure out which belongs to me and which doesn't. =)

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IMPORTANT! READ!

1) Letters From Hyrule has come back but will be updated very rarely. BUT, the updating day is Monday, so keep your eyes open at then. ^.^

2) There are FOUR stories in DeviantArt that are part of my CaH Saga.
- The first one is called Mission at Kakariko Village and it is one of the little missions Dark was send during Ganondorf's ruling.
- The second is called I WANT OUT! (Dark Link) and it is a song fic with small tid bits about Dark's life during those seven years.
- The third is about Dark creating a knife for a friend and being at the Christmas Ball.
- The fourt is very short conversation between Dark and Link about figurative speach and such.

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Enjoy the chapter! ^.^

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DARK LINK'S QUEST

CHAPTER 26: Shadows at Hyrule Castle

Link and Dark ran through the corridors and followed the screams. Finally, after two stairways and several long hallways, they came into scene. The hallway they had come into was a dead-end. There was only doors on both sides of the hallway but no hidden pathways nor stairways.

There were two young women at the end of the hallway and in front of them was a guy dresses up as a guard. "HEY! What do you think you're doing?!" Link screamed out on the second the situation dawned to him. He and Dark slowed down to a stop but both were ready for anything.

The guy turned around with a bit wicked grin on his face. His eyes flashed very quickly. While the Hero wasn't sure if it had been just the light of the hallway or something, the dark Hylian was fully startled. This was something he had not waited for. "Oh, just having little of fun." The guard answered with a shrug.

Link narrowed his eyes in anger. He had very good memory of who he had met and especially whether or not they were trustworthy. "Get the hell away from them." The Hero stated and started to walk forward towards the guard. Dark stood on his place without fully knowing if he should take part or not.

As Link was advancing, the guard started to move towards him and giving more space for his victims. Soon the guard was left between the Hero and the dark Hylian. The guard grinned bit victoriously before extending his right hand and pointing his sword towards Dark. The ex-shadow was bit startled but he readied himself for whatever was going to happen. Link didn't know what to wait for but he liked the situation even less as the time went forward.

Suddenly the guard's sword started to glow black before he already swung it and send a black magic ball towards Dark. The dark Hylian had been ready just seconds ago but what he saw in the guy's eyes, got him fully off guard. "DARK!" The Hero screamed out as the magic ball struck on full force into the ex-shadow and got him to fly away before crashing hard onto his back. The guard laughed cruelly but that was very soon cut off as Link ran to him and hit very hard the guy into the back of his head. The guard fell into the floor fully knocked out while the Hero ran straight to Dark's side.

"Dark! Are you alright?" Link inquired straight off when he knelt down next to the dark Hylian. The ex-shadow gave a quick nod while frowning in confusion and sitting up slowly with the Hero's help. "Are you hurt?" Link asked again and got a simple shake of head for an answer.

"I... I think I'm okay..." Dark half whispered and turned his gaze into the knocked out bad guy. "I-is everyone okay?" He continued and looked at the two women at the end of the hallway. The duo was slowly calming down and gave a quick nod. Link turned his gaze into the women, gave a quick smile and nodded before already turning his gaze back into the dark Hylian.

"What happened?" The Hero asked while slowly calming down. Dark stood up carefully while still having a frown and confused look on his face. "Dark?" Link called worriedly and bit startled the ex-shadow.

Dark blinked couple of times and shook his head to clear his mind. "Sorry." He muttered and finally turned his gaze into the Hero. "I... I'm not sure. I..." The dark Hylian started but trailed off very quickly. "I thought I saw something but... It can't be, right?" He thought while still being fully confused about the situation. "Red eyes. Fear. It just couldn't be in there..."

"Let's get that idiot out of here." Link stated and walked to the guard. He very quickly tied the guy's hands before half hauling him upwards. "Dark?" The Hero called again and finally snapped the dark Hylian back into reality. Dark walked to his side and took the knocked out guard from Link.

The Hero turned towards the women and nodded to them. "I hope this fool didn't get to cause you two any of harm. If you need to take a day or few off, then just talk to her Highness. I'm sure she'll accept." He told calmly and the two young women nodded while finally calming down fully. "We'll take this idiot out of here and into the jail." Link continued, picked up the guard's sword and started to show the way. Dark glanced at the women and nodded with a slight smile before following the Hero out of there while dragging the guard with him.

As the two Hylians were heading back towards their room a while later, Princess Zelda came to them. "Link!" She called straight off and hurried to the duo as they stopped and turned around. "I heard screaming..." Zelda started in full worry.

"It is all taken care of, Your Highness." Link replied straight off with a smile. "The idiot is back to his jail." He continued but frowned slightly. "I just wonder how he got out in the first place..." The Hero half muttered but when the Princess sighed in defeat, he raised his gaze back into her. "Your Highness?" Link called bit worriedly.

Zelda turned her sorrowful gaze into the Hero. "This wasn't the first time he escaped. There has been several times he has caused trouble around the castle. So far no-one's got hurt but it is only matter of time." She explained carefully and sighed heavily after that. "I don't have any of other choice than call in the last possible punishment." The Princess half whispered.

Link dropped his gaze down and nodded. "You do what you have to, Your Highness." He replied sternly. Zelda nodded, turned around and left. The Hero stood there while having a stern look on his face with slightly angry frown. Dark had stayed behind Link and showed his respect to the Princess but he had stayed silent through the whole conversation. Only after the Hero started to continue their trek back to their room, he finally opened his mouth.

"Um... Link? What's going to happen to the guy?" The dark Hylian inquired both worriedly and confused. Link stayed silent for a long while and Dark didn't press the matter any further. "Whatever it is, it certainly isn't anything good." The ex-shadow thought and watched Link as they both sat down to the bed once they had made their way back to their room and locked the door.

The Hero sighed heavily and slumped. "The guy will be killed tomorrow. Zelda is writing a note about the situation so everyone around Hyrule knows about it. I don't fully support this kind of punishment but I do realize the reasons for it." Link explained quietly and sorrowfully.

Dark was fully startled. "B-but... That's..." He stammered with wide-eyes but sighed very soon and slumped. "I... I guess I can understand it in the end..." The dark Hylian mumbled, got up from the bed and walked to the window. He leaned against the windowsill and stared out into the country yard. "I don't like the idea at all but I do realize that bad guys won't stop without one hell of a good reason. And the worst thing is that they might get even worse as time goes on." The ex-shadow stated and sighed sorrowfully while hanging his head. "I don't know if I want to be there when the time comes. I know you're needed into there as you're the Hero but..." Dark continued quietly.

Link sighed and nodded. He had turned around to watch the dark Hylian as he started to talk. "I can fully understand you. In all reality I don't want to be there either. But, as you said, I'm the Hero and so required to be around. Yet..." He started sorrowfully, got up from the bed and walked next to Dark. "I don't want to force you to come but I would be grateful if you were around at then." Link whispered and carefully placed his hand over the ex-shadow's shoulder and watched him fully sorrowfully. "Darky, it's not your fault. I don't know what happened but at some point the guy got taken by the darkness. And we can't keep such enemies around here." The Hero continued and sighed heavily. "You saw what happened with the Master Sword. It doesn't allow those who have evil inside them to touch it. And that's what we have to follow. And since the sword is called as The Blade of Evil's Bane I trust its decision." Link explained and pulled Dark into a tight hug. "Thank Goddesses the sword accepts Dark. It just means that there is a chance to change people from bad guys into good guys... Though, I highly doubt Dark to have been a bad guy in the first place..."

"Come on, let's get some rest. Tomorrow's not going to be easy. We have to get ready for our trip into the Ice Cavern as well as for the Water Temple. Plus at least I have to be checking through the punishment." The Hero said calmly and started to half drag and half guide the dark Hylian back to the bed. The ex-shadow only nodded and let Link take him to the bed. Very soon they both were laying on the bed but only the Hero had fallen asleep. There were way too much of things in Dark's mind that he could sleep. Yet, as he watched the day turn into evening the sleep finally took him over.

The next day rose brightly. Dark had slept restlessly but he had managed to get enough of sleep to be fully ready for anything. As Link was willing to continue straight from the Ice Cavern into the Water Temple, they needed to check things fully. The only problem was the fact of two tunics since the Water Temple probably wasn't that of cold in the end. "We can leave the Goron Tunic with Epona and Storm." Dark suggested as he made sure that he had everything along.

Link nodded. "Good idea. Though, we can't leave until the problem with the guard has been cleared out." He replied but frowned in both disappointment and sorrow. The darker Hylian sighed and nodded. He didn't want to think about the situation either. The Hero sighed, stood up straight and stretched. "Well, while we're waiting for midday we could go and train for a while. There's this one place I haven't yet shown to you but which I'm certain you'll like." He said and took up only the Longshot.

Dark frowned but followed Link's example with one difference. He took his knife with him. "Midday?" The dark Hylian inquired slightly confused as the Hero led him out of the castle and to a secluded area.

Link nodded as he led the way into a long and tall building. It wasn't connected into the castle in any of way but it certainly was close enough to it. "That's when the death punishments are handled. And it'll happen in another wide area behind the Temple of Time." The Hero explained with a slight frown. "Death Clearing. That's what the area is called as." Link continued with a sorrowful sigh. "The only time when people come anywhere near the place is during this kind of situations." He told but stopped walking while fully frowning as he thought about something.

"People say that the area had that name already long ago. Not because of this kind of punishments but because of the history that the Shadow Temple has." Link said slowly but shrugged then. "Not that I know much about the history. There's been lot of other things to look after that I haven't really had time to get to know about it." He continued. "But, how about we leave this kind of awful things off and concentrate into training?" The Hero suggested and eventually opened the door into the house.

The room was very tall. There were lots of wooden girders around the room going higher and higher. Dark stared at the room in full amazement. Link let the dark Hylian walk around the room that had the shape of a square. "Hookshot range." The Hero explained. "After this comes lot of different areas. Each of them for different weapon I have acquired from the Temples." He continued and shot his Longshot to the first girder. "Let's see how high we're able to get. Come on." Link called and left for the second one.

Dark watched for a while about Link's going before he followed the Hero. The start was easy since the girders weren't that of far from each other. Some he even just simply climbed higher instead of using the Hookshot. Yet, after the halfway, things started to be harder since the ex-shadow's Hookshot was still much shorter in length than what Link had.

Link made his way upwards much slower once he realized that the length of Dark's Hookshot wouldn't be enough. "I think we can turn back now. Getting down will be much easier." He called but nearly instantly shrieked out the dark Hylian's name in fear.

Dark wasn't eager of giving up. He had gotten through half of the whole height and he was willing to get further. After going as far into the wooden girder as possible and having checked the length, he realized that he needed different plan. The dark Hylian glanced downwards and checked where the girders were just in case. Once he was certain of having a chance to land to another girder would his plan fail, he turned his gaze to his objective, backed off a bit and... Ran forward...

Dark jumped once the end of the girder came up. Just a while before he started to fall, the dark Hylian shot the hook towards the closest wooden girder. "Please... Take a grip..." The ex-shadow nearly begged and sighed in full relief when the hook struck into the girder and the device started to pull him upwards.

"Are you out of your mind?!" Links screamed and came couple of girders downwards. "You could've got yourself killed!" He continued fiercely. Dark slightly slumped underneath the harsh words but gave a simple shrug for an answer. The Hero groaned and facepalmed. "I shouldn't have brought you here yet..." He muttered angrily.

While Link wasn't looking, the dark Hylian went for another try. The Hero opened his eyes when he heard the sound of the Hookshot. On the second he saw the ex-shadow trying to get into the same girder where he was, he knew that the length was too much. "You idiot!" Link growled, dangled his legs around the girder and dropped himself to hang on the girder upside-down.

Dark cursed slightly when he realized that the Hookshot would be too short for this try. Though, he was more shocked when the Hero went for trying to salvage the situation. Luckily he got a grip on the hook and chain. "Get your foolish self into here." Link barked and glared at the dark Hylian.

Dark gulped and slumped a bit as he let the Hookshot start to drag its chain back. He stopped it long before Link's hands and let the Hero help him up. "NEVER do that again!" Link growled and glared quite harshly at the ex-shadow. "You were freaking lucky but that luck won't hold on forever!" He continued but sighed heavily after that. "You scared the living hell out of me." The Hero mumbled and relaxed. After that he smiled a bit and moved to hug the darker Hylian. "We'll come back to here after you've gotten your own version of the longer Hookshot. Okay?" Link whispered calmly.

Dark calmed down in the Hero's embrace. "Sorry. I just..." He replied in a mumble without really knowing what he had been trying to do. Eventually the dark Hylian just shrugged. Link let go of him and offered his own Longshot.

"How about you give it a check up there?" The Hero inquired and nodded upwards to the ceiling. "On that way you get to know what the first section of the whole training ground is about." He continued and moved off a bit to give the ex-shadow the needed space.

"You sure about this?" Dark questioned while taking the Hero's Longshot. Link nodded eagerly and the darker Hylian stood up very carefully while slightly leaning against the wall. "I'll be back really soon." The ex-shadow promised, aimed the longer hookshot to higher being girder and shot. The Hero watched him leave to higher ground.

As Dark continued his way, he very quickly realized couple of things. One, the girders were much higher to others. And two, they also brought the problem of dead-ends. He had to backtrack once in a while to figure out the right way. Eventually he did make it to the top and found a door. The ledge was very short which left no room to open the door nor where there any girders to be used for help. The door itself wasn't locked.

The dark Hylian frowned and stared at the door from a girder that was much lower than the door. "There has to be a way forward." He thought and glanced down. The ex-shadow couldn't see Link since the girders blocked his view. Sighing he turned his gaze back into the door. After a while of thinking he finally stood up and aimed the Longshot at the door. "Probably just waste of time..." Dark thought but shot the device nonetheless into the door.

For his surprise it took a grip on it. The dark Hylian stared at the scene before he already grinned. "Fully unexpected." He thought and gave a strong yank of the device which swung the door open. Once it opened enough, he could see a girder in the room. The ex-shadow was tempted of going forward and getting a glimpse of the next area but he decided against it. "Enough for today. Besides, I'd like Link to be along..." Dark though, worked for a while to get the door shut and left then back down.

"Well, what you think about the place?" Link inquired once he saw the dark Hylian coming down.

"It's awesome! Really interesting and worth of coming to time after time again." Dark replied happily. The Hero smiled and nodded.

"Yeah, it's worth the time. But, we probably should head down now." Link stated and took the longer version of the Hookshot from Dark. The ex-shadow nodded and they started to make their way back down together.

At start it wasn't that of easy since the darker Hylian's Hookshot was still bit too short. They handled one of the situations by dangling their hookshots together so they could lower Dark down to the next girder. From there on it was much easier for both of them.

By the time they left the training area, the midday started to be very close. "We'd better fetch our weapons and head to the Death Clearing." Link half whispered as he noticed very quickly how much of time they had lost in that one room. Dark nodded and followed the Hero back to the main building of the castle, through the corridors and back into their room. It was very swift to get their swords and shields before already heading out. Link took the lead once they reached the Market Place. This was a new way for the dark Hylian but he wasn't that of eager of learning it.

There had already come quite a crowd around the huge clearing. The houses around there seemed quite abandoned. In middle of the clearing was square podium where one guard and one knight were standing. Next to them was a guy with a black hood over his head but having holes for him to see. He had a wide bladed sword in his hands. The crowd around the podium moved out of the way as Link and Dark walked past them and into the first row. "You're not needed up there?" The dark Hylian inquired very quietly and the only reply he got from the Hero was shake of his head. The ex-shadow only nodded and turned his gaze back into the podium even though he would've gladly looked to anywhere else than to there.

Soon Princess Zelda made her way to the podium from different direction than what the two Hylians had had. She came from the duo's left and walked calmly and gracefully the several steps into the podium. Behind her came two knights in their full armor. After them came four guards and two more knights. These two were dragging the guard who had assaulted the dark Hylian several weeks ago and caused some trouble around the castle after that.

The guard, who had turned his back to Hyrule and given up on his duty to protect the kingdom, had his hands tied behind his back. He was dragged to the podium before harshly struck into his knees at there. Princess Zelda drew out her sword and carefully placed the tip of the sword into the guy's neck to keep him at his place. "This guard..." She started loudly but sorrowfully. "has broken the rules of Hyrule. So far he has not killed innocents but it is only matter of time. He was once on our side but turned his back to us. The legendary Master Sword once accepted him but then later on rejected him. He shows that our enemies may lie even this close to our homes." Zelda continued and kept a short pause as she looked around the crowd.

Not too far from Link and Dark stood three persons, a woman and two children. The Princess' sorrowful gaze fell into them. The guard had a family who would be missing him greatly and who would be fully dishonored by the man's actions. This was one of the reasons this kind of situations were so hard for her to handle. She always tried to find a different way but sometimes things just ended into this.

Princess Zelda took once a deep breath and gave her judgment. "The guard of Hyrule, Xale Michael Hill, I, the Princess Zelda of Hyrule, sentence You into death by the sword." She stated as confidently as she could before pulling her sword off and backing away. The guy with the sword took once a deep breath and came closer while raising his sword up.

Suddenly the guard, Xale, started to laugh manically. He looked around as his eyes flashed once very swiftly. Very few even realized what they had seen but for Dark that was all the confirmation he needed. He knew exactly what was going on...

...And he wasn't going to allow it as long as he could figure something out... And fast. Yet, Xale helped him very quickly with that part by starting to talk... In Shadowy.

"You think you can defeat the enemy when you don't even know who or what you're fighting against?" Xale asked and grinned devilishly as he saw people backing away a bit. Even the one who was supposed to kill the guard backed off by a step and turned his worried and confused gaze into the Princess. Zelda stared in shock at the scene. She had never heard this kind of language before.

Dark grit his teeth and tried to stay calm. Most of the people around him didn't pay any of notion to him but he knew that Link saw him tense up. "Calm down." The Hero whispered very quietly and the dark Hylian tried to do that without being successful with it.

"You have no idea what we're capable of. You can kill this body but you cannot kill me!" Xale continued and laughed cruelly. "I will continue on and slowly weaken your numbers one by one. Just go ahead and cut the guy's head. I shall not be killed." He stated nearly proudly as he enjoyed the fear and shock around him.

The Princess' gaze fell into Dark without the dark Hylian's realization. "He knows. He understands what's going on." She realized since the ex-shadow was much calmer than others. In fact, he was sheathing with rage. Zelda glanced at Link to see him bit fearful about the situation but mainly confused. "And Link has heard this language before but doesn't understand the words." With that understanding she turned her gaze back into Dark.

"This won't be first innocent person that's going to die. I shall make certain that more is to come. Even though I work alone and on my own, I can get more killed for no reason at all!" Xale shouted out and laughed manically once again. The black hooded guy was looking from the guard into Princess Zelda and back without knowing at all what he was supposed to do. He waited for confirmation from her Highness.

Dark closed his eyes for a while but that didn't help his situation at all. "So you work alone, huh? Not for the actual enemy but for your own favor, hmm?" He inquired nearly fiercely but on the second he realized to have talked in Hylian, his eyes widened in pure shock and he took a step backwards. "Oh shit..."

Xale stared at him for a short while in surprise before he grinned devilishly. "So you understand me, huh? Great! I will kill everyone who stands between me and my goal!" He shouted with every other word in Shadowy to make sure everyone understood fully that the dark Hylian knew what he was saying. "You have no way of fixing things, cien." He continued in full Shadowy. "This person will be dead whether or not you like it. And you're going to be dead too." Xale stated and nearly sang the last sentence.

Link was equally shocked about the situation as everyone else. Yet, he moved behind Dark to protect him from the crowd that would certainly want the dark Hylian dead. "You just had to, huh?" The Hero whispered bit more angrily than what he meant to.

Dark closed his eyes and shook in slight fear. This was not what he had hoped for. "There has to be a way... Just think!" He thought in near desperation until something hit into his mind. The ex-shadow shot his eyes open and stared at the ground wide-eyed. "Of course... Why hadn't I thought about this before?" The dark Hylian closed his eyes and took once a deep breath to calm down. After that he raised his gaze into Xale with full determination. "From Shadows to Shadows,.." He started carefully in his mind.

Xale looked at him bit confused as he heard the Shadowy words inside his head without seeing Dark say a word. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" He asked but very soon realized what the dark Hylian was going for.

"...hear my call."

"You really think that'll work, huh? You're a total fool!" Xale shouted while still not fully understanding the situation. Yet, he felt that something had changed. And definitely not for better on his case.

"This Shadow does not belong..."

Xale stared at Dark for a short while before the words fully sank in. "NO! You cannot do that! You have no rights for such words!" He screamed out but that only brought a slight grin to the dark Hylian's face.

"...into the body of this guard."

Xale tried to get up but very quickly the two knights came over and forced him back down. The black hooded guy still was waiting for acceptance but the Princess was only staring at the scene just like everyone else. The convicted guard kept screaming in Shadowy. Zelda had no knowledge what it was but had a slight feeling it was more of threats and curses than anything else.

"From Shadows to Shadows, set him free, from the curse of both Light and Shadow!" Dark finished while nearly shouting the last words into the guy's head. Xale screamed in near pain. The guard fell nearly limp into the wooden floor of the podium while a Shadow was left standing on the spot. The Shadow wasn't seen by anyone but it looked around in pure confusion and shock before its gleaming red eyes fell into the dark Hylian.

"You will pay for this!" The Shadow screamed out which got the whole crowd around the place to gasp in shock and to take a step backwards. Except for Link and Dark. The Shadow nearly growled in anger and hatred before it turned its back to the scene and fled. It was way too weak to try anything for now.

Xale groaned and carefully sat up. "W-what happened?" He asked fully confused and looked around the area with a slight frown. As he realized where he was, the fear crept into his body. The guard looked at his family in near horror before already shaking in fear. "No... What did I do...?" He thought without realizing anything. Everything he had witnessed throughout the past weeks seemed like a bad dream.

Princess Zelda took once a deep breath before she nodded to the guy in the black hood. The guy nodded and raised his sword again while the knights backed away. "NO!" Dark screamed out and shot to the podium to stop the man from killing the guard.

The unexpected situation fully startled everyone. The black hooded man backed off and looked at the Princess Zelda for help. Link stared in shock at Dark's reaction before he nearly growled and gave a quick glare to the dark Hylian. "Why can't you just once let things go on their own way?" He thought bit angrily while not knowing what he was supposed to do or say.

Dark stood between the guard and everyone else in the podium. "Your Highness..." He started carefully while searching for right words. The dark Hylian wanted to glance at Link for support but he feared too much for the guy to lose his life at that time. He gulped once before bowing his head and lowering down to one knee and bringing his right hand over his heart.

"This man has not done what he is accused of." Dark started calmly and raised his head and locked eyes with Zelda. "He was taken over by the enemy we are fighting against. What was done as his work was work of the one possessing him. For him..." He continued, stood up and pointed to Xale: "...it was only like a dream. He could see what was being done but he couldn't stop it nor fight back." The dark Hylian let his hand down. "I am certain that Your Highness has heard of both Volvagia the dragon and the Sage of Spirit, Nabooru, having been possessed by evil before. The Sage of Spirit was rescued but the dragon was already gone. This is same situation but with the same ways as with the Sage of Spirit." The ex-shadow explained as calmly as he could.

After this he lowered back to his earlier stance. "Your Highness, I admit that I have a connection with the so called enemy. The Shadows are not our true foe on this one. They do what they have to while few go further than needed. I shall fight for Hyrule, Your Highness, but I shall not accept death of the ones innocent for the crimes they are accused of." Dark stated confidently.

As the dark Hylian fell silent, the Princess looked around once. Everyone seemed to be more of curious currently about the situation instead of fearful. Some were clearly angry about Dark's actions. Link then again seemed bit fearful and worried. "What do you suggest then?" Zelda inquired calmly. She knew she could easily convict the ex-shadow for his actions but she also knew that Link wouldn't forgive her for that. Plus, the dark Hylian seemed to honestly try and save the guy's life.

Dark took once a deep breath and stood back up. "Your Highness, I ask of You to let him hold the Master Sword one more time. As I have heard: Third Time's A Charm. First time, he was accepted by the Blade of Evil's Bane. On second time he was rejected. If the sword accepts him once again, the evil upon him is gone. And if it rejects him..." The dark Hylian fell silent for a while in sorrow. "Then I do not have anything to say against the punishment, Your Highness." He half whispered.

"Very well. We shall try that." Zelda nodded and turned her gaze into Link. "Hero of Time and Hyrule, would you please come up?" She inquired surprisingly calmly. Link took once a deep breath and nodded before already making his way to the podium. "If you would kindly let him try the sword I would be grateful." The Princess continued nearly gently. Link gave a quick meaningful glance to Dark before drawing the Master Sword out.

Xale's hands were freed and he was harshly yanked up from the wooden floor. The guard looked in near terror at the Hero. He had very vaguely started to realize that everything he had thought to be just a nightmare had actually been real. Xale gulped while standing there in front of everyone and knowing how far things had gone.

Link sighed heavily and offered the sword hilt first towards the guard. Xale gave a quick glance to Dark since he was for some odd reason trying to salvage the situation without anyone's death. The dark Hylian nodded confidently while the Hero was close of getting angry about the whole thing. Xale gulped once and with shaking hands took a grip of the sword.

Link let go of the Master Sword with a stern look on his face. If the Blade of Evil's Bane was going to reject the guy, he was going to be the first one to strike him down. Dark slowly started to smile a bit as the sword flashed blue and didn't harm the guard at all. Xale was equally shocked about the Master Sword's acceptance as what Link was. Yet, while the guard was fully relieved about it, the Hero wasn't fully certain if he should feel happy about it or disappointed. When Link glanced at Dark, he saw the ex-shadow sigh in relief. "You knew. Or at least had a hunch about it." The Hero thought while feeling bit betrayed since the dark Hylian hadn't said a word about anything of this to him.

Once it was fully confirmed by the Princess of Hyrule, Xale gave the sword back to the Hero of Time and Hyrule. Zelda took once a deep breath before she started to talk: "Xale Michael Hill, You have been rid of the evil that had taken You over. Because of the past events, I do suggest that You shall stay with Your family for the time being. Once this new enemy has been taken care of, I shall reconsider Your work around Hyrule." She looked around the crowd. "Whomever thinks to take the justice into their own hands by harming this guard or his family shall be dealt by me and the Hero of Time and Hyrule." The Princess stated and listened for a while as the crowd calmed down around them.

"Mrs. Hill and children." Zelda called and nodded to them. "Come." She half commanded and the trio walked quickly, yet bit hesitantly, to the podium. The family reunion was very brief since the Princess felt that the family wasn't in safe at there. "Today we have avoided bloodshed. Let us be grateful of that." She stated before already starting to make her way out of there. The knights followed her very quickly and after them went the guards. Xale half ushered his family after them realizing the danger they'd be in if they didn't follow Her Highness back to the castle. The guy with the black hood followed after them while feeling slightly confused about the whole situation. Last but not least came Link and Dark. As the group left the place, the crowd started to leave the clearing too since there was nothing to see anymore.

Link held a strong grip on Dark's arm even though he knew that the dark Hylian would follow him back to the castle without a second thought. The ex-shadow gave a quick glance at the Hero while feeling fully that Link was seriously mad at him. The guy with the black hood left to his own way once they got to the castle's area since he wasn't needed. The guards, except for Xale, left away too but rest followed Princess Zelda all the way into the throne room.

The knights surrounded her throne while Xale knelt down in front of her at the end of the red carpet just before the few stairs. His family was further off behind him. Link and Dark stayed further back while the Hero still had nearly iron grip on the dark Hylian just to keep him at his place this time around. "Xale Michael Hill." Zelda started calmly while standing in front of her chair.

"You and Your family are not in any kind of safety at the Market area. I would highly suggest that You would stay in the Castle's area. The knights and guards will not harm You." The Princess stated, nodded and showed them to leave. The guard and his family left with a nod. After this Zelda's gaze fell into the Hero and his shadow. "Hero of Time and Hyrule, I would like to have a word with You. But, do make sure Dark gets safely to Your room. After this I wish You to come to see me." She stated, turned around and left the room.

Both Link and Dark nodded to her and left the throne room once Zelda and the knights had left. The Hero took the lead but once he noticed the bit angry glares from the guards and knights around them, he took a firm grip on the dark Hylian's arm again. The ex-shadow followed Link without a word.

Once they reached their room, the Hero slammed the door shut behind him. He half glared at Dark as he started to talk quite harshly. "Stay in here. Do not leave the room. And keep the door locked." Link commanded, turned around without letting the dark Hylian to reply and left. He slammed the door shut again before already locking it and started to make his way into Zelda's room after that.

Dark sighed and sat down into the bed before already laying to his back. He didn't fully realize why the Hero was in rage. He knew it had something to do with what he had done but in the end he didn't understand what he had done wrong to upset Link. "I saved a life today. Is that so wrong? I thought killing was wrong and not saving lives." Dark frowned before sighing sorrowfully. He curled up on the bed and stared at the window. "I gotta apologize to Link once he gets back... And try to find out what I did wrong..."

Link walked into Zelda's room after he had knocked on the door and gained the rights to get inside. "You wanted to see me?" He asked as calmly as he could while desperately trying to put his own anger at bay for the time being. Zelda nodded and looked sternly at the Hero.

"Tell me what in Goddesses names just happened at the clearing." She demanded and leaned against her table. Her expression was harsh with anger... But there was also slight confusion underneath it all.

Link sighed and shrugged. "Honestly speaking I'm not thoroughly sure. The only fact I do know is that Dark saved a life." He started and sighed heavily. "I... I have left some things out of your knowledge, Zelda." The Hero nearly whispered and dropped his gaze down in slight shame. "Dark is along this quest because he can communicate with the Shadows..." He gulped once and raised his gaze up. "And because the Sages are needing him." Link finished his explanation and tried to look as confident and courageous as he was not feeling.

Zelda stared at him for very long time in silence. "He talks to Shadows." She inquired even though it was more of statement as was her next words: "And the Sages need him instead of you." The Princess of Hyrule sighed heavily and shook her head. "Why?" She asked and turned her gaze back into Link.

The Hero sighed again. "Because of the Shadows." He stated as calmly as he could. "Because Dark can understand them. He can talk to them. He can ask for help and advises. When we were coming back from the Fire Temple, Dark told me that the reason the Shadows are going all crazy is because they're under some curse. A curse that's placed by the actual enemy." Link explained and shrugged. "We don't know all yet but I have seen them take over other creatures. Mainly monsters but it seems like they can take people too... And that's what had happened to the guard." He continued but he didn't fully understand the situation yet.

"I'm still not fully realizing the whole picture." Zelda whispered with frown. "What did Dark mean by taking up such subjects as Volvagia and the Sage of Spirit?" She inquired. Link chuckled slightly and smiled a bit.

"Exactly what he said. They both were under a curse. Unlike Volvagia, Nabooru was saved. Same happened in here. Like I told you before, there's two different kind of Shadows. Those who are under the curse and attacking us. And those who are free and helping as well as they can. These free Shadows are also keeping the Sages safe but as long as the cursed ones are in the Temple, they will not set the Sages free into the harm's way." The Hero explained carefully. He was starting to calm down since this was something he had already understood.

Zelda nodded but her frown didn't vanish. "Does Dark have any of idea of the real enemy behind this?" She asked but sighed sorrowfully when Link shook his head. "I was hoping we could've cut the chase and finish the real enemy before things go any further." The Princess whispered but was bit startled when the Hero laughed a bit.

"That's exactly what Darunia suggested too." Link stated with a slight grin but shrugged very soon. "Though, Saria told out that the enemy we're against might need all of the Sages to get it sealed. And honestly speaking, I'd follow her idea. We don't know what we're having against us in the end. Yet, I doubt it to be Ganondorf or Ganon. He wouldn't use Shadows against us." The Hero continued and frowned.

"So, we're having some new enemy against us?" The Princess of Hyrule asked and Link nodded. "I see. That might explain some things." She continued and nodded as she thought things trough. "Am I right if I claim that Dark has a way to break the curse?" Zelda inquired slightly hopefully.

Link sighed and shrugged. "I'm not sure. I don't know what actually caused things to turn around. But... Dark wouldn't have gone to the guy's side unless he'd be thoroughly certain of safety. He did what was needed to save that guard's life." He replied and stated the last sentence quite sternly.

Zelda sighed but nodded. "I..." She started but sighed and gave a sorrowful smile. "Tell Dark that I'm grateful of what he did. Yet, tell him to stay very careful too. Currently people do not see things as favorable for him. They might think of him being even more on the enemy's side." The Princess warned and frowned. "Keep eye on him, Link. For his safety, that is." She half commanded.

The Hero nodded. "Of course. I would've done that anyways." He replied but sighed heavily after that. "Though, I'm probably going to bark him down quite hard once I get back to our room..." Link muttered slightly angrily.

Zelda chuckled and shook her head. This only got the Hero to look at her in confusion. "Just make sure he understands that he did the right thing and you're only angry because he has endangered his life." She advised, winked and pushed herself off of the table. "We'll talk again once you two have cleared the Water Temple, right?" The Princess asked surprisingly calmly.

Link stared at her in near bewilderment before he started to grin and nodded. "Of course. And... Thank you." He answered but nearly whispered the last two words. Zelda only nodded even though she had already turned her back to the Hero. Link took once a deep breath before he left the Princess' room and started to make his way back to his and Dark's shared room.

On the second the Hero entered the room, Dark shot up on the bed. When the ex-shadow saw him, he slumped fully and his ears drooped thoroughly. The dark Hylian closed his eyes tightly and hang his head a bit while waiting for Link to bark him down thoroughly. All of the thoughts about finding out why the Hero was so mad had vanished on the second he saw Link.

The Hero slammed the door shut and turned his gaze into the ex-shadow. Yet, about half of his anger fell off when he saw how miserable Dark looked. "He's gonna cry soon..." Link thought and walked to the bed. The dark Hylian gasped a bit when the Hero sat behind him. He was shaking life a leaf even though he tried not to make things even worse. Yet, the ex-shadow went fully stiff when Link hugged him. Though, that didn't last longer than half of a minute before Dark already broke down crying harder than ever before. He turned around in the Hero's arms and started nearly to beg: "I'm sorry! I don't know what I did wrong but I'm sorry! Please, don't hate me! I'm so sorry!"

Link sighed heavily and pushed the dark Hylian off of him a bit. "Dark." He called carefully. The ex-shadow flinched while still shaking and silently crying. He was keeping his gaze off of the Hero in fear. Link sighed again and carefully forced the darker Hylian to look at him. "I'm not mad at you. What you did was right. You saved that guy's life." He started carefully.

Dark frowned and slumped even more. He still didn't understand why Link had been so angry before. The Hero sighed again and carefully lowered his forehead against Dark's. "I..." He started but sighed once again while closing his eyes. Link pulled off after a while and gave a sorrowful smile. "Darky, I'm worried for your safety. I had been bit hoping you wouldn't show off your connection with the Shadows. The people of Hyrule won't understand that part. Not yet." The Hero explained quietly. "They don't know about what's going on. The enemy hasn't struck at them on any of visible way. And now..."

Link sighed all over again and shook his head. "Now they only found more of reasons to go against you. They don't give a damn about the fact that you saved that guy's life. They only see the fact that you understood that odd language and that you're having something to do with it." The Hero pulled Dark back into an embrace and kept it quite tight. "You were already doing great job of turning their opinion about you but now... The faster we get this whole thing cleared, the faster we'll get to work on them accepting you again." He whispered quietly.

Link let the dark Hylian go and brushed the tears off of his brother's face. He gave a lopsided grin to the ex-shadow. "Now... I would really appreciate it if you could be extremely careful from now on. There aren't that of much of people who accept you yet but we'll change that." The Hero half pleaded before sighing for the umpteenth time. "I know you don't want to hear this but it might be best if you stayed close to me for the rest of this quest... Or at least when we're around people." He requested worriedly.

Dark stayed silent for a long while as he worked through Link's words. "I... I'm sorry." He finally whispered.

"Darky! I'm not—" The Hero started but the ex-shadow quieted him down very quickly.

"What I mean is that I'm sorry for getting myself in danger. I didn't think about it. I... I didn't realize that I couldn't talk in Shadowy anymore. And that I should've talked to it through mind like I had done before. It just... Happened..." The dark Hylian explained and gave a slight shrug. "I'll be much more careful from now on. I promise." He continued and smiled slightly. "Besides, we got several places to be handled and the main bad guy to be found." Dark stated but became quite nervous after that.

Yet, before Link could inquire about the change in the dark Hylian's behavior, he already continued. "I know it doesn't belong to me but... What did her Highness want?" He asked but very quickly continued: "If it's something you can't share, it's okay! I... I'm just curious..." Dark half whispered the last words while slumping again in nervousness.

The Hero took once a deep breath before chuckling slightly and hugging the ex-shadow again. After that he explained the whole conversation he had had with the Princess. Dark listened carefully while slowly relaxing in Link's arms. He was fully grateful that things had been cleared between them.

Link was happy about the current situation too. Yet, he knew that even though Dark had been in danger before, he was in much bigger danger now. The Hero wasn't even sure if the guards and knights along with other people would consider his room as a sacred place anymore. A place where they would NOT have any of rights to come into without one hell of a good reason. Now... Now he feared that they'd be willing to harm Dark whenever and however they could.

"I'll keep you safe, Dark. I promise." Link whispered quietly since he had realized that the dark Hylian had fallen asleep in his arms. The Hero smiled a bit as he carefully laid down to the bed while holding on to Dark. The ex-shadow whined slightly about the movement but didn't wake up. "The less of time we spend in here, the safer you'll be..." Link thought as he already started to try and make plans for the rest of their quest.

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A/N: So, review, please! =D Even anonymous ones are accepted but if you got a account in here or at DeviantArt, inform of the penname so I can leave a review reply! Otherwise the review reply will be on my profile page or in the next chapter! Thank You!

Also, flames are accepted but those shall be for Axel's entertainment or for Demyx's practice! =P

Still in working:
1) Do a drawing from one of my stories and I'll write you a story OR I can give bit of preview from upcoming chapters or next stories. =)
2) Send questions to Dark and/or Link! Also, other characters will be answering if you want to send a question for them! =)