**All Standard Disclaimers Apply**

Book One in the Doppelganger Trilogy
!
The Hero of Wolves
by The Wolfess

!

Chapter Twenty-Eight: Under the Shadow's Wings

The day they approached the foot of the southern mountains, a dead fog lay over the land. It clung to every dew-covered blade of grass and crept through the first lonely trees like a warm breath on a snowy night. Dawn's first beams lit up the east, highlighting swirled patterns in the fog's belly as it curled and churned. To Link, the fog seemed to move like ringworms in the distended bellies of the apple-addicted children of Castle Town. He crouched on the ground a few meters in front of Epona, his forest-colored tunic damp and his shoulders tense. From the corner of his eye the wolf-man kept careful watch on his "guide", Count Durtain, who bundled himself in a thick fur-lined cloak and rubbed his hands together.

"You're sure this is the proper entrance?" Link asked, sparing a glance over his shoulder at Captain Volc. The man hadn't said two words to Link since the end of the Bulblin Campaign, and he did not say one now. Durtain heaved a sigh and stomped his boots in an attempt to warm his icy feet.

"Yes, I am sure," Durtain answered. "The farmers' cottage lies a half-day's journey to the northeast."

Link nodded. "Very well then. Thank you Count. Captain Volc?"

Volc stepped forward and saluted. "Yes sir?"

Link stood from his crouch and crossed his arms, peering at the forest. "I foresee a tactical disadvantage. We possess horses, carriages, and wagons for cargo. We came packed for the Desert Campaign with its open plains, not for a tromp through the woods. What is your advice? How should we proceed?"

Volc shot Link a look with narrowed eyes and a thin-pressed mouth. "Surely the General can figure out his own strategies."

Link stepped back a pace so that he could see both men. Durtain looked deceptively bored, but Link knew he was cluing in to every body movement and every vocal tone. "Soldier," Link began, "Whether or not I have a plan, it is irresponsible of me to assume we will go my way without having tactical advice from my second. Having been in the army longer, you have great insight and wisdom that I value."

Volc tucked his chin against his chest and blushed. Durtain turned his body away and rolled his eyes.

"Thank you sir," Volc said. "My apologies. If there are indeed evil forces in these mountains then they must be quite adept at hiding. To send in our Calvary first would alert them of our presence long before we ever see them. I believe we should send in the foot soldiers first, followed by the wagons and carriage, and have the men on horseback bring up the rear."

Link grinned and grasped Volc's shoulder, shaking it a little. "Great minds think alike," he said. "we won't need our larger artillery, like the cannons. Bringing them was merely a precaution. We can leave them in Ordon, my home town, and pick them up on our way home."

"A most splendid notion," Count Durtain said, smiling his slithery grin. Volc agreed, and Link merely nodded to them both.

"Alright," Link said, mounting Epona. Volc and Durtain likewise mounted their horses. "Thank you for your help Count. Take a rest and I'll personally retrieve you when we move on."

"Thank you Duke," Count Durtain said with a slight incline of his head. "I feel most privileged to aid Hyrule on this great venture."

Link cleared his throat. "Yes of course." He inclined his head in return and spoke to Captain Volc as the Count made his way back to his personal carriage. "Relay the plans and ready the men. I will take the artillery to Ordon."

"Very well, General."

!

Link and the two wagons bearing their artillery pulled into Ordon around midday, along with the small band of soldiers carting and managing those wagons. Preparations were well underway and could carry on without him at this point. Link would not be needed until sundown, giving him a rare few hours to visit his hometown and perhaps to say his goodbyes.

The barren boughs of the Farron Woods were dusted with a light coat of snow already melting in an early morning slant of light. A lone bird chirped a hopeful tune, and the sound of humming reached Link's ears as they passed through the entrance. As usual, Coro sat at the bubbling cauldron of poisonous brew he called soup surrounded by a few stray animals, such as the squirrel on his shoulder (who seemed to nod to Link) and a small lynx purring at his feet. Link shook his head and chucked as he waved.

"Hey Coro, how's the lamp business?" he asked.

Coro grinned and leaned forward. "Well hey there guy! Steady nowadays, but nothing like when you came through here all the time. I got a contract with Mayor Bo and the Inn in New Kakariko."

"Sounds great. Glad to hear it."

"Thanks. Hey, it's good to see ya guy!"

"Same to you," Link said as they moved past him and turned toward the tunnel to Ordon. Link cut down a couple violent plants and cleared some bramble for the cart and horses, but there was no real need for a sword out front as was needed during the war. It was refreshing to Link to see how his forest was recovering in the aftermath of the Twilight War, after the monsters that came with Zant's Twilight escaped to the woods or were killed. The air had a refreshing, lively crispness to it again, and the animals were busy with their last preparations for winter.

As they crossed the bridge between Faron and Ordon, a sound much like that of a goat-horn bugle resounded through the forest. Link started and scanned the treetops, soon locating the source. Jutting out just above the branches was a wooden platform, atop which young Colin stood with his shield and small sword. The boy waved, slinging a goat horn bugle over his shoulder, and disappeared in the treetops. He met the small troop as Link led them into town.

"Link! You're here!" Collin said, running toward the General. Link crouched down and held out his arms, which Collin promptly threw himself into. "We've missed you!"

Link grinned and pushed Collin back to arm's length, looking him over from head to toe. "You've grown a good foot Collin," Link said. "You almost fit that sword and shield!"

"I'm trying," said the son of Rusl. "Studying some of your books too. I didn't think you'd mind, since you're not here to read them anymore."

Link nodded. "I don't mind. Be my guest. Say, is Mayor Bo in his house? I need to see him right away." He winked. "Army business of course."

Collin practically beamed. "He is! And Ilia too. I'll run ahead and tell them you're coming!" Before the hero could say another word, the boy was running down the road. Link shook his head and motioned for the soldiers and cart to follow.

The happy, carefree village of Ordon unfolded before the group like a late-blooming flower as Link led them through. People came out of their houses and waved to Link, a few small conversations here and there. Link felt like a man in a dream moving through a thickened soup-like haze. The town was so happy. Everyone looked so healthy. He had heard the reports of Ordon rooting out all of their black trees because it made the goats sick, but he had almost forgotten what it was like to be in a town without the apples' influence. His world was gray and black, with the rare exception of his colorful moments with Zelda.

The General felt oddly out of place here.

Bo was waiting for Link on the porch. The Mayor hugged Link and ushered him inside while the soldiers waited out with the cart, their nervous eyes darting everywhere in hollow-cheeked, gray faces.

"It's great to see you Bo," Link said, taking a seat across from the Mayor at his small table.

"You too, Link. How's Castle Town doin' this winter?" Bo said, leaning back in his chair.

Link could not lean back, encumbered as he was by the golden General's Armor he put on before leaving for Ordon. He sat with his back erect, armor gleaming in the light from the window, feet flat on the floor in front of him. The General looked as out of place there as he had felt outside. His fingers drummed on his knees.

"Not very good," Link said. "The apples are a wicked poison and the whole country is addicted to them." He lowered his voice, leaning forward the littlest bit. "I'm telling you this to warn you, Bo. The Princess is out of favor with her advisors because of this fruit. Her hand is forced to move the military into the southeastern mountains to claim the valley where the fruit grew, despite the conditions of the country, or lose her throne to the man who discovered the apples."

Bo stroked his chin, his small eyes squinted in thought. "I don't like all this political intrigue. It just don't sound like who you are or what you went there to do."

Link took off the red, gold embroidered hat and tousled his hair. "I don't know," he said. "I find that I can't resist. I care too much to stand by while Hyrule falls to ruin."

"And how do you know that the Princess is what this country needs?" Bo said, lifting his eyebrows. "How do you know the fruit isn't just an excuse to cover up some disease that's crept into her city, and it really isn't harmful at all?"

Link's face contorted in anger, his hands lifting to grip the edge of the table as he growled, "that's a lie," through gritted teeth. "The Princess is the country's last true hope."

Bo held up his hands. "Peace! Woah now boy! I was just playin' Din's advocate, that's all. I have faith in her Majesty." He nodded his head, and Link relaxed back into the chair, a little tenser than he was before. "All of us here in Ordon came to the same conclusion. That's evil stuff, and none of our children or livestock will touch it if we have anythin' to say 'bout it."

"Good," Link said, relaxing a little more. "So you'll be careful if anyone comes around here asking about suspicious things?"

Bo nodded. "We will. Is that all this visit is about?"

"No," Link said. "I need to store some heavy artillery here while we're in the mountains. We can't bring it with us. There's no need for it and it will just slow us down. I want to get this over and done with as fast as possible."

"Artillery," Bo repeated. He sighed and scratched his head. "If that ain't gunna paint a red target on our backs I don't know what."

"I wouldn't trust it anywhere else," Link pleaded. "Especially not in Kakariko."

The Mayor was quiet for a long time. After a while he sighed and sat up. "Fine, we'll protect it for ya. Leave it here and I'll round up Rusl and Fado to make it safe. Actually, you might like to go round up Fado right now. Ilia's with him tendin' the goats with Daru."

Link and Bo stood up and headed outside. The General passed along the information to the soldiers and commanded them to stay with the artillery until it was safely put away. He turned and walked up the road to the pasture.

There were no butterflies flitting through the air this time of year, but the pasture was still as clear and beautiful as he remembered. The sound of goats' bleating drifted to his missing ear. Fado stood by the gate securing the goats in their pens while Ilia rounded them up for the day from atop her stallion's back. She called over to Link and waved with both arms as he crawled over the closed outer fence.

"Fado!" he shouted, running over to the tall, dark-skinned man. "Bo needs you to help with something. I'll finish up here."

"Sure thing, bud!" Fado said. "Thanks a ton!" He ran down to Bo's house, and Link and Ilia finished rounding up and securing the rest of the goats.

Ilia pulled up next to the barn as Link shut the doors and swung off of Daru's back. She threw herself into his chest and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Link!" she said. "I've missed you!"

Link patted her back. "Same here. Looks like you two are a good team."

Ilia patted Daru's flank. "We sure are. It's like he can read my mind."

Link laughed. "I wasn't talking about you and the horse, Ilia," he said, reaching over to tap the tip of her nose with his finger. "I was talking about you and Fado."

Ilia blushed and turned away. "I don't know what you're talking about," she said.

"Sure ya don't," Link grinned. "I know that look. You used to look at me that way."

Ilia turned two shades redder, the tips of her ears turning pink. "Well it ain't like you've been around to help us, Link," she said, turning on him with a fire in her eyes. "While you've been gallivanting in Castle Town with your army and your big house, we've been struggling real hard here. We lost a third of the yearlings, half the goat's milk was sour or poisoned by those apples, and Beth—" she abruptly cut off and turned her back on him. "You've been gone. Fado had to step up, and he's really shown that he's more than a big dumb oaf."

Link crossed his arms over his chest, careful not to clank metal on metal. "Gallivanting, huh? You think that's what I do? Run around having tea parties and spending money? Living a noble's life?"

Ilia shrugged. "Well. Yeah."

"You are still an ignorant child," he said, his eyes narrowing. Ilia spun around with a shocked look on her face. "If you had any idea what kind of corruption and evil I face every day within the very courts of Hyrule Castle you wouldn't say that. How many times I've looked death in the eyes, before and after I left to save Hyrule. What it was like to look King Bulblin in his rotten, green face and make him bow to Hyrule…the carnage of a battlefield, or the loneliness of the return…" He shook his head.

"I'm not a child, Link," Ilia said, shoving his chest, "and how dare you call me one!"

"A child," he repeated, "with no responsibility and no dreams of her own outside of marriage and children. No aspirations."

Ilia shoved his chest again, anger written on her face. "How dare you come back and speak to me this way, you pig!" she shouted. Link's hands balled into fists, his body tensing. "You don't even care that Beth ran away to Castle Town and won't come back!"

"I do care, and you know it. Or used to. Now apologize," he said in a low, dangerous voice.

"No," she replied. "You want apologies you just go crawl to your lover Princess and leave Ordon to take care of our own. At least Fado won't leave us to rot in pursuit of his own selfish glory."

"Take it back!" Link shouted, striding over to her until they were toe to toe. "No one speaks of the Princess that way in front of me. No one."

Ilia lifted her chin, her green eyes glimmering with tears that Link couldn't see. "You can't take back the truth," she whispered. "Everyone knows the real reason you left was for a pretty pair of blue eyes, some gold, and a lot of glory. That Count guy who came through here told us all about you."

"Count Durtain?" Link said, his eyes widening, a growl slipping into his voice. His hands, balled into fists at his side, shook. "And you listened to that goat-poisoning, back-stabbing, glory-hounding slime ball?"

"You're not around to tell us otherwise. Crawl back to your Princess's bed and leave us be."

Link gripped her shoulders with his hands, his fingers digging in to her soft flesh deep enough to bruise. The wolf stone pulsed at his side, calling to him. "I told you," he growled, shaking Ilia a little. "Don't talk about her that way."

"GET OFF OF HER!" Fado's large hands grabbed Link from behind, yanking him backward. Startled, Link let go of Ilia and ducked as Fado's fist flew overhead. Link punched Fado's rib cage, and the large ranch hand's fist met with Link's shoulder. Ilia backed away as the fist fight escalated, cupping her elbows in her hands and shaking her head. Link was an animal. He growled and moved with a fluidity that scared her, and a large man like Fado couldn't keep up with him, even if he would have practiced fighting more often. Soon Fado was on his back, and Link towered over him with the green-handled sword pressed to Fado's neck, eyes small and lips curled back in a snarl.

"Link, stop!" she yelled, her voice mingled with the similar shouts of Bo and Rusl running toward them. Ilia ran to her father and buried her face in his shoulder, sobbing. Rusl grabbed Link by the back of his armor and pulled him off of Fado, catching Link's wrist when the wolf-man took a swing at him too.

"Link!" Rusl said. "Link, look at me! Look at what you've done!"

Panting, Link blinked a few times and looked around. When his gaze fell on Ilia, he could already see bruises from his hands forming on her shoulders. His eyes widened.

"I don't know what happened to you, but I think you need to leave Ordon, Link," Bo said. "And don't come back until you can control yourself."

"But—I didn't, I mean, I didn't mean to—"

"Now. We'll keep your artillery, but you need to leave now."

Link opened his mouth to protest, but every face looked at him the same way. Every accusing gaze shouted at him. Animal. Animal. Balling his hands into fists, he squared his shoulders and walked back to the army that waited his command.

!

The General was particularly agitated when he returned to camp, so when he roused the Captains and told them they were leaving right that minute, way before schedule, no one objected. They got their act together in double time and set out into the foggy forest as night began to descend. The twilight shone in a spackled pattern through the canopy, shining on Link's armored back and glimmering off of the sword clutched in his hand. His face was dark and angry as he glared into the shadows of the barren trees.

I know she's just hurt, he thought to himself. She would never have meant those things she said. I know that. It's Ilia—she's always trying to get a rise out of people, especially when she feels hurt. Why did I take her so seriously? How could I have raised a hand to her? What's happening to me? Ikal is right…I'm turning into nothing but an animal.

The only one to ride near to the dangerous man was Captain Volc, who maintained a calm demeanor and kept a careful eye on the General. He would not forget what he had seen in the desert, and if there were signs of it happening again it would be his duty to conceal the event from the army. Were Link to lose credibility in the eyes of the men now, at such a crucial point in the history of Hyrule, the Marquis feared the consequences for the army itself and for the ruling monarchy. Volc's love did not run deep for Link, but he would do anything to keep Princess Zelda's throne secure. The woman had been too good to them over the years for her throne to be poisoned by a brutal wild man. If he had to shield the wild man to protect her, then Captain Volc, Marquis of Duponte, would do his best.

The carriages toward the back of the procession were loud as they rumbled through the forest. The horses behind them were not much better. The going was slow. Dead and dying undergrowth tangled in the armor-clad legs of the soldiers and nicked the ankles of the horses. Branches and bramble caught in the spokes of the wheels. Darkness filled the spaces between the trees with imaginary beasts that reached out to the jumpy, hollow-eyed army with clawed hands and toothy mouths, but were not really there upon investigation. The deeper in that the army progressed, the darker the forest became. Soon Link brought the ax-wielders to the front to help clear the way. The work was slow, but the wheels of the wagons and the ankles of the horses would last longer with less wear.

The General was fearless it seemed. He rode forward to scout the surroundings, and returned to ride through the ranks and encourage the men. He was tireless and alert, eyes darting everywhere, seeing in the shadows with his unnatural sight what the others could not see. But he was also distracted, and the Captains worried.

The first trap was sprung in a small clearing a few hours after entering the forest. They had not progressed as far as Link hoped and he was monitoring the axmen from the back as they worked. Suddenly the ground dropped out beneath one of them. Peering over the side of the hole, Link saw the man impaled on a collection of crude spikes at the bottom, eyes frightened and empty as they stared into the lightless canopy. They got the man out and buried him, taking his helmet home to give to his family.

Word traveled through the army like a rush of water, and fear became a tangible beast among them. It was to be guerilla warfare then. Traps in the forest and hiding in the dark. Link was not afraid. He had faced worse and passed through unscathed. He shouted encouragement and gave new orders, assigned soldiers to test for traps they might encounter along the way. Few volunteered for the job, and Link did not truly understand or sympathize with their fear. He had always sensed the traps and puzzles more than see them. He just knew a way to get around it. The hero could not understand that the men with him did not have his sixth sense for danger. They were normal men, capable of much in the ways of men yet little in the ways of heroes. A murmur of frustration whispered through the foot soldiers and scouts, their dark eyes following the golden man atop his mighty beast who led them to death's pasture.

Within the confines of the carriage, Dark Link sat with Teela. Durtain was up with Captain Volc and Link guiding the army through the woods, and the Shinobi followed in the trees awaiting their orders, unseen and unheard. The evil entity reclined on the plush furnishings, his red eyes glowing in the darkness. Within their bloody depths Teela could see herself reflected back, a twisted image of what she was meant to be. There was no turning back from her chosen path now. No turning back from the dark tasks set before her. In this man's bloody eyes was her first taste of fear.

Dark Link's ebony fingers fiddled with stray strands of Teela's hair, his face twisted in a smirk. "Link seals his own fate," hissed Darkness.

Silence filled the air of the carriage. Dark Link was fascinated by the sound of his own breathing, and the feel of his own beating pulse. It was his. This stolen body, now his. He would not share with Link's existence any longer. He was his own man—however evil and twisted that man may be.

"What do you mean?" Teela interrupted his thoughts. Dark Link's eyes narrowed.

"Can you not hear the murmurs of the men around us, woman? Can you not feel their fear feeding your dark essence?" Teela did not answer. Dark Link rolled his eyes. "The Hero cannot relate to their fear. He does not feel it. He does not understand their inability to solve every problem, sense every danger. He is something more than human. He is above them all, and that is merely a fact. With the power of the Triforce within his being, Link is the closest thing to a god that any of them will meet."

"You sound as if you like the man," Teela remarked.

Dark Link pulled a dagger from his boot and turned it in his palm. "It is fact I state, not admiration. The distance between him and the army increases. They do not trust or love him, and he fails at reaching out to them. The Princess will begin to fall in their minds as well, for she is his only equal in this world, and their souls are drawn together forever. Where he is, she will be. They cannot be separated by anyone less than the Goddesses, or themselves, even in the minds of Hyrule's populace."

"If that is true," said the dark Sheikah, "then what will become of her when our plans on this campaign come to fruition?"

Dark Link flipped the dagger in the air and caught the blade between his fingers. "She will gravitate toward him naturally and be tied to his fate."

"It is suspicious for the Princess to disappear."

Dark link grinned. "She will not. Trust me Teela. All will progress as planned." He slipped the dagger back into his boot and folded his hands behind his head, resting them back against the carriage wall. "How glad I will be to leave the confines of this carriage. Have the Shinobi set the traps ahead?"

Teela inclined his head. "They have also gathered the remaining monsters in the forest and pointed them toward the army. The two forces will meet in a matter of days."

"And that is when we will strike. Perfect. Sow the seeds of doubt," Dark Link said. "Execute the next phase." He waved Teela away, and she disappeared out the window and into the night. With his eyes closed, the dark entity licked his lips and thought of the taste of the blood that would soon be on his tongue.

!

The army settled down in a large clearing after testing it for traps. They ate their apples and talked in hushed tones about their strange General and this dangerous campaign. Link disappeared the moment he was no longer needed. He slipped the stone around his neck and disappeared into the forest to hunt his own dinner, seen only by the Shinobi and a hidden pair of blood red eyes in the darkness.

The dirt felt cool beneath his paws. The wind in his fur was refreshing. He traveled miles without effort, his muscled body lean and warm as it stretched from a stiff ride on a horse's back all day. His mouth watered, tongue hanging out the side of his maw. The wolf killed rabbits and squirrels and ate his fill, covering his face and paws with their blood. He sunk his teeth into the meat of their hides and felt the blood flow hot and metallic in his mouth, down his throat. His mind was white with the kill-lust. Perhaps, Link thought, he would lose himself in the woods…perhaps he would never return to the army, to Ordon, to the castle…

Zelda's face flashed through the bloody, wild lust in his mind. The divine wolf slowed and dropped to the ground, his hot stomach cooling on the earth. Link could not let her down. He could not run away. No longer chained, yet the wildness inside felt chained by the human's heart. His human self longed for the normality he was beginning to forget, yet even so the beast inside of him tore and raged at the bonds of its responsibility-bearing master.

It was not long before Link returned to the army, took the stone off, and tidied his appearance. The General did not walk from fire to fire this night. He went to his tent and ducked inside, without so much as a spared glance to the curious guard standing by its entrance. A single candle burned on a small table they brought for planning purposes, casting shadows on the walls of the tent. The fingers of darkness and dread curled up the back of Link's neck and raised the hair on his arms. The wolf stone pulsed, demanding, in his pouch. His heart was a stone at the bottom of an icy lake in his chest. Link shuffled to his cot and sunk down onto it.

The hero removed the armor plates and red garments of authority, placing them in the corner of the tent out of his sight, and changed into his customary green tunic and hat. He lay back on his cot, threw an arm over his eyes, and prayed to the Goddesses for sleep to come quickly and without nightmares.

!

Sleep did take him, take him like a thief in the night, but with it came the nightmares that haunted his dreams.

A black figure with a red sword.

A barren forest.

Running, trapped, canine.

Zelda's death.

Hopelessness. Despair. Failure.

Endless darkness.

The circling of a thousand wolves around him in the shadows…

!

Link awoke in the morning with his fists balled and tears drying on his face. He bolted upright, growling and looking around his tent before he realized he was in the waking world and nothing threatened him. His hands relaxed and his shoulders drooped as he swung his legs off the side of the cot and placed his bare feet on the dirt floor of his tent.

A quiet rustling of feathers and scraping of talons on wood alerted the General to what woke him in the twilight hours of morning. A large hawk, clearly of the type bred by the royal house of Hyrule, perched on the edge of the table ruffling its wings with a scroll in its beak. Link stood and crossed to it, taking the parchment from it and scratching its head. It glared at him with its piercing eyes and took off out the door flap.

The scroll in Link's hand was small enough for the large bird to carry, yet large enough to contain more than a brief message. It was tied with a violet ribbon, and sealed with Zelda's personal seal. Furrowing his brow, Link took off the ribbon, broke the seal, and unrolled the parchment.

!

Link,

I pray that your eyes alone read this message. Even as I think the words I will write, I fear the prying eyes and poisoned, black hearts that would use them against me. Yet, despite the fear the fills my breast, I cannot leave our last moments so bitter if indeed they be our last. The Princess of Destiny sacrificed her happiness and the happiness of the Hero of Time for the same reasons I sacrifice yours. I vowed to myself before I met you that I would not make the same mistakes as the Princess of Destiny. I will not break that vow.

The words you risked to speak did not fall on an unreceptive heart. Divine beast, I am a woman ruled by logic and you are everything that I cannot be. You are wild and free to roam; you are emotional and free to be guided by emotion. You are free to love and to move on from love unrequited. I have little but logic, position, the love of Ikal, and the tentative love of my people—until you kneeled before me and offered me something no Princess of Hyrule has ever allowed herself the luxury of.

Know, Link of Ordon, that I do love you. With all the foolishness of a woman's heart I love you, and yet with the wisdom of a monarch's crown I must restrain myself. Perhaps not forever, perhaps, but until this tension has passed I must not act on my heart's whimsy. As you asked, you may fight for me Link…only do not tell anyone what has been written here. Keep this letter hidden for your eyes alone.

You need not respond if you do not wish. If you do, play the hawk's grass and my personal messenger hawk will come to you. Be safe, Link.

With my love,

Zelda

!

The Hero of Wolves reread the letter several times, hardly believing the words on the page. If it was not for the fact that he recognized her handwriting, he would be suspicious of the authenticity of the letter, but as the General of the Army he had read and signed enough proclamations, decrees, and letters from her to recognize what he saw. He sat down heavily onto the cot and stared at the other wall, the letter hanging from his fingertips.

She loves me, he thought. Reluctantly, sure, but she does love me. A warmth rose in his chest, bubbling up into his throat, and exploding from his mouth in laughter. It was the laughter of one stretched thin in hopelessness given something to hold on to. A laughter to make the hardest heart take notice. He stood up and folded the letter, tucking it in the same pouch as the wolf stone. When the beast tries to overwhelm me, I will remember this. That I have someone to fight for. Someone to return to. With a grin on his face such as had become unfamiliar to the hardened boyish features, Link packed up his belongings, including the golden General's Armor, and exited the tent to pack everything on Epona.

Sipping a flash of black apple wine, Count Durtain watched the cheery General prepare for departure with a hollow-eyed distaste. The brown eyed Count had not slept. Would not sleep. Not with the monster he had courted and brought into this world watching him in the carriage. At what price had Durtain purchased his victory? Who was this creature that he recruited to bring about the downfall of the monarchy and the rise of a new Hyrule?

Was he even in charge of this plan anymore? Had he ever been truly in charge, or was that Dark Reflection pulling the Count on puppet strings? Durtain looked back at his carriage and caught the briefest glimpse of angry red eyes in the blackness. There was no turning back from this path. He had chosen, and New Hyrule would be birthed from the black ashes of the people he now burned. The General may begin this fateful day with a spring in his step, but before night crept over the canopy the wolf would curse his own wretched existence.

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Author's Note:

January 2015: REVISED CHAPTER UPLOADED.

Author's Comment from original upload: A little late for Christmas, but Merry Christmas and Happy New Year anyway! (or whatever other holiday you celebrate :D) Okay, I know that there's a little bit of fluff in this chapter…but…meh. I have no excuse. I wanted a little. And it's not gushing fluff. She's tells him the truth, but that change anything really. Just his outlook at the moment.

My Halloween costume was quite simply amazing. Head over to my DeviantArt (link on the profile) to check it out! PLUS we have a fan art! It's amazing! I stumbled over it on DeviantArt- yami_shinen drew a beautiful depiction of the statue Durtain put up in Hyrule Castle Town Square. There's a link to it in my Favorites on Deviantart, so head over to check it out.

Thank you for reading, and see you next chapter! When the plot finally goes into motion…mwah ha ha!

~The Wolfess

p.s. thank you to the reviewer who encouraged me after the anonymous flamer's comments. Again, this story is just for my enjoyment and for the enjoyment of others. Constructive criticism is welcome, but flames and bashing are immature and inappropriate.

The delay in this chapter's completion had nothing to do with the flame and everything to do with the fact that I became suddenly unemployed. All of my spare time has gone into looking for a new job.