Hello everyone! Oh boy, I enjoyed writing this chapter, I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did. Cheers!

…

Chris

…

The Great Bridge. We were all there, Chares, Jaiden, Alexander, Ilaria, Dad, his horse, and me. The amount of time we saved when warping there was impressive, it was noon, leaving Ordon only a few hours away.

"Great, now that we are finally outside, I'll take my boys back to the castle" Dad said firmly.

"What? You said we were going to Ordon" Alexander said.

"Well, change of plans. I won't have you stay here in the middle of nowhere, with the threat of possible followers of Ganondorf roaming around. You two will come back home with me" he fixed his gaze in him the way I had seen him do so with the guards. "And no complaints about it, got it?"

Alexander clenched his fists and tears started framing his eyes, but even in that state he looked up at him. "No. I won't go. I will help bring peace to Hyrule, dad"

'What are you doing you moron! You never talk back to dad. Ever' my eyes pleaded for him to stop.

My dad walked towards him. "You. Will. Come. Back"

"No!"

Alexander ran towards the other end of the Bridge.

"Alexander, wait!" Ilaria shouted.

We all ran chasing him.

"Stop!" I yelled.

He froze, facing the other end, we had caught up with him.

"Don't run from us, Carter!" Jaiden panted. "Come on, let's go"

Alexander let out a shaky breath, and in a quick movement, fired an arrow in front of him. "Huh?" his voice quavered.

"Carter? Wha-" Jaiden couldn't finish. A black, gas like substance surrounded Alexander, and eventually, the rest of us. The gas was thin and its tendrils moved in curve shapes.

"What is this thing!" I shouted, trying not to breathe.

"Oh, this?" someone giggled inside the gas. "It is pure darkness"

I looked through the thin gas, already dispersing itself. I didn't like what I saw in it. A young woman, wearing a black cloak and round mask, had my brother pinned to the floor.

...

"Release him!" I shouted.

"Well, well, well, what have we got here... The Missing Prince of Hyrule" the girl said walking towards me, but Jaiden stepped in, blocking her view.

"Hey you, get out of my way-!" The girl made a strangled sound. "Y-you? You look just like our god! But younger..."

Jaiden released a flash of black and red energy to her mask, immediately sending it flying away.

"Agh!" she covered her face, but we saw her features, she was a hylian. She ran for her mask, removing her knee off Alexander's back. I took my brother's hand and hugged him close. He just kept his eyes shut, while he trembled in my arms.

"Hey, are you ok? You are as cold as ice" I said. I was still somewhat angry at him, even after my talk with Lavette, but... how couldn't I be worried about my brother? He had shown great courage that inspired me, he was stubborn and kind. I smiled. Brother by blood or not, I was beginning to like him, and also, I had a huge determination to protect him. I don't know why.

Alexander nodded while steading himself. "Yes, I am. Just that... there was too much darkness, it was overwhelming"

The girl walked back at us, her mask on again.

"You'd better stay back" Ilaria said while pushing us towards dad.

"But, Ilaria! I can help, please I-!" Alexander was interrupted by her.

"Just, stay here, you'll be fine" her eyes were clearly avoiding him. What was going on between them?

She joined Jaiden and Chares at the end of the bridge. The girl arrived.

"Why did you do that?" she grumbled.

Jaiden threw a ball of dark energy, electrocuting her. "We do the questions here" he said with a smirk.

She tried to catch her breath. "Y-you, are definitely... our god"

Jaiden walked to her, visibly unaffected. "So, am I?"

"Y-yes, you are... you are just like him"

Jaiden laughed darkly. "Good"

Both Chares and Ilaria looked at each other, then at Jaiden.

Jaiden lifted his hand. "Now, now, before you say anything guys... leave this to me"

Chares and Ilaria nodded, but they were alert.

In a swift motion, Jaiden grabbed the girl's cloak by the collar. "Are you afraid of me?"

She trembled. "Y-yes, I am. We all respect you, sir. I didn't mean to insult you in any way, it is just that, you hadn't revealed yourself to us in such a young form"

Jaiden released her cloak and continued to smile. "I am so disappointed, my dear follower. I had to attack you two times to knock some sense into you. And yet, you pretended to be so tough and menacing in the beginning"

She kneeled. "No, please sir, have some mercy!"

Jaiden paced around her. "So you dare deny my judgment?"

"No! You are right! I am weak, I just can't use the power you gave us wisely. I am not like our leader, he puts all of his strength into turning the people to adore you, so you can rule overall! No more prophecies, no more heroes! Just you as the ultimate ruler! The one who would use the very power of the Goddesses against them, to find our peace! For you to control it all!" the girl extended her arms, enthusiasm could be heard in her voice. "But me! I just go around trying to torment people! My sir, I am not worthy of your power. Please, do what you will with me" she bowed, forehead to the ground.

Jaiden put his foot on top of the girl's head. "There is one thing you can do for me... Guide me to my other loyal followers"

She lifted her head, stars in her eyes, unaffected by his rudeness. "Yes, sir! Whatever you ask!" but she hesitated "Sir, I am no one to question your companions... but are they trustworthy, my lord?

"That's none of your business"

"Of course it isn't, this way, sir!"

"Ah- ah! You will only speak, see or hear when I say" with a click of his fingers, she disappeared in a mist. Jaiden walked around the area. "We all know the Great Bridge has seen many battles..." he picked up a rusty bronze sword from the side of the entrance. With a swipe of his hand, the mist immersed itself in it. "You will be here for now, my dear follower, now, sleep" the sword glowed, the rust and all signs of decay gone.

He cleared his throat. "Well, we have ourselves a lead now"

I looked at him, totally amazed. "How did you do that, Jaiden?! It was awesome!"

He smiled and shrugged. "The power came naturally I think, and well, I just played the bad guy"

I laughed. "You are crazy"

He approached me. "Here"

He gave me the sword. "Wow! F-for me?"

Now he was the one who laughed. "Yes, you have to defend yourself, and don't worry, it is safe. That girl isn't doing anything unless I tell her to"

I took it. "Thanks!"

Dad shook his head. "That was VERY close"

Ilaria nodded. "You don't have to worry, General. We will protect them, and also, we are in need of their strength"

I looked at my dad, hopeful. The very determination to protect my brother, helped me understand, that I wanted to protect all of the kingdom, and I could help.

"Please, dad" I said.

"Christopher?" my dad said incredulous.

I nodded. "I don't want to run away from the problems anymore. I want to help"

My dad shook his head smiling. "I am so proud of you, my boys" he made a pause. "Alright then, we'll go"

I grinned. "Yes! Let's save Hyrule!"

...

Chares

...

After some rest, Ilaria decided to warp us again. This time, all the way to the central field of Hyrule. We were in the middle of the map, no monsters had appeared and I was feeling relieved, no need to put any heavier feelings on my chest. What heavy feelings? Well, I saw the girl I care about the most almost die, after that, they guy who made it worse (not intentionally, of course), flirted with her. I risked a glance at their direction. They were talking, while grabbing hands. It might have been romantic if not for the tense environment around them. I sighed. Something was going on between them, and I didn't want her to get hurt. After that dream in which Ilaria was my wife, weird feelings started to stir within me. What if I liked her? What if I didn't? According to her, we had kissed in the Twilight Realm, but I have no memories from it. I shook my head. 'Don't think nonsense right now, we have a Kingdom to save' I thought. That's right! I needed to focus in that. I looked back at them, Alexander looked slightly shaken, and to some extent, angry. Ilaria was listening to him and constantly nodding. I continued walking with my gaze in the front. Chris and Jaiden were walking in the front of us all, they were laughing and playing around. I smiled. They got along very well. A part of me wanted to go with them, to try and get my mind off things, but I didn't. I again wrapped my arms around myself, I didn't feel good. The sun in Hyrule was very bright, and I was starting to feel dizzy. Looking at all of them, I realized they weren't bothered by it. I wiped the sweat off my forehead, failing to see a rock and tripping over it. I covered my face instinctively.

"Hey, be careful, kid" Alger said.

I opened my eyes, he had caught me, mid-air. I cleared my throat. Why did I still have that knot in there? "T-thanks, General, Sir" I looked at the ground and gave a step.

"Woah, hold up, look at me" he said.

"W-why?" I said. My breath had hitched.

He touched my forehead. "You are burning up, son. Here, get up"

He brought his horse nearby. I shook my head. I could go through this. "T-thanks, sir, but, I'm-"

He had carried me and sat me on the saddle. "You are strong" I said.

He laughed. "Come on, lie down on Meir's neck, I'm sure you are not used to this weather, huh? You must know your limits"

I lied down. "Meir. That's a cute name"

Alger nodded. He was kinder than he looked. Those stoic features and fearless grey eyes could also be kind...

My eyelids felt heavy, and I slept.

...

I woke up. The sun was going down and it painted everything an orange color. I was lying on the grass, a quilt over myself. I heard murmurs, a fire burning nearby, distant laughs. I sat and rubbed my eyes.

"I just don't want to be a nuisance for you" a voice... nearby.

"You aren't, and will never be" another answered.

I shook my head to get rid of the sleepiness and got up. I saw them. Alexander and Ilaria, talking at the top of a wooden bridge. A small pond of water down their feet.

Alexander gripped the railing "I'm sorry about earlier. I was just feeling very stressed and impotent. I couldn't do anything to defend myself again, and I took it out on you" he sighed "I just want to be able to help"

Ilaria placed her hands above his.

My heart clenched.

"I understand" she said.

Alexander looked at her. "Next time, let me save you, my hero"

They stared at each other.

"Alexander" she said.

Slowly, they got closer to each other. Their mouths touched.

...

For a moment, I stopped breathing. I saw the scene. It was... beautiful. Their arms closely hugging each other, as if they held something incredibly precious. The orange sun, reflecting itself in the pond of water, the leaves ruffling in the trees and the wind messing their hair. The sword and bow on their backs glinted, making everything feel so unreal.

They stopped. Ilaria held Alexander's face and their foreheads touched. They both smiled and laughed.

I turned around, a small smile on my face. "Well, she's happy"

Jaiden saw me from the distance and grinned. "Hey there!" as he came closer, I noticed he held a plate with food. "Dude, tell me you saw that! Our boy Carter is so lucky isn't he?"

I looked at him and kept my smile, though, he was a bit blurry... "Yes. He is" I said.

He put the plate down, concern all over his face. "What is it? Do you still feel sick?"

I sniffled. "N-no, I-I'm ok, r-really"

He hugged me.

"There, there" he said. "Remember you can count on us, okay?"

I nodded and hugged him back, hiding my face on his shoulder, trying to realize what I felt.

...