i know this is a day early but its the one year anniversary babbbyyy! sorry for the delay it was intentional

Master Kóshea was considered to be a man of mystical arts.

Particularly with illusionary tricks. However he was also quite skilled in art. Oils specifically—but that was years ago, and such childish dreams had faded. But his illusions stayed with him for years. He had trained and fought, and gained the favor and trust of many with his wide mouth and even with his sunken eyes. He was old, yes, but not abandoned or forgotten. However his face was hardly illuminated by the candles, the fading light from the outdoors left many wonders in this time of great need. Not that the sunlight was draining quickly. It was rather slow—and their ride out will have to wait much longer.

"The caravan was late again," He whispered, the room was empty save for the dust and the spite that littered itself along the wall and floor. The fire was nothing except embers burning themselves away.

"I apologize, sir. But Castle Town has been compromised, the most we can do is sit and wait until we're able to cross the border-"

The man waved his hand in disdain and perhaps even irritation. It made the guard silent.

Distilled noise permeated the air and the longer it remained, the more irritation flared. It entwined with the heavy weight of fear and curiosity at the same time, however it was unnerving, and unfortunately the only thing the guard could do was wait and be patient lest they trigger the Master's wrath. But their kind was not made for that. Their kind was to be swift and challenged with a subtle essence of stealth, how the man trained them to be.

"Bring them to me."

The voice frightened them for a moment, "Sir…" This time their voice did challenge him, "Are you certain that this is what you want? I presume that you will face those consequences-"

"Are you disobeying me?"

A certain stillness filtered and they let out a deep sigh. "No sir."

_/\_

Burvis came to her again during the night. Niah could hardly see him through the bars.

He had given her food, and sat with her as she ate, tired and unnerved, she did so little by little. It wasn't very appealing, regardless though, he lacked the appetite to begin with but she ate just enough to sate her hunger, and he simply watched her.

"Where are you from?" Through the thick darkness he asked.

Niah was taken back by the question, but shrugged, "Long from here."

The man waved off the comment and simpered, "Thought so, you don't look Hylian to me. Oh well, couldn't be much worse than Hyrule, right?"

"Depends-"

"Tribes in the far eastern desert like to say 'Hyrule, the place where things go to die.' I think it's bullshit because I'm still here." Burvis let out a struggling laugh as he leaned back in his seat and crossed his arms, almost like he was reminiscing. "The king died not too long ago. It's a shame I wasn't the one to pierce my sword through that murderous bastard, but-" He drifted, "Perhaps Azazu, they would have preferred to do it anyways. Least I could do, especially with getting them into this bloody business they have no need being in."

Niah noticed him drift as his thoughts seemed to escape him, "Wh-who's that?"

He perked again, like he'd caught himself falling asleep and being forced awake, "Uh, pupil, uh, novice of mine. We found them on the side of the road half dead, so I took them in. Many like to think that they're the mentor instead of me. Which would be fine in all however, they lack basic communication skills, I guess you could say."

There was a clang of metal somewhere, and they both shot their head up.

"I better leave before someone finds me," He pushed his chair to the side before he cleared his throat.

"I'll see you tomorrow."

White noise, mixed with the occasional scatter of mice.

That was all she heard throughout the night, Niah's paranoia raised as her sleep deprivation worsened, her thoughts went from sleeping to staying awake switching between the two constantly, and when would settle and curl in a corner, the clank of metal, or the sound of people outside the cell room would wake her up. It was apparent that when she was taken the next day, it would be filled with ire. Not only directed at her lack of sleep, but the situation itself.

She pressed her back against the solid wall behind her, and closed her eyes for a moment. It was nearly pitch black, there were torches lit outside the cell, and it illuminated the area poorly, but she could still see just in case someone decided they wanted to walk in on her. Niah tried to relax herself against the cold stone. 'If they were going to do anything though, they would have done it already.' she thought before she turned her gaze towards the dim candle light, and slumped her head against the stone in defeat. She was tired, more than tired. Exhausted.

Niah's eyes slipped shut, legs pulled to her body, cold.

Her senses taste of burnt hair, the smell was the likeness of burning coal and somehow the atmosphere was so heavy it had buried her.

A dark hallway bared her witness. At first Niah was curious. Painted windows and regal drapes rhythmically placed throughout. But there was a certain impression that she had been there before. Perhaps she had. Perhaps she hadn't. It was a mystery. Fear riddled through Niah as she was unable to control herself from the dark path. Her conscious moved with purpose, a purpose that she was unaware of and the echos of her feet were exaggerated the sound of white. How depressing was is that?

Niah couldn't speak

She couldn't breathe either. Blocked by the dense semblance of darkness, however she knew better, guided by her wit, for that was all she had left as she crept through that tortuous hall, the end was never near, her heart had started to pound, but she still couldn't fight the movements, not that she wanted to.

In a blink, she stood behind a great door, perpendicular with grand pillars and gold art from the Gods, she pressed the doors open.

"...You're here."

Niah was back, as she regained control. The air was surprisingly much lighter.

She knew the voice, it sounded too familiar. At the same time though, it felt so distant.

"...Who are you?" Niah could see her breath, it was cold, too cold. There was a fire just near the window in a simple stone designed room, ripped paper and books skewed, but the fire burned low and needed rekindling on such a night like this. Or day… or twilight.

The face could not be seen. In fact the body was distorted as if her mind was trying to forget them, no doubt though that it was a man, a familiar man that she couldn't quite put her finger on. Certainly a powerful voice was soft in the sweet caress.

"I am who you want me to be." This time, the voice was more aware, but it echoed in the room, almost making it sound like the combination of a male and female voice if one were not paying attention. Niah stepped closer, however the closer she got, the more energy it took with each step. But her body refused to respond to her, and suddenly her brain became a muddled mess, nauseating - her vision swirled before a deep laughter cut through the thin air.

"We don't have long."

"Who are you?" Niah suddenly staggered back.

The figure leaned back and let out a deep sigh almost in defeat, however a sense of humor laced the voice.

"That is the question, isn't it?"

The dreary world faded into absurdity, her vision bubbled and became washed. A voice echoed that she couldn't make out with the weird feeling that she had started to fall.

"Niah."

Warmth.

"Niah."

Content.

Niah…"

Home.

"Niah, you stupid girl, wake up!"

When she woke up—it was in such a haste that her head cracked on the stone from her jolt. It ached as she clutched it in pain, as she seethed through her teeth.

As she gained her senses, it took her a few moments to once again become coherent. But... that dream...

"Midna-" Niah grumbled. Apparently she had found the will to fall asleep in the cold dusty cell. Her thoughts came back to her, it was tepid to say the least however, they eventually did – and she was cognitive enough to form a proper sentence. "How long have you been here?"

Midna formed in front of her. Arms crossed and Niah could see the irritation, and she felt a slight sense of pity. "Long enough," Midna started, "You were mumbling in your sleep, got bored of it and… decided to wake you up."

"So there was no danger?" Niah's brows furrowed.

"Hmph, so no 'thank you for seeing me and making sure I'm not dead' such a shame." Midna hovered in the dark.

"Where is he?" Niah asked lowly.

Midna scoffed, and Niah was taken aback, "Other sides of the building believe it or not. Just like him at Hyrule Castle, it took forever to find you. Not that you're much help either…"

Niah rolled her eyes, "...Shut up."

How much longer though? How long had she been asleep? That dream.

The dream…

The memory pressed softly against her senses, and Niah was frightened at first. It felt too real though, the dream pushed her into the uncanny valley, maybe it wasn't a dream but a memory though? A past life, historical events, some other worldly thing that she couldn't decipher yet. Maybe her brain was sending out a warning, there was certainly danger lurking, wasn't there? Niah bit her tongue in hopes that it would take her back from the trance, but it instead did the opposite because she flinched in pain, she slid the palm of her dirty hand against her chin. It hurt, and definitely bruised from the fight earlier, it was painful but not unbearable.

Burvis though, where was he?

Dammit, too many questions. Such little time.

Then there was a clatter of metal.

Her thoughts stopped. There was a door opening. It rang throughout the dungeon, and suddenly if by some miracle – Niah was aware of her surroundings, perhaps too aware as she skated to her feet, but she swayed from the sudden action, and had to handle the wall for a moment before as dizziness assaulted her.

Just as she regained her bearings though, there were footsteps right in front of her cell. Two men she didn't recognize stood before her, they were masked from the nose down, but predominantly Hylian she realized. For a moment, neither moved towards her, and instead stared, it was uncomfortable and Niah had thought about saying something, but decided against it. Midna hid in Niah's shadow.

The clothes were a dark polish, leather more than likely, stitched together using string threads piecing together the outfit. Open hand gauntlet's and vambrace clipped together, there wasn't a sight of metal on their bodies. Perhaps due to their Sheikah influence and their career to stay hidden as spies. There were no emblems though, so there was a chance this wasn't THE Yiga from what she knew from her world. Niah was relieved for a second when one suddenly moved towards the cell door, the other figure stood to the side.

"Come." The one that opened the cell beckoned her.

Niah stepped wearily towards them. "Where are we going?"

Her wrist was forcefully taken and they placed them behind her back. Shackled together without much of a word, and Niah winced from the pain. The guards paid no mind to her predicament though. The guards pushed her forward with a call unceremoniously and without further acknowledgment which definitely annoyed her to no end, however there wasn't much of anything she could do about it.

They guided her down the hall. Directed her through the cold dampness until they finally made their way to a stone spiral staircase, and without hesitation the tread started. There were no windows, no cool fresh air or anything to help set her straight as the steady spread of paranoia progressed

Eventually, they made their way to the top and entered through another hall, this time it was large. Still no windows – but there were armed guards periodically that led to the large door at the other end. Fear riddled through her and she wanted to stop for a moment, not be forced elsewhere, wanted to go home and not be killed by whatever was behind those doors. Even the guards guiding her felt her fear and sped their feet to make her mock the movements and jolted her from the sudden trance of fear. Just like the stairs, it felt that every step they took their destination only elongated the process and steadied her fear. But they were there, standing in front of the doors.

They opened.

Niah's let out a sigh of relief. No one was there… yet.

A small dim room, barely illuminated by the fireplace and even that seemed to be going out.

She stood there and observed. There was only one large window, but it was covered by drapes and it snuffed out the light. The floors were old and musty, and much like the other halls, it was dank and smelled of sewage and mold. She jumped when the doors behind her clicked shut. Niah could feel the shackles being released from her wrist, and on instinct she brought them together to soothe the ache that she hadn't realized was there. She tried to turn towards the guards, but they were gone, and she found herself alone. No one was there except the dim fire and the silence. Unlike the dingy dungeon of catacombs though, this room had a sense of life. Basic furniture and neat books placed rightfully on their shelves. Seeing that made the light have a purpose - opposed to a roaring fire. It was calm and relaxing, and she almost sat herself by it.

Niah felt safe enough to take a few steps.

The room was average, typical of a modern office in size however - the room was kept, the seating was certainly not though, two basic chairs sat across the main desk which was cluttered with books and other papers written in a scribble she had no concept of even coming close to reading, the language was far and vast when it came to her world - different alphabets, words and saying all far too intricate for her feeble mind. But she supposed that was what games were for to begin with.

Niah almost refused to stare at the heraldry statues perched, it didn't take a scientist to know exactly what it was though. The most consistent figure in Hyrulean history, the green Triforce represents courage and all it's feats. Merely, she let out a scoff and shook her head. A fat lot of goods that have done them.

Or perhaps the pessimism should stop.

But, It wasn't Links fault for getting them into this position. Not really.

Simply - they were in the wrong place at the wrong time, it happened to be the best of them. Somehow though, this felt calculated. They knew they were headed through the passage to Kakariko, and Burvis had told her that everyone knew who Link was. What his essence bared to the people of Hyrule, his importance was astronomical compared to hers yet for some reason she was kept alive for being mistaken for a warrior who's kind had banished decades ago. Niah had no time for these games or trickery. She walked towards the drapes that hid the outside world. Her fear was calculated though as she reached her hand out to finally open the curtain -

"Welcome."

A voice rose from the grey shadows. Somehow though, it was nearly behind her. A soft but powerful voice penetrated the air as tension slowly began to rise.

Niah could only swallow the lump in her throat.

"You fear me. As many do. I am Kóesha." He bowed

This time - it was definitely behind her. A pale hand came into vision, stretched farther than her own towards the curtain and slowly began to peel it back, light blinded her but she adjusted to the simple view before her. Lush skies, and clean air laid outside the grim room.

But the best view was the mountains.

"But I am no evil force-" He placed a hand on her shoulder, only for Niah to smack it away.

"Don't!-" She faced him.

"Fine. I will not touch you." Just as quickly as the curtain had opened though - it closed, and her eyes followed him across the room.

He was tall and thin, old but not too old. The crows feet at the corner of his eyes help indicate that, and his face was wrinkled at the forehead, especially dark circles laid prominent on his pale skin in contrast whilst his hair was turning grey, but it was kept. Clothes were typical to the time, a light tucked shirt and breeches. The man was armed - although lightly, a simple dagger sheathed to his side.

"Sit." He motioned for the chairs.

Niah noted that it was almost like the dream she had, almost. But things were too far apart, and the voice was certainly not the same, the build of the man wasn't either. Too thin, and in her dream, she had felt safe and comfortable. The complete opposite of her sudden rush of hysteria.

Methodically, she moved her feet to the chair closest to the fire.

Neither of them spoke as she sat. Niah was confused and even scared. Not that she tried to hide it. Anyone would be. A strange man, a strange room in a strange place. She bit the inside of her mouth as the tension grew astronomically high, something needed to be said before she imploded, before she screamed in confusion and anger. Niah's fingers twisted into her tunic avoiding the man, but when she realized that his gaze was penetrating her very essence - she looked at him.

"Your thoughts are loud. You're scared, frightened. Everything under the sun. But I can help you, if you wish me to."

"I don't even know you."

A smile curled on his lips, and Niah moved her eyes elsewhere. There was something demonic and mocking, it felt unnatural and as he stopped leaning on the side of the desk, he finally sat down - nearly eye to eye with her. He was much taller obviously, and this position didn't make her feel anymore comfortable. Her pocket burned and she was tempted to remove the brooch from her pocket, but she thought otherwise. Burvis told her to leave it alone, and she would stick with that advice. The man had stopped talking, she hadn't noticed it until she looked at him once again, and his head tilted to the side, and his hand was placed on his cheek to observe her. A sinister smile spread this time, and her eye widened in confusion. It was creepy.

"Tell me your name." It wasn't a question.

Niah knew what he had asked, just couldn't quite put it together until seconds later when her voice sputtered past her chapped lips. The fire was low but she felt like she was about to burn. Death Mountain came to her mind. They needed to get to Death Mountain.

"...Niah." She said.

"Beautiful name. But your face, it's strangely familiar." The man leaned over his desk, and something snaked around her neck. It wasn't the hands of the man. It couldn't be. But in his pupils were a glare of red and suddenly she realized just what it was. Magic.

He laughed, "Do tell me your family history. Butcher, butler,-" She remained as calm as she could. She just told this strange man her name, and he was somehow familiar with her.

"-dignitary, farmer-"

Shit. The fog felt like hands that gripped her chin.

"-Ambassador, mason, doctor… rancher…" he stared at her eyes as they widened in fear.

Choking, she couldn't breathe. But the pressure grew tighter, and her pocket burned but her own hands gripped the bottom of the chair in hope that the other pressure would let up. But it didn't, it would never let up. He would never stop looking at her, and she would die only a familiar face to the man. Heat started to rise to her cheeks as she began to gasp.

Tighter, and tighter..

Mist snuck just on her windpipe and…

There was a bang on the door, and then the pressure finally did let go and left her dizzy as she gasped. Her vision returned, but she heard the knock clearly, it resounded throughout the room, and she hoped that it was Link coming to help her.

That was proven wrong though.

"Ah yes, come sit."

There was a wordless struggle. And Niah was far too shocked to look away from the man in front of her to see what exactly was causing the chaos. Sounds of chains strangled the room like a grip and then it was beside her. With the guard that escorted her and the familiar face of Burvis.

The hood to the guard was off around this time, more than likely dragged down in the wrangle with Link who looked much worse than she could imagine.

Niah couldn't tell if dark circles from fatigue started to form or a bruise. Regardless though - under his right eyes started to form, it was purple and a few cuts with dried blood around the chin, his lip was also busted - and she imagined that hurt the worst. Burvis had said that Link tried to escape, it was certainly from that. His hair was tousled around and tangled, dry blood was in it but she couldn't tell where it came from because his injuries were minor at best and nothing seemed to be serious in person.

Link was shackled to the chair, and something feral laid underneath the layer of physical trauma. Niah could see it.

"No one told me he was a biter." Burvis chuckled.

Kóesha mumbled something under his breath, and Link didn't even look towards Niah. His gaze was mixed with the complete opposite of her though. Instead of fear, it was confidence and determination. Niah knew that Link's face was especially familiar, with what Burvis said. They had been waiting for his return to save Hyrule. But why did it feel like the man wanted the antithesis of that? They were Yiga, they wanted the rise of Ganon tenfold, that much was true. But what if this was the beginning of their tribe and what if they had yet to want to overthrow the kingdom? Even so. This made no sense.

After the silence was too long, a voice spoke from the guard.

"He hasn't spoken at all since the cell."

"Hm, this piece of work attempted to escape how many times?"

The guard shrugged, "Twice-"

"Five." Link finally spoke with a dry voice.

The man raised an eyebrow. "Oh?" But he was unsurprised, "That's quite valiant of you. Nobleman of high regards. I do understand your plight. However I do apologize for the way of transportation, someone like yourself shouldn't be paraded around when they're unconscious. I do hope you can forgive my people…"

Link squinted his eyes and then turned his head, but didn't say anything.

"It's unfortunate you won't hardly speak to me. I know from the look in your feral eyes you have a great many things to ask And I will gladly assist you in the best way I can, and I assure you no conversation or question is taboo-"

"Murdering villages are pretty taboo."

"But the great bearer of courage does like to speak over people. Such a shame."

"Link, stop-" Niah tried, humour could be seen in the magician's eyes. Things were escalating much more quickly than she thought they would.

"The only good thing your lot has ever done was torture the bad guys, but when you saw that we were thriving you decided to burn us down too."

His eyes were half-lidded, but Kóesha laughed regardless. It was through his teeth as they seared and Link was unphased by it, and in fact it seemed to tempt him even more. "Tell me boy. What village are you from?" He had gotten up from his seat, and stood in front of Link, even knelt down to face him eye-to-eye, and it scared Niah. Her heart had started to race a million miles a second, there was something coming, something terrible.

"Link, please sto-"

"Satori." He said it with derision. "Every once in a while I'll make the trip back, and I can still smell the fire and rotting corpse of the people that burned because of you. You left us with nothing at the end." This time Link was not smiling. His eyebrows were furrowed and lividness pierced the air, mocking still in his tone, and it was like he was attempting not to laugh. How could someone laugh at a situation like this though? A moment of life or death, and death is what Link chose? How stupid could this boy be? Was he truly this idiotic and feral.

"It seems I am meeting many familiar faces today." The man responded, "Which one are you?"

"You left with only one carvan though, didn't you-"

"Which one are you?"

"I remember we locked eyes together when you lost your dignity, and instead came out a disgrace. I was on top of the Hylia statue. I think I was six at the time." Link's voice got lower. "I'm the one who shot that fire arrow into your coal."

"...Everything burned." The confirmation was spoken bitterly from his tongue.

"Just like everything else, and you were left with nothing. I bet the bitter essence of that defeat still sits upon you, doesn't it?"

The sound of shackles and the fire were much louder as Link leaned back in triumph.

Burvis and the guard were tense with fear as well. They were aware of their master's murderous streak in order to take over the territory. That fateful day laid legendary in their mind as if it happened yesterday. Kóesha shook his head with a sinister smile, he was still knelt down, and Niah was glued to her chair. He gained the courage to look at Burvis who shook his head in distress, and the guard beside him closed their eyes as if they were awaiting something.

"Why go to such lengths to protect Hyrule's petty imperialistic interest?"

"You're a fool if you think that's what I'm trying to protect."

Then something happened, a shift in the already tense atmosphere became much more tight and hard to breathe. This was it. Link had gotten him killed because he wouldn't shut up. He wasn't so mouthy in the game, he wasn't so distasteful or rude, and he wanted to help, no antagonize. Dammit, she should have known better than to trust him to be the same way. Niah was just as stupid as he was The blade was unsheathed from his hip and brought up to Link's face, and he didn't even flinch at it. Like he had expected it to happen. The man clenched his jaw in a tight grip, disturbing the bruises and scrapes of his face. The tip of the knife rested just below his left eyes. Link showed no sense of urgency or panic to get away from the danger - even seemed to accept the consequence.

"Perhaps I could leave you with only one as well." It was to himself.

The knife was raised just above Link's face, and in just an instant - the sound of metal parting the wind was so electric that Niah did even notice the knife cut into his delicate skin. Blood and emptiness was all that anyone saw, and just then Link's posture went limp as the shock came through, and even the pain. The pain of everything, and Niah couldn't even bring herself to scream. She just sat there as the guard and Burvis rushed towards Link's side and pressed a rag up to the socket of his face.

The guard miraculously stopped the violence when they knocked him back onto the floor, with a swift kick to the gut. And as Niah sat there like a statue. There was something that tugged at her - as if everything was in slow motion. As tears rose with her fear…

Everything was still.

and in this chapter, Link *reads notes* ummm... thinks he needs to challenge immediate authority and suffers the consequences of being a dumb ass.

The timing of this chapter isnt great. there are things i SHOULD have added and somehow didn't? also. HAPPPYYY ONE YEAR WHOOOAH BABBYYYY also updated a day early because its been sitting here since midapril and i got exciteeeeeddd currently writing chapter 7 and looking for a beta!