Hi, everyone! Sorry for the slight delay again, just needed a bit more time, but either way, welcome to the epilogue of Malicious Intent!

The day is finally here, you guys...this story is now complete! I want to thank each and every one of the people who reviewed, favorited, followed, or even simply read Malicious Intent! I had a lot of fun writing it, and all of you are incredibly sweet for sticking with me this long and giving me such kind words of encouragement :) More specifically, for the final batch of review thank-yous...

Thanks so much to James Birdsong, MexicAmerichick6 (x3), and Ninxeldwin for reviewing! Your incredibly kind words mean so much to me, and I hope you all enjoy the epilogue!

All that said...let's get on with the chapter! And after that, I hope to see you in the next story, whatever that ends up being :) Enjoy!

~ Epilogue ~

Red. There was nothing but red.

It congealed across his hands, climbing his arms and up his neck until it forced its way down his throat, overwhelming his senses with its vile metallic taste. He tried to scream, but could only choke out a few nonsensical syllables.

The screams of the others, however, were piercing. They echoed in his ears long after the owners of the voices grew still with death.

His sword gleamed brilliantly in his burning hands, searing its bloodstained image into his eyes. He wanted to drop the blade, but he physically could not. The evil within him would not allow it.

Slowly, with every movement dragged out as though he was struggling through a gelatinous sea, he rounded on his final target. She cried out to him, but her plea was drowned out by the still-ringing shrieks of his previous victims.

Her seafoam eyes shone with tears.

He raised his sword and swung at her neck.

()()()()

Link drew in a sharp gasp as he sat bolt upright in bed, eyes darting around the dimly moonlit room. All was still, save for the occasional wisp of a cool, night breeze furling in through the partially opened window. Beside him, Zelda's breath was soft and level, even as she began to stir due to his sudden movement.

There was no trace of the scent of blood or the heat of Malice anywhere in the house.

It was just a nightmare. He hadn't been possessed again. He hadn't killed anyone.

He hadn't killed her.

His hair was plastered to his face and neck with sweat, and his hands shook as he lifted them to wipe at his drenched forehead. After all of the abuse they had suffered, from broken fingers to scorched palms, they had finally been allowed to heal to the point of him being able to use them properly without pain. Mipha's Grace had certainly helped in that regard - without her aid, he feared that his wounds may have ended up proving just a bit more permanent.

It had been almost a month since the Malice within Link had been purged. Admittedly, despite making significant progress, he had not yet returned to his former full strength. The Malice had greatly siphoned his energy while it had resided inside him, atrophying his muscles and leaving him embarrassingly exhausted by the mildest of exertions. In the beginning of his recovery, he could barely even walk across the bridge into town without leaning heavily on Zelda's shoulder - and even then, he had needed to stop and rest every few steps. He wasn't quite that weak anymore, but building his strength back up was proving to be a long, frustrating process.

And then there were the nightmares.

In truth, he was no stranger to restless dreams. They had often plagued his sleep long before he was taken by the Yiga, though he had never admitted as much to Zelda. Still, these nightmares were of a different caliber.

They haunted him nearly every night, inundating him with visions of the people he loved dying at his hands while the burning, oily Malice oozed across his body. He had long since stopped screaming when he awakened from those terrors, stopped trying to claw his way out of bed and stumble outside to vomit in the grass. Even though she was no longer required to remain close to him, Zelda continued to sleep by his side every night, and he knew that his extreme reactions to his nightmares was interfering with her rest.

After about half a dozen instances of coming to his senses to find himself outside, kneeling over a pool of his own sick as she carefully held back his hair and spoke gentle words of comfort to him, Link had resolved to maintain better control over himself. It had taken many tries, but he had finally managed to consistently remind himself where he was only a few seconds after waking, cutting off his own screams and deep breathing his way through the nausea before it overtook him. Though he still ended up sweaty and shaken, he could ultimately cope to the point of being able to go back to sleep within the hour.

Unfortunately, despite his best efforts, he often woke up his princess anyway.

As Link struggled to quiet his heavy breathing, Zelda shifted at his side, her eyes opening drowsily. "Link…?" she mumbled, her voice still thick with sleep. "Are you alright…?"

For several long moments, he did not speak, afraid that his voice would break should he try. He simply tilted his head to look down at her, allowing her half-lidded seafoam eyes to draw in his attention entirely.

She was there. She was alive. Nothing bad had happened.

"...I am now," he finally whispered, once his heart had stopped pounding so hard. Carefully, he lowered himself back down to rest his head on his pillow, lying on his side to face her. "I'm sorry...I...I tried to be quiet…"

Zelda gave a soft sigh as she reached forward to draw him closer to her, draping an arm over his torso and resting her head on his shoulder. "Don't be an idiot, Link…" she mumbled affectionately into his hair. "You don't need to hide anything from me…"

His heart fluttered a bit as she cuddled close to him. After all of their previous dancing around the subject of mutual attraction, it felt almost surreal to finally be direct in expressing their feelings for each other.

Link lightly kissed her forehead and wrapped his own arms around her in turn. "I know…" he whispered. "But you need rest too...I don't want my nightmares to wear you out too...it's not fair to you…"

"And it wouldn't be fair to you if I ignored you and made you struggle through your nightmares alone," Zelda pointed out. She lifted her head just enough to look him in the eyes. "Do you want to talk about it…?"

The young knight exhaled heavily and shook his head. "There's nothing new to talk about…" he admitted quietly. "It's always the same sort of dream...Malice, blood, and death. Zel, I…" He trailed off, taking a moment to sort through and carefully identify his own emotions. "...I'm worried. Scared, even. It...doesn't seem like this is ever going to go away…"

His princess frowned and lifted her hand to his cheek, her thumb lightly brushing against one of the partially faded tear-track scars that would forever mar his face.

"Maybe it won't," she conceded. "Maybe it will be a part of you forever, Link. But...that doesn't mean it won't ever fade into the background. It doesn't mean things can't ever get better. It will be hard for a while, that's true...but someday, you'll breathe easier. Someday, you'll be able to forget about this pain, even if it's only for a few moments at a time. And Link...you won't have to work towards that day alone. No matter what happens, I will always be by your side."

Link didn't even attempt to hide the tear that streaked down his face. He smiled softly and leaned forward, resting his forehead up against Zelda's.

"Thank you..." he whispered. "Zelda...I have no idea what I'd do without you…"

She gave a wry smile. "You'd probably end up brooding yourself to death," she teased lightly. "You can always talk to me about anything, never forget that. I know you never want to worry anyone, but bottling everything up is never the answer."

"Mhm...because then the bottle will break," Link murmured, recalling Purah's surprisingly apt analogy. "And the scattered glass could hurt everyone…"

Zelda arched an eyebrow at this, but didn't press further regarding the metaphor. "That's...right," she agreed instead. "And we don't want that. So whenever you need to talk...I'm here to listen."

"I'll keep that in mind...thank you, Zel."

She smiled gently. "Anytime. Now…" Zelda suppressed a yawn. "Morning is still a ways off...perhaps we should both get some rest?"

Link returned her small smile and nodded. "Right…"

The two of them curled a bit closer together under the blankets, her face pressed against his shoulder while he rested his head just above hers. As Zelda's eyes slid closed, she intertwined her hand with his and gently squeezed.

"Goodnight, Link…" she whispered. "I love you…"

A warmth originating from his heart quickly spread through his entire body. Unable to keep the smile off of his face as he closed his own eyes, he lightly squeezed her hand in return.

"Goodnight...I love you too, Zel…"

No further words were necessary. For now, the comfortable warmth between them was enough to chase back the memories of Malice, blood, and death until they were little more than a darkened speck on the horizon. Thus, enfolded in the tranquility of a still, silent night, the knight and his princess both soon drifted off into a blissful, dreamless sleep.

~ The End ~