Merry Christmas! I forgot to mention this earlier, but in the spirit of the holidays, I will be updating once every day for a week before returning to my usual schedule on Saturday. This surprise is brought to you by Ghirahim's constant violation of personal space.

Asuriel led Link through the Faron woods, yet she did not speak a word to him. In her mind, she was still at war with herself, wondering whether she should go beyond to the deep woods. As they approached the entrance to the Deep Woods, she quieted the rest of her doubts and pulled out a slingshot that Bucha had helped her make. She was about to fire it when she thought about Link and decided that he probably needed it more than she did. Picking up a few spare Deku Seeds, Asuriel handed them to Link, along with the slingshot. He accepted them and, after a few tries and some guidance, was able to hit the vine he was aiming for.

She happily watched as an expression of victory dawned on his face. Grasping the now dangling vine, Link climbed it and swung, landing in front of the entrance to the deep woods.

"Do you need help getting up?"

"No, I can do it by myself, but thank you for asking."

Not long after, the girl joined Link by the entrance. Sighing, she took one last look back at the Faron woods before leading the green clad hero into the Deep Woods. Hopefully, she could make it back before Impa discovered she had gone.

Meanwhile, that person watched as the two children disappeared from sight. It was quite annoying, really, he seemed to be having the greatest difficulty collecting the spirit maiden. First, she escaped from his hordes after falling from the sky, although they were an incompetent bunch to begin with. Next, this 'hero' with seemingly no experience follows her, bent on rescuing her. Finally, by some stupid coincidence, this other girl shows up and knows exactly how to get to the temple! Not that their success was of any consequence...

...

After some struggle against the many monsters inhabiting the Deep Woods, Asuriel and Link stood in front of the temple, gazing upon the heavy metal doors. The girl now understood why Impa had wanted her to keep clear of this area, it would have been dangerous for her to go alone. Thinking of the elderly woman caused a stab of guilt to cut deep into Asuriel's chest. She had disobeyed her best friend, but she could not leave Link now, she could still assist him to navigate the temple. She stepped up to the door, only to find that it was sealed shut.

"It has never been locked before."

Link looked at her in surprise.

"You've been inside the temple?"

"Yes. Impa has told me to bathe in the sacred waters many times."

"Sacred water?"

"There is sacred water in the Spring of Courage. That is most likely where your friend is now. I saw her enter the temple, the door must have locked after her."

"There has to be a way to open the door, help me look around."

They began searching the perimeter until Asuriel noticed something there that wasn't there before. Small pink diamonds rested in a cluster opposite the door.

"Link, I believe I have found something."

"What is it?"

"Those diamonds, I've never seen them here before."

"Yes, but we can't reach them. I know, I'll hit them with the slingshot!"

Taking another Deku seed out of his pack, Link loaded and launched it at the diamonds, which separated and changed color. Behind them, the two heard the door click and swing open, allowing them entrance to the temple.

"Come on, Asuriel, we can't be much farther!"

Link sprinted down the stairs, closely followed by Asuriel. She was going to be in so much trouble with Impa.

...

Looking around for Link at the bottom of the stairs, Asuriel looked at the insides of the temple. She saw the boy hacking away at a large web, but getting hopelessly tangled in his effort. She briskly walked over to him and helped him get out of the sticky mess.

"The temple has changed much, even with the short space of time that the monsters have infested it."

Link sighed, "I hate spiders. This place seems pretty big, there's no way we can get to Zelda any time soon."

"Well, good thing you are with someone who is familiar with the layout of this place." The girl smiled and took one of Link's hands in both her own, making him blush a little. "We will find her, don't worry, just follow me."

With Asuriel's guidance, the two swiftly traveled through the expanse of the temple. Even though there were puzzles to solve and monsters to fight, the journey was much shorter with Asuriel's help. Link couldn't help but admire her. She seemed so confident, so sure of what she was doing. She solved the puzzles much faster than he did and she gracefully balanced across each tightrope the encountered. Despite this, she smiled kindly at him without a hint of condescension and led him by his hand through the winding passageways. Her hands were so soft and gentle, and her hair brilliantly reflected light as it illuminated it. Link quickly snapped out of his thoughts when she said his name.

"Link, I don't know if it is something or if I am being paranoid, but I feel like someone's watching me."

His face heated up slightly. Had she felt his gaze upon her?

"Uh, no I haven't."

"Well, I must just be nervous then. Impa always did say that I was easy to scare."

If only the gaze that Asuriel felt had been Link's.

...

The two stood in front of a set of large doors. Through them, the girl had told Link they would find the door leading to the spring. Meanwhile, she rotated a giant key, testing different angles until she found one that fit. With a click, it slid into place, causing the lock to split and the doors to swing open.

"There, Link. We will be with her in mere minutes."

That would have been true, but...

A sudden flash of light caused both of them to start and cover their eyes. There, before them stood a peculiar person. That person to be specific. Raising his black saber, he positioned himself to swing again at the door, but paused, straightened, and addressed the confused children behind him.

"Look who it is. I thought that tornado I stirred up would have tossed and torn you apart, but here you are, not in pieces. Not that your life or death has any consequence. It's just the girl that matters now, I can sense her here... just beyond this door."

Link caught Asuriel's eye as he looked hopefully at her, thankful his guide had led him true. She smiled back, but froze when she heard the man's next sentence.

"Yes, we plucked Her Majesty from her perch in the clouds, and now she's ours."

Her majesty? That wasn't possible! Her Grace Hylia was the only majesty she knew of. Could that small, blonde girl who fell out of the sky really be the goddess? Whoever this was, he certainly seemed to know what was going on.

"Oh, but listen to me. I am being positively uncivil. Allow me to introduce myself. I am the Demon Lord who presides over this land you look down upon, this world you call the surface. You may call me Ghirahim. In truth, I very much prefer to be indulged with my full title, Lord Ghirahim. But I'm not fussy."

A glance over at Link showed Asuriel how angry he was. In all of her life, she had never seen anyone's eyebrows almost touch their nose. Glaring at the Demon Lord, Link placed his hand on the hilt of his sword, poised to draw it. The scrape of metal against a scabbard echoed through the room, sending chills down Asuriel's spine. Not more than a few seconds passed before the Demon Lord spoke again.

"Did you really just draw your sword? Foolish boy. By all rights, the girl should have fallen into our hands already. She was nearly ours when that loathsome servant of the goddess snatched her away."

Asuriel thought back to when she saw the girl. The younger Impa did show up for a little bit, could she have helped in this girl's escape?

"Do you have any idea how that made me feel inside? FURIOUS! OUTRAGED! SICK WITH ANGER!"

This proclamation was accompanied by some very dramatic gestures. The girl's eyes widened as the lighting in the room seemed to dim repeatedly. Then, the demon disappeared! Before that time, Asuriel had not doubted Link's superiority over the monsters in the temple, but this person seemed different. If he could teleport, like he just did, that would give him a serious advantage over Link. She was so caught up in her worry that she did not hear the soft footsteps coming up behind her until she felt a cold breath against her neck. Asuriel gasped in shock, trying to step away, yet the Demon Lord had an iron grip on her wrists, preventing her from moving. Beside her, Link seemed to be in some state of shock and unable to help.

"Still... it seems hardly fair, being of my position, to take all of my anger out on your friend. Which is why I promise upfront not to murder him... No, I'll just beat him within an inch of his life!" With that said, the demon turned to Asuriel and licked her cheek.

Upon hearing that and being licked, the girl let out a small cry and again attempted to free herself, however she was not released. Link, finally coming to his senses, shouted in surprise and pulled Asuriel away from the demon, holding her against his chest with one arm while his free hand clutched his sword.

"Don't touch her!"

"My, it seems that Skychild is quite protective. But don't go getting yourself so worked up, I wouldn't even dream of damaging something so delicate without reason."

Delicate? Even though Asuriel had her back to the Demon Lord, she could have sworn she detected at smirk in his tone.

"She was not so rash as to challenge a demon..."

Link looked down at the girl, who was slightly trembling now. He gently led her to one of the pillars and whispered to her to sit down.

"Asuriel, no matter what happens, stay here. You're not part of this fight and I don't want you to be caught up in this. Please, DO NOT get involved."

"Link..."

Her voice was barely a whisper.

"I'm scared, for you. Be careful."

The hero nodded before turning back to face the demon.

"Such sentiment," he mocked, "should I give you two some time alone?"

Link grunted in response and raised his sword. The demon lord laughed as his cloak dissolved in an array of diamonds.