Upon landing on the deck of the ancient ship, the first thing Asuriel noticed was that there was no bird statue. That meant that in case of emergency, there would be no swift way for them to exit the ship. Still, the girl had faith in Link that he could protect her, granted that he did not become distracted.

"So, what do we do next, hero?"

Her tone was slightly playful and she attempted to lighten the mood and start a conversation.

"Well, the only option right now is through that door, so I guess we should start there."

"Right, that door it is, then."

Asuriel began to walk in that direction when Link called her back to where they were standing.

"Um, I wanted to tell you..."

He paused, seeming to try to find the right words.

"What is it, Link?"

"I'm sorry that you got captured under my watch and that I couldn't save you. You must have been terrified down there, alone, in the dark, probably wondering where I was the whole time and why I wasn't coming to help you-"

"Link."

Asuriel quickly ran up to him and took both his hands in her own. He had maintained a stoic attitude until this point, but she could see how much the guilt of her capture weighed on him.

"Link, don't beat yourself up about it. You must have gone through a lot to look for me, and everything is alright now."

"But I-"

"Shh. Don't worry. I'm safe now with you. That's all that matters."

She pulled Link into a tight embrace, which he happily returned. After a minute, the goddess sword started vibrating, and Fi's voice could be heard instructing them to continue to the next part of the ship.

As they explored more of the ship, Asuriel was careful to never leave Link's sight. That was not very difficult considering that most of the time, Link was holding her hand. It was almost as if he was doing it out of instinct rather than holding it intentionally.

Finally, they reached a bright blue chest which contained a small key. Asuriel remembered that one of the doors close to the deck had been locked, so they hurried in that direction. With a echoing click and an ominous creek, the door swung open upon its hinges and the two stepped through it. They emerged outside on a narrow plank way that overlooked the vast Sandsea. At the end of the walk way stood a figure, arms crossed and tattered clothing fluttering in a light breeze. When it sensed the presence of others, it turned around and drew its electric weapon.

Link instinctively leapt in front of Asuriel and charged at the robotic creature who was running towards them. They clashed in the middle and a battle of speed, power, and agility ensued. The hero wielded his blade with swift, solid swings, causing the pirate captain to be pushed back. However, that did not mean that these advances were not countered. The robot made a series of jabs, which Link parried before continuing his barrage of attacks.

This continued until Link had worked the captain to the end of the walkway. The latter appeared to lose his balance for a moment while his weapon flew from his hand to be swallowed by the sand below. Then, he steadied himself and drew his other weapon, making the other fall back to avoid being hit. Asuriel was also forced to move as a spiked gate behind her threatened to injure her if she did not go forward.

For the next round of attacks, the captain seemed much more efficient. He had managed to made some headway against Link, and they both jumped back and forth, exchanging thrusts, swings, and parries. One time, the captain charged his weapon and managed to move swifter than Link, ramming the buzzing metal into his opponent's stomach. The boy grunted from the impact and the shock and faltered, falling momentarily to one knee before regaining his composure and fighting again. No matter how well he had played it off, it was obvious that Link had taken a hard hit because he was no longer moving as smoothly. Because of this, it was not long before the electrified metal made contact with him again, knocking into his shoulder and sending him sprawling over the ground before rising to his feet. A third blow aimed again at his stomach proved too much for him as he collapsed to the ground, pressing his palm against the singed fabric of his tunic.

In a flash, Asuriel moved forward to stand in front Link. She had no idea what to do, but she could not let her friend die. The captain growled and swung at her head, but she ducked and, remembering how she had played that game with Ghirahim, used her magic to push the pirate closer to the edge. Everything was going well until she suddenly tripped over some uneven boards and lost her footing. The captain seized her by her neck, holding her upright and keeping its electric weapon close enough to her face so that she could feel the power radiating from it.

The captain had stopped and was now examining her. She could see past the lenses of one of its eyes, noticing some kind of mechanism working behind it. Asuriel felt as if it was scanning her, evaluating her, maybe even trying to sum up what she may be worth. The girl knew very little of pirates, but she read that they had an affinity for golden coins and gaudy clothing.

Slowly, but with an act of finality to it, the robot lowered its weapon for the girl's face. A raspy laugh left its hollow mouth as it spoke in a voice so low that Asuriel was sure only she could hear.

"So, you're one of his belongings?"

The girl trembled slightly, unsure if it wanted her to stay silent or reply. At last, she answered in a small, shaky voice.

"Whose belonging?"

"You're little act can't fool me, his aura is all over you. How did you find your way out here, little one? You should be back with your master."

"Who are you talking about? What do you mean by 'my master'?"

The captain ignored her and began thinking out loud.

"We are under orders to return any of his lost things to him."

The robot looked her over again.

"He always did have an eye for delicate items."

So what, was she a thing and an item now?! And who would be so entitled to refer to people as possessions and have them returned if they were lost? She had no more time to consider these things before she was pulled out of the captain's grip. Link had come to save her!

There was a spark of anger in his eyes that she had hardly, if ever, seen. With one last blow, he drove the captain off of the walkway and into the vast sea of sand. Turning back to Asuriel, she could not identify the look he gave her. It was fierce and strong, but not angry.

"I'm not loosing you again."

Those were the words he spoke before collapsing to the ground. Asuriel was kneeling by his side in an instant, feeling around the fabric covering his stomach. He was obviously in a lot of pain and he was most certainly in need of healing. But, the bright sun over the desert was harsh and they would only continue to be drained as long as they remained outside. With some effort, Asuriel managed to pull Link to his feet and they walked back inside with the boy leaning heavily against her.

"Link, I need to get a good look at your stomach. Could you please take off your shirt?"

He immediately turned bright red, causing the girl to wonder if he was so easily sunburned. Tentatively, he removed the tunic along with a layer of chain mail and a thin undershirt, revealing the soft skin of his chest.

Asuriel knew it was rude to stare, but she had never seen a boy without a shirt on, which wasn't very surprising considering she didn't grown up around any human males.

Her gaze shifted down past his muscular abdomen to his stomach, which was already bruising. As gently as she could, she ghosted her hands over the bruises and pressed her palms against him, one on his chest, the other at his stomach, preparing to heal him. Link shuddered at her touch a wiggled a little bit, causing Asuriel to frown.

"Are my hands too cold, Link?"

"Oh, u-um, no. It's fine."

She nodded as focused again. Link was filled with a strange, warm feeling as her power coarse through him and healed him. He could not remember being so flustered around Zelda, although she had never asked him to take his shirt off. The situation was made more embarrassing for Link because Asuriel didn't consider her actions to be anything more than medical, magical healing.

And that's all it was, healing. The power she used was definitely the thing that was causing his heart to beat so violently against his chest. It was definitely the cause of her touch feeling almost... electric, but more pleasant than getting jabbed by a metal pole (he should know).

Asuriel herself was also experiencing these small things. Her heart fluttered in her chest, making her question what was going on. Her face felt abnormally hot, yet for no apparent reason. Maybe Impa would know.

"Link, before you put your shirt on, do you mind if I listen to your heartbeat? I don't know much about the effects of electricity, but I want to make sure that it didn't hurt you too much."

He nodded dumbly and Asuriel moved to stand against him, letting the side of her head rest against his chest as she listened to his heart. One hand absentmindedly traced small patterns over his bare chest as she closed her eyes and focused.

Good Hylia, could she get any cuter? She was completely oblivious to how forward she would look and sound if she actually knew anything about relationships between the two people.

"Your heart is beating very quickly, but there is nothing too unusual about that. You must still be a bit jittery after that fight."

Yeah, it was definitely the fight...

Link turned away to hide his flushed face as he put his undershirt, chain mail, and tunic back on. When he turned back around, Asuriel was holding his cap, which had slipped off when he first undressed. Reaching up, she readjusted some of his messy hair before situating it back on his head.

"There, good as new. Well, except that your tunic is rather black in some places... you can get a new one, right?"

"Of course, I can pick one up later."

The girl flashed a small smile before turning and opening the door that led outside.

"I thought I saw a chest materialize when we were going inside. Let's see what's in it."

Link followed her out and was surprised by a beautiful bow and a quiver of arrows. Those would definitely come in useful, not only for solving puzzles and hitting triggers, but also for defending Asuriel. Smiling to himself, Link took her hand I his and led her back into the ship.

A pair of dark eyes followed them, focused like a hawk on their intertwined fingers. How was this even close to fair?! He, Lord Ghirahim, had saved that girl, given her food, and place to stay, allowed her to be in his presence, and she returned so little of the attention. Then, these stupid skychildren get all of her care! She comforts them, hugs them, and tends to their wounds.

It is important to remember that such a power demon was not in need of such things to survive, but it was making him VERY disagreeable to see all of the attention he was missing out on.

The care he received from Demise had been limited, but it was better than not having shared contact with another being for years. Maybe he could fake an injury or pretend to be mentally scarred about something. He was, after all, an excellent actor. Ah, but now was not the time to focus on such trivial things. He had places to be, and he doubted he could stand having his blood boil any more as Asuriel devoted her care to that green clad brat.

One day, when Demise returned, she would treat no one but him with such gentleness and care. He would make sure of it.

Alright, another chapter done. Was that a little hint of yandere at the end? It is a bit shorter this week because I have been very busy and this was all written in the past two hours. As you can see, I have a new cover. I convinced a friend of mine to draw a chibi Asuriel, and she delivered beautifully. (If you would like a better look at it, it is posted on my Tumblr) Anyway, have a great week and I will see you all in the next update.