Author's rant: Ok, just to reply to a reveiw I received...

Someone Special writes: Yeah, yeah, yeah, some authors are a bit OVEREACTIVE, but you can't call all L/Z shippers 'childish'. I think that L/Z is the best pairing, but everyone has their own opinions, and I'm not bearing a grudge on you for that.
Nice story, could do with some touching up.

Well, ok... I am sorry if you were offended... But I DID specifically state in that little rant that the generalization didn't apply to everyone. Oh well, lets just drop that. Also note the whole "could use some touching up" part. It is nice to know that there is something wrong, but it would be better to know what I should be fixing. Well, thanks to those (if any) who read this far.

Chapter 5

Pharik bit his lip nervously as Impa tried to reason with Link. He wasn't so sure he saw things from Impa's point of veiw, in fact he rarely felt he could. As a matter of fact, he was just getting the feeling that Impa was getting used to being related to an inexperienced youth and now he'd screwed that up...

'Stop feeling sorry for yourself.' He ordered himself, feeling all the more frusterated as time went by.

"Impa, you can't ask me to just sit around here and 'be patient' when I know something happened to Aleka." Link said as evenly as he could, not keeping his voice from shaking with some blend of rage and anguish.

"You don't know anything happened to her-"

"I think that sends a pretty good message!" Link roared, waving his hand at the shredded sheild Aleka had left the cave with. That seemed to stop the conversation completely, Impa's face going impassive as she studied the almost frantic worry that one could see on the Hero of Time's face.

"Impa," Pharik whispered softly, daring to speak for the first time since confessing his failure as the guradian of the Sheikah's Amethyst, "you can't just pretend to not notice what happened to Aleka and just-"

"You've already 'not noticed' enough to cause her disappearence." Impa said, the disappointment and anger in her voice not slipping past anyone present.

Pharik clenched his jaw, lowering his eyes. "It is not as if I meant for any of this to happen... I couldn't even imagine it, Impa." His voice was soft, some part of him trying to stop Impa from hearing his response.

Impa glared at him for a moment before looking back to Link. "We do have to find her, but right now we have no idea what might have her-"

"Which is why we have to find her!" Link blurted out, his own lectures about recklessness forgotten.

"Which is why we can't just charge into this." Impa said, raising her voice in the hopes that might help Link listen.

Link met her gaze for a moment, angry, "Well, what do you suggest I do in the meantime?"



Darunia looked down at the face of the dirty girl who had been brought into to dungeons of Hyrule Castle with Ruto. Was she Link's child? He might believe it if she were a toddler, but she wasn't much younger then his own son.

She had been unconscience ever since she'd been brought in. Ruto on the other hand was slowly recovering from the blows she'd received and was conscience at the very least. He looked over to Ruto, offering a weak smile. She attempted to return it, but only made herself look all the more depressed. Darunia's attention was brought back to the girl when she began to stir, her brown eyes slowly opening.

Darunia smiled down at her, unintentionally causing a reaction of sheer panic. He silently cursed himself, remembering what had happened when on of the other sages had woken up to see a Goron looking down at them. He could still hear Saria screaming...

The girl let out a suprised gasp before trying to push herself away with her arms, forgetting momentarily that one was broken. Darunia felt almost as if his heart broke when the girl let out a strangled sob of pain, clutching her arm close to her chest. She managed to sit up, her face contorted with pain as she fought down the sobs.

"I am sorry..." Darunia managed to whisper softly, trying to not have the stoice expression on his face.

"Don't be, I shouldn't be such a weak baby." The girl replied, forcing the words out while her voice shook from effort. She looked up at him, barely managing a smile as she held her arm close.

"You didn't seem so weak when you attacked Dark Link." Ruto offered kindly.

"Huh? Oh, the shadow man... Well, that didn't do to much good from where I am sitting." Aleka replied, pointing to her arm.

Darunia grinned, realizing she probobly didn't know Zelda in her guise as Sheik. "Your effort did get Queen Zelda out of here, she'll find Link and-"

"Wait a minute, what Queen? How do you guys know Link? Why haven't I ever heard of you!?"

"Should you have?" Darunia pressed, trying to be gentle with his questioning.

"Well, I would think he would've... He's, well... Kinda my dad." The girl explained awkwardly, the look on her face saying even though she thought of him as her father she had a bit of trouble refering to him as such. "I am sorry, he didn't really teach me much about manners, my name is Aleka." She said with a slightly lopsided grin.

Darunia returned the smile. "I am Darunia, head of the Gorons. And this one here is Ruto, Princess of the Zora's."

"How do you know Link...?" Aleka asked, her wide brown eyes the very definition of curiosity.

"Well, he is my sworn brother." Darunia said with a broad smile, noting the slightly suprised but generally accepting look on Aleka's face.

"And he was my fiance for awhile." Ruto added.

"What!?" Aleka shouted, laughing as she did so. The image of Link engaged to a fish woman... "No wonder I never heard about you!"

"I don't see whats so funny about this." Ruto frowned.

"I do." Darunia replied, his face beaming. "Well, I don't suppose that really explians much to my sworn neice, but I guess we have time for that story, but you better get comfortable Aleka, it's a long one."




Saria yawned, the sun begining to appear on the horizon seemed early to her, but then, the excitement of that night could make time seem a bit abnormal. Link was supposed to be somewhere in this area, and Saria could only begin to imagine how much he must have changed in thirteen years. Clearly he'd changed enough to have a kid. She glanced up to Zelda then over to Malon, smiling to herself. Both women seemed a bit... Distant after hearing that Link had a child.

Saria best her head, feeling her exhaustion catch up with her as the world faded into her dark, dreamless sleep.





Author's rant: Yes I know it wasn't that long, to friggin bad. Read and reveiw if you want to see more of this fic.