The sword was wielded by a figure in shadow, thin and lithe-like, he struck again with his blazing sword.

Zelda didn't even think, she parried the blow with Gram, and rolled off of her bed in an attempt to escape from the assassin, but he was too fast. He caught her by the throat as she tried to cry out for help.

Before he could do any more, Moto jumped up to his face, and with a loud 'KU!!' he exploded.

There was a thunderous blast, and Moto dropped to the floor with swirly, dazed eyes. The assassin released his grip on Zelda in pain, and the princess took the chance. Gathering her Wisdom, she caught herself in an unnatural wind and flung herself towards the doorway…

…And bounced right off of it with a hard thud. Zelda shook off the pain and looked at the door in horror. The Imprisoning spell was still in effect! There was no way to escape.

But that didn't make any sense! How had the intruder gotten in if the spell was still there!?

She had no more time to think about it. She raised Gram up in a defensive position and trembled slightly as the assassin with the flaming sword advanced on her.

************

The Legend of Zelda: Her Story

Chapter 7: Rin *Revised*

By: The Kirby Kid

Disclaimer:

            The Legend of Zelda is like…totally, like copyrighted. BY NINTENDO! …and stuff. Like I didn't make it and junk, so don't sue me.

Authors Notes:

            Yabba! Soon I will make an appeal to you good folks. Get ready for it. In the meantime, I'd like to thank you for your reviews. 'Specially Snowsilver, idiotbox, Dark Dragon, Dinadain Feasin, nowhere and Winky. W..wait a minute. That's everyone who reviewed. Uh…well, thank you very much anyway guys! You're called motivation! I'd like to ask for more of your reviews, and those of anyone who reads this fic. Thanks.

Above all, enjoy.

************

Zelda didn't get a chance to get a decent look at the assassin because of his speed. She only had a chance to bring Gram up to a horizontal position across her face and neck and to brace herself. The assassin's flaming blade smashed hard against Gram, and the Princess was slammed back towards the closed doorway by the blow. Dots floated in front of her eyes, but she shook them off quickly as the assassin made another run for her. This time Zelda ducked underneath the strike, rolled forward and bounded to her feet, behind her assaulter. She gathered her Wisdom.

Once again the attacker moved with an unearthly speed. She raised Gram, and it was slapped out of her hand with a vicious strike from the attacker that left her hand burnt and bleeding. Then his hand was at her throat, and as much as she struggled, she was not able to draw a single breath. As Wisdom slipped out of her mental grip, she panicked and slammed her fists against the attacker's rigid arm, but it didn't budge. Lights exploded in front of her eyes. Zelda tried to call for help, mentally and physically, but she couldn't get her voice out. Finally she had nothing left to fight with; her arms fell limply to her sides, and darkness began to overtake her.

 "This…can't…be…" she gasped faintly.

"Not now…like this…"

"Please… "

The vice-grip was released. Zelda coughed once, gasped and gulped greedily for air, and then glanced up warily before her. Rocco and the attacker had their weapons locked in a fierce struggle. Zelda didn't know how the Shadow Knight got in her room, or how long his ever-heated Halberd would last against the assassin's flaming blade, but she couldn't be happier to see him. Once again, Zelda gathered her Wisdom and prepared to strike.

The assassin suddenly broke the lock he had with Rocco, feinted and pulled him forward, twirled and crashed the handle of the blade into the back of Rocco's head, and then rushed out of the room. The entire move had only taken a second, and Zelda was left blinking with a falling Rocco in her darkened room. She rushed forward and caught the Knight in mid-plunge. Rocco regained his form and shook his head arduously.

"Rocco," Zelda gasped. "You're all right?"

Rocco growled and glanced out the door. "He won't get far, Princess," he said vehemently. "Invincible's outside."

"Uncle Link?" Zelda nodded, moved to the edge of her bed and swept up her little Keaton/Bombchu friend Moto, and ran out the door. What she saw shocked her to the ends of her bones.

Invincible was indeed out in the hallway. However, there was no trace of the attacker anywhere. Invincible stood holding his head in his hand and shaking it slowly. His sword…

His sword was a few feet away from him. It was as if it had been knocked out of his hands.

The assassin had gotten past Invincible.

That was impossible.

Zelda was brought out of her shock when Invincible opened a brown eye and levelled it towards the Princess. She stared at him in disbelief; there was a bruise on his cheekbone.

How could this be possible? Was this attacker stronger than Invincible?

No…that wasn't even a possibility. Besides, if he were stronger than Hyrule's Hero of the Triforce, she would have been killed instantly.

Suddenly Zelda realized that everyone could see what she had done to herself earlier in the night…that she had sheared off her hair just above her neck. Finally able to summon her Wisdom, she weaved a Glamour that created the image of having the long lustrous hair that she had had only a few hours ago. As she did so, Invincible stormed towards her and grabbed her by the shoulders.

"Zelly," he breathed, moving his hands up to cup her face. "Zelly. Damn it, you're hurt," he added as he saw her wounded hand.

Zelda didn't care about that. She cared more of what Invincible saw of her before she put the Glamour on. He had to have noticed. "I'm fine," she lied. "Uncle, please don't tell mother-"

"You really think I give a damn about this?" he hissed, brushing a hand by her fake hair. "All I care about is your safety. What the hell…" Invincible scanned the area while keeping a firm grip on Zelda's shoulder. She stared at him with deep worry.

Moto peeked out from underneath her nightgown and sniffed fitfully. He seemed to be getting his blow up a few minutes ago. Zelda was glad, but she was more worried about Invincible.

Usually, Invincible was a figure of content. He seemed to stroll around the Courtyard and Castle lazily, with a permanent look of ease on his face. This is the first time in years Zelda had seen him like this: Sharp-eyed, cautious, and angry.

Her eyes were drawn away from the Silver Knight when a small wind whirled beside her. Zelda could feel the Wisdom emanating from the wind, and she immediately knew it was her mother, before the Queen materialized from Farore's Wind. She glanced at Zelda, and then looked to Invincible, while Rocco exited from the Princess's room.

"Is she all right?" she asked Invincible.

"Why don't you ask her yourself?"

Apparently, the Queen took that as a 'yes', and she went to the next matter of importance. "Where is he?" she asked, anger simmering in her eyes. Invincible and Rocco glanced at each other, and then they both looked at the Queen. Immediately she understood, but she was not pleased. "You're telling me you haven't got him?"

"We'll find him, your highness, " Rocco assured. "The Castle is swarming with Knights, and the First Rank are locking down the perimeter. No one will get out of here without us knowing."

Invincible said nothing, he just continued to look at the Queen, and then to Zelda and her wounded hand. "Zelda, I'm sorry," he said, before leaving them and moving down the hallway. Zelda didn't know whether or not he was speaking of her or her mother.

The Queen moved up to Zelda and took her wounded hand gently with her own. "A flaming dagger?" she mused quietly. Zelda was amazed that she could tell that just by looking at her wound. She supposed it wasn't so difficult to interpret a burned slash…she just didn't think her mother would know about something like that. Zelda's blue-green eyes met her mother's sapphire ones, and then glanced to the ground.

"Can you take care of this?" her mother asked. Zelda nodded glumly, and the Queen started down the hallway after Invincible. After a few steps she froze, as if deciding whether or not to turn and say something more. She decided not to, and continued down the hall.

Frowning sadly, Zelda started using Nayru's Love on her wound; and as her injury began to heal, Rocco, who put a hand on her shoulder, greeted her.

"Princess…I'm so sorry you were injured."

Laughing, Zelda began to weave a complex spell to heal Rocco's head wound. "If it weren't for you, I would have been killed. I'd say you've done your job exceptionally." Zelda smiled at the relief in Rocco's face. He seemed to be cheering up a little.

"We have someone!"

Zelda and Rocco turned towards the sound. It was a Knight, calling from the Courtyard, and his voice carried through some of the opened rooms in the hallway. Zelda took Rocco by hand and whipped up the spell of Farore's Wind, transporting them immediately to the isolated far end of the Courtyard. From there they ran forward in the dead of night, towards a group of Knights that were congregating in one spot. Zelda spotted her mother and Invincible in the area, and moved towards them, and then she saw two Knights; Sir Rocky and the newly appointed Sir Donnelly. They were holding on to a young man, who had been forced to his stomach, and who was secured with two strong arms to the back of his neck and back.

"We found him lying in the bushes close to the Castle," Rocky explained. "We don't know how he got so close without anyone knowing, and he put up a bit of a struggle, but he was pretty easy to put down, sir." Zelda saw that he was directly addressing Invincible.

"Let me see him," the Princess ordered. Rocky and Donnelly glimpsed Zelda, and then looked to Invincible for confirmation. The silver Knight nodded, and the two Knights brought the prisoner to his feet.

He was a young man, brown-skinned, with white hair that was blackened about the tips. He wore a white sleeveless shirt and grey baggy pants. Rocco immediately recognized the boy, and Zelda slowly recalled her many chance meetings with him. She leaned forward, and he shrunk away with fear. He looked to be around her age, and he didn't appear to be dangerous at all.

Still, how did he get so close to the Castle without anyone noticing?

"Who are you?" Zelda asked gently.

His auburn brown eyes narrowed in fear and anger, and his mouth worked slowly.

"My name is Rin."

************

Link, the man known as the Invincible Silver Knight, looked hard into the brown eyes of his captive. The young man at the other side of the table didn't meet them. Instead he stared at the ground, his bushy white hair falling over his forehead and swaying slightly in the breeze.

They were one of the dungeons deep within the Castle, specifically the interrogation room. They weren't alone. Rocky, his son Rocco, Donnelly and Adrel stood watch at all four corners of the room, watching the interview intently. Link knew that they could be relied to dispense one of their daggers the moment the boy seemed to do anything suspicious. He also knew that they wouldn't jump the gun, that they'd keep their cool.

A very hard thing to do in this tense situation. See, Link wasn't convinced that this was the one that they were after. This might not be the assassin. With this in mind, he had the First Rank and the better part of the Knighthood continuing their sweeping search. The peaceful night had turned into a disturbing morning, and everyone was on edge.

The nervousness was amplified by the presence of the Royalty in the room. The Queen had insisted at being present for the interrogation. Princess Zelda was there too, fiddling with her 'long' hair at the nape of her neck.

"So, where are you from?" Link asked.

"Where am I from?" the boy, Rin, muttered. "I - I'm from Vased. (Va-zed) Look, I didn't do anything!"

Link ignored him and pondered his response. Vased was a small town by the edge of the Gerudo Valley. It made sense, seeing as to how the boy was clearly half-Gerudo. No half-Gerudo males would be permitted to live within the Valley. Many towns existed along the edge of the desert, Towns that were homes of many half-Gerudo children. But if he was from Vased…

"You're far from home, Rin," Link commented. The boy turned his gaze once again to the ground. "What are you doing here, in the Kingdom of Hyrule I mean?"

Rin hesitated for a moment before answering. "I…I needed to escape."

"Escape?" the Queen repeated. "Escape what?"

Rin was gritting his teeth, as if repressing some sort of awful memory. Link looked at him closely as he responded. "Vased…. Vased is becoming a Ghanim town."

Invincible noticed the princess's eyes widened at the word Ghanim. Seems the memory of her father's assassination by the cult was still in her mind. Link smiled grimly to himself. He had no love lost with the Ghanim either.

"Everyday, there were more and more people following what they called 'the call of the Red'. Everyone knew what that meant, it was the call of the Evil one." Rin squeezed his eyes shut and grimaced again. "It was such a small town, more like a village. They had no chance against the punks that began to overrun it. People were recruited, brainwashed, convinced, whatever you want to call it. Those who didn't join escaped the village. Those who couldn't escape…" When Rin opened his eyes again, they were fixed to the air beside Link. It seemed this kid couldn't look anyone in the eye.

"They wanted me because I was an orphan, and that I was skilled with a sword. They thought I'd be easy prey…but I fought my way out. I…I came to Hyrule, because I heard of its famous hospitality. The rumours were true." A sad smile crept onto his face and he continued. "People are nice here. They don't force help on you, but they're always offering it. I spent my days in Castle Town, and I slept wherever it was quiet." Then he surprised everyone by glancing over to the Princess.

"I think I bumped into you once, my Lady," he said quietly. "I didn't know you because I've never seen any pictures of you or her majesty before, but I recognize your perfume now." Once again, his gaze wandered to the floor. "I'm sorry I was so rude to you and your friends."

"Hey, shut-up!" bellowed Sir Rocky. "Who gave you permission to address our Princess as if you know her!!" Link sighed inwardly. Rocky was a strong Knight, but he was known equally for his brashness.

However, Zelly simply waved him quiet and looked straight at the boy. "Don't worry about it," she murmured.

"Rin…look at me," Link ordered. He turned slightly towards him, but wouldn't meet his eyes. "Hey, I said look at me." Finally the boy accommodated him, and looked straight into his eyes. The eye contact was maintained for a few seconds, before Link sighed.

"I think you're telling the truth…" Link began, " however, I can't be sure. I'd like to believe you, especially if you have some information about Vased Ghanims…"

"Wait…I mean…" Rin once again turned to Zelda, ignoring Rocky's previous verbal assault. "You can tell whether I'm telling the truth or not, can't you? I mean, with your magic? Go ahead and read my mind. You'll see that I'm telling the truth."

"Oh that's just going too far!" Rocky bellowed. "We can't allow this punk to talk to our Princess like that!!"

"Dad…" Rocco muttered, with a tinge of embarrassment.

"It's quite all right, Sir Rocky." Zelda turned to her mother, who just looked back silently for a moment, before nodding her approval. Then she turned to the young man, and forced her will onto his.

Link couldn't see anything physically, but he knew that Zelda was entering the boys' mind. She placed her fingers behind her ears and pushed them forward a bit, focusing on the inner whispers in Rin's psyche. Link was glad, if there were anything the kid was hiding, Zelda would reveal it.

At least, he hoped she would. Still, there was something strange about this kid.

There wasn't a threat of danger coming from Rin, nor was Link getting a feeling of dread from him. But there was something…a kind of absence that made Link uneasy.

When Zelda seemed to sway a little, Link knew she was finished probing his mind. "Well?"

Zelda shrugged nervously. "I don't think he's lying. I couldn't find any deception in him…"

Again, Link smiled to himself. She couldn't find any deception in him. She didn't think he was lying. He happened to agree.

But was he telling the truth?

Link leaned back in his chair and clasped his hands behind his head. "Well…I don't think there's anything more we can do here," he drawled.

Rocco stepped forward from his post near the wall. "B-but Sir! How does he explain getting so close to the Castle without anyone spotting him!?"

Rin was silent, and Link leaned farther back in his chair and gave the young Knight a wink. "Ah? Well that may be more about you Knights not doing your job very well, now could it?"

With his back stiffening, Rocco stepped back and squeezed his lips shut. Link brought his hands up in a pacifying gesture. "Hey, relax. I was mostly kidding. Besides Rocco, you did save Zelda after all." Then he got up to his feet and motioned to the other Knights. "All right, you're dismissed. Go get some rest."

The Knights looked to each other hesitantly, and then Sir. Adrel stepped forward. "Are you sure, Invincible?"

"Hmm…well if you don't think I can handle myself with this kid…then…" Adrel and the other Knights got the message and proceeded out of the chamber. "Hold, Rocco," Link ordered. Rocco halted immediately and waited. "Come with us." Link turned to Rin and beckoned him forward, and the boy rose from his seat and followed him, the Princess and the Queen, and Rocco out of the room and down the hallway.

***

Halfway down the corridor, the small party stopped and looked at each other. Queen Zelda glanced at Rin, and then at Invincible. "Well, what are we going to do with him?" she asked.

Invincible shrugged. "I dunno."

The Queen was aghast. "What do you mean 'I dunno'?" she said, imitating Invincible's deeper voice. "You're supposed to be head of the Knights aren't you?"

"Well you keep telling everyone you're the Queen. Why don't you decide what to do with him?" Invincible said lazily. Zelda giggled at the exchange, and it caused her mother to glare at her angrily.

"It's not that funny, Zelly," she said in a soft tone, before turning away.

"Ah, so now it's 'Zelly' again, is it?" Zelda thought to herself. Was this her way of apologizing for keeping that stupid Imprisoning Spell up? Of course, her mother couldn't possibly had known that she'd be trapped in her room with a murderer, but it was still quite annoying.

"So then," Invincible began, turning his focus to the boy. "What should we do with you?" He glanced over at the young Knight standing a few feet away. "Rocco, your suggestions?"

Rocco shook his head and glared at Rin. "I say we lock him up until we're sure he's not the one."

"Why? There's no evidence he was the one. He's innocent until proven guilty," the Queen stated. "On the contrary, we've found evidence that he's innocent. I wouldn't be confident in imprisoning him, even if we can't find the real assassin."

Invincible nodded, and then turned to Zelda. "Zelly?"

"Um…" Zelda didn't like being put on the spotlight like this. Besides, she knew the only ones whose opinions really mattered would be Invincible and her mother. Still, she had to placate him. "I don't think he did anything wrong tonight." Zelda believed it too…but she couldn't help but think that there was something else about the boy.

Invincible nodded again, and then turned to Rin himself. "What do you think? Sorry, this might seem a bit cruel, but you were at the wrong place at the wrong time."

Rin agreed. "I understand how everyone might be out of sorts after tonight. I agree that you should keep an eye on me; to make sure I can be trusted. But…" Glancing to the floor, he chewed a bit on his lip. "But, I don't want to go to jail."

"I concur fully," Invincible said with a nod. "Then, I want to propose something. Follow me." He led the group into a large chamber in the basement of the Castle. The room was huge, round, and dark except for one light from a small lantern in the centre of the room.

"Link…what are you up to?"

"Step back, Zelda, Princess." Invincible suggested. He then drew his sword, and tossed it over to the unsuspecting Rin. Zelda's hands flew to her mouth in shock, but she was strangely relieved when Rin caught it with ease.

"Link?"

"Defend yourself kid. Rocco," he started, stepping back towards the wall, "Attack."

Zelda watched as Rocco levelled his halberd towards Rin and rushed at him with tremendous speed. Rin held the sword up to defend the attack. Zelda's eyes widened when he did, because she noticed that Rocco was no longer in front of him. Rocco was behind him, and the blade of his halberd was racing towards Rin's back.

There was no change in the expression in Rin's face. He bent forward, switched his hold on the sword to a backward grip, and drew the sword behind his back. It clanged loudly against Rocco's halberd and held it fast.

"He – he wasn't kidding when he said he was skilled," Zelda thought to herself, amazed by the display. Suddenly she began thinking about how even with the training she received as Sheik, she wasn't sure she could compare to these two. Maybe passing the First Rank's tests was just a pipe dream anyway.

She saw Rin's left foot slide laterally, and the boy lean further forward as he prepared to do something, before Invincible rose is hand and roared, "Enough!"

Rocco ended his attack and walked away while muttering something under his breath. The Queen was vexed. "What was the meaning of that?"

Invincible grinned. "That was the same test Rocco had to take, before he became Zelly's shadow?"

Rin blinked and offered the sword to Invincible, who accepted it. "Shadow?"

Nodding, Invincible glanced to all the participants in the room and spread out his hands. "Zelly's bodyguard. We called him a Shadow because he could blend into the background so easily. Anyway, this is what I propose. We want to keep an eye on the boy right? And he's obviously quite skilled…"

"Are-are you suggestion he become my Shadow?" Zelda exclaimed.

"Why not? I'll be keeping an eye on him, and Rocco will be too, as First Rank. Listen, Rin's got information about Ghanim activities not far from us, and he's competent enough to be your Shadow. We've got no proof that he was involved in what happened tonight. Why punish him, and lose someone valuable just because we're nervous?"

Rocco grunted, and the Queen didn't seem too convinced. "What I'm nervous about is the prospect of Mr. Rin being innocent. If he is, then the person who tried to murder my daughter is still out there."

"Not for long. I'm increasing security, and essentially Zelly will have two guards on her at times. I'm comfortable that she'll be safe." Invincible sighed and his shoulders slumped slightly. "I'm tired," he whispered. "It's up to you, Zelly."

Zelda looked to her mother, who looked as if she wanted to say something, but didn't. Zelda then turned her gaze towards Rin.

Rin… he looked so slight and helpless, but as he had just demonstrated a few moments ago, he most certainly was not. She didn't think he was lying about not being involved in her attack. But there was something she felt she was missing: something important.

Until she could pinpoint that something, she had to give him the benefit of doubt.

She nodded and told them she was okay with it.

"Good! Great. Then I believe we're done here." With that, Invincible held the door open for the Queen to go through, and then exited it himself. It was then just Rocco, Zelda and Rin alone in the large chamber.

"I can't believe this…" Rocco muttered.

"It sure is sudden…I'm not sure what to do now," Rin gulped before grinning slightly. "I suppose I just got drafted."

Zelda smiled warmly towards him. He wasn't such a rude guy after all. "I'm sure Invincible knows what he's doing. Hey, don't worry; it's not such a bad job. A little hazardous though, right Rocco."

Rocco said nothing. He obviously was not happy with the new arraignments.

Zelda shrugged and motioned to the two men. "Come on. Let's get out of here. I think I need a nap."

************

To most people it seemed like the Princes took nearly being killed with stride. They couldn't be more wrong. She was good at hiding things, and the truth was that she had been shaking the entire time, and she had gotten very little sleep that night. The next day she had lunch with her best friend Talon, something that always seemed to calm her down. She told her about what had happened between her and her mother, and about nearly being assassinated and her assaulter being on the run. Talon, being a true friend, listened intently and consoled the shaken Princess.

However, Talon wasn't in her usual cherry mood. She stared behind Zelda and at the silent Rin, who stood back a few feet from her. The other night, before she retired for the night, she told Rin the two basic rules of being her bodyguard: Stay out of her chambers, and try not to get in the way. Rin seemed to get the rules quickly, but because he didn't have Rocco's natural ability to blend into the background, he drew a lot of attention.

"I don't like it," Talon eventually growled.

Zelda sighed. "I don't see what the problem is. So Rocco's not around during the day anymore. At least now he's on a steady schedule. You guys can make plans now without worrying if I'll ruin it by needing him for something. That and he's getting paid a lot more too. He can finally afford that wedding he's been planning," the Princess muttered underneath her breath.

Talon immediately became alert. "What was that!?" she said with a gasp.

Zelda raised her hands apologetically and grinned. "Just kidding, Talon. Sorry. Sorry."

The redhead's eyes narrowed and she crossed her arms in a huff. "That wasn't very funny, Zelly."

"I said I was sorry."

"You wouldn't have made such a stupid joke if you had a boyfriend."

Talon had a look of regret on her face as soon as she'd said it, but Zelda just shrugged. "Well, maybe you're right," she said with a smile.

"I'm sorry Zelly."

"Don't worry about it," Zelda said with a wave of her hand. "Anyway, I'd better get back to the castle. I'll see you later."

As Rin and Zelda started on their way back, the boy leaned a little closer to the Princess. "I hope I haven't caused any trouble between you two."

Again Zelda waved. "Oh it's nothing. We're best friends, so we fight all the time."

Rin laughed. "Strange… how that works."

************

An uneventful week passed, and one day Zelda got word that Invincible had summoned her. She hurried to the courtyard, where the Silver Knight was indeed waiting.

"You asked for me, Uncle Link?"

Invincible blinked, and rubbed the back of his head with a grin. "Uh…I think they misread my message. I was actually asking for Rin, the guy who hangs around you all the time?"

Zelda's shoulders slumped dejectedly, and Rin stepped forward. "Yes sir?"

Invincible leaned forward and placed his hands on his hips. "Rin, thanks to your information, we've come to the conclusion that the Ghanims were the ones that attempted to take Zelly's life last week, and they were using some sort of magic to do it."

Zelda growled. "Ghanims again. First my father and now me. Who else is next?"

Invincible's smile never left his face. He wagged a finger in front of her and said, "I know what you're thinking, Zel-lee…but I don't want you to worry about it. Thanks to Rin's info, and some reconnaissance on our part, we've located where several Ghanim villages and bases are."

Rin seemed a bit confused. "So…so what are you going to do?"

"What do you think we're going to do?" Invincible said with a grin. When he finally opened his eyes, they were sharp with deadly intent.

"We're going to strike."

Next Chapter:

I…I don't understand how this all could have happened

Why?

Invincible. Invincible!

Why!?

Fallen Hero?

Thanks for reading!  ^_^  See you in a week.