Chapter 1

Navi flitted to the window and sat upon the sill, watching the restless young man stir in his bed. After a long while she sighed and flew over to him, not wanting to see him so troubled.

"Master-"

"I was wondering when you would come in," he told her, opening his eyes and staring out into the dark world outside his window.

"You look a bit pale tonight, master," Navi flew to his shoulder and alighted there, not wanting to hide herself under his hat. Link's eyes flickered at the sound of the word 'master,' but did not allow anymore emotion than that to show. He had become quite good at hiding his true feelings as of late...

"I am always pale," Link flicked a piece of dirt off his leg. "Why did you come back?" Navi turned a soft yellow.

"I had nowhere else to go, and I worried about you." That's bullshit,)) Link thought silently. ((She is definitely not herself.)) "Master..."

"Stop calling me that, Navi. Since when did you become all...serene?"

"I don't understand."

"Cut the crap and tell me why you're really here." Navi floated in front of his face, and Link imagined the tiny little eyes he could not see glaring at him with mild amusement and frustration. It was the way he had always imagined them. Tonight, however, was different. In reality those little eyes of hers were glazed and motionless, and by some odd force of magic, Link knew. In no more than a blink of an eye, he reached out and pinched the little fairy between his fingers until he felt the warm liquid spill down his fingertips and onto his wrists, the piercing screams of agony doing no more than irritate him. By the Goddesses, when had he lost his soul? He knew perfectly well the answer to that question.

Link looked down at his hand, preparing to wipe the fluid off, and remembered where he really was. "Everyone's trying to spy on me...." he said quietly to himself.

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"How is she holding up?" Rauru glanced up at the solemn face of an aged Impa, then looked down to her side and gave a small wink to the seemingly tiny Forest Sage.

"She is much better today, but I fear she is still in quite a bit of shock," Rauru stated as he offered the seat next to him. Impa sat down beside Rauru on the huge, suede davenport while Saria looked longingly at the big, wooden doors that held the sleeping Princess Zelda.

"I guess that is what's to be expected," the green-haired girl said sadly, finally joining Rauru and Impa on the couch. It was quite a shock to her as well when she heard the news. Link, whom she thought was at one time her best friend, so kind and gentle- was a frightening mass of insanity.

She didn't blame him, much. He had gone through a lot after all, but unfortunately he hadn't been strong enough to deal with it.

"Let me go see if she's asleep. If not, I'm sure she would enjoy your company very much." Rauru stood and proceeded quietly through the doors, listening for the quiet breathing of the princess.

"Rauru? Is that you?"

"Yes, my dear. Impa and Saria are here to see you, if you wish it."

"That would be very nice, let them in." Rauru left her chambers and returned almost immediately with the two Sages.

"Zelda!" The little green-haired girl leapt onto the princesses's bed and put her arms around her tightly. Zelda smiled and returned the embrace, relieved that her friends were here to comfort her. Impa walked over to her bed and gently stroked Zelda's golden hair.

"I am so you glad you are finally here," Zelda almost sobbed. Rauru quietly left the chamber and closed the door behind him, leaving the three women to themselves. ((I am glad they remain loyal to Zelda...)) Rauru thought silently, beginning to feel a dark cloud of sorrow and guilt formulate within his troubled mind.

"Zelda," Saria said pleadingly, "tell us what really happened. We must know." Zelda closed her eyes and breathed a heavy sigh of nervousness, not knowing exactly where she should begin.

"Link...he..he's not..."

"Do not fret, child. There is an absolute power that lies within the three Goddesses, and because you are in some mysterious way connected to that power, they will be watching over you for all eternity. As long as you hold their spirits close to your heart, they will be there to guide you," Impa said reassuringly. Zelda sighed again, but with more relief than nervousness. She sat up on her pillow and held Saria tightly.

"Link lost faith in the Goddesses somewhere along the line, and without the help of their guidance, went completely..." Zelda bit back the tears that threatened to come gushing out at any moment, and continued. "Went... completely insane."

"Please Zelda, go on. I must know...what happened to my friend. To our friend." Saria looked up at her almost helplessly, and Zelda could not resist the stinging tears as they poured out down her pale cheeks.

"I can't. It hurts too much...I..." Impa wiped a tear off Zelda's face and gave her a look of understanding. Zelda closed her eyes again and tried once more to say what she'd been dying to tell someone. Rauru had not asked her the specific details, wanting to let her rest and compose herself before she bled her heart out. The instant he heard she had been attacked, he came dashing to her rescue with healing potions and anything he could think of that would sooth her. It had only been four days and five nights, but this was a very delicate matter. Especially under the circumstances in which it happened...

"Alright, just please, bare with me. What exactly have you heard?" Saria looked down at Zelda's hands and shed a lone tear of her own. Then she looked up into Zelda's face and tried to give her a reassuring smile, but could not.

"Well, I heard that Link tried...to kill..you." Saria had trouble believing that this had been true, but the evidence of it was almost overwhelming and it upset the Kokiri girl immensely. Zelda breathed in deeply and quickly and rolled her eyes into the back of her head, alarming both Sages.

"Rauru! Help!"

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Navi flitted to the window and sat upon the sill....

"Master."

"For the hundredth time, you little glowing ball of-"

"Hey, psycho. You have a visitor," the Hyrulian Soldier called through the little barred window of Link's cell. He then turned to the frantic red-head standing beside him, and gave her a wary look. "Uhh, miss, before you go in there..."

"I know."

"Well, yeah, it's just...that wacko's been hallucinatin' since the day he got in here, and if ya ask me, I haven't the tiniest inkling why the dear Princess hasn't put him out of his misery yet."

"Do you know... exactly what happened?"

" Not a clue, miss. They won't say a word about it. I wasn't there when it actually happened, so the only people who know about it are two other soldiers and the head of the Royal Guard. Oh, Princess Zelda of course, but I doubt she's uttered a word since it's happened."

"That's very odd."

"Let me tell you, if it was really that bad, I'm sure she would've executed or at least exiled this idiot-"

"Please, let me see him now." The guard gave her a suspicious look but relented and opened the door. Malon walked quietly into the cell and foolishly pulled the door closed behind her. She hadn't seen Link for at least six weeks, and was irritated at his disappearance. After making a routine milk delivery to the castle and overhearing the head of the Royal Guard say something about Link being locked up here, she immediately snuck her way down to the dungeon cells. She was surprised the guard had received her so openly, but didn't let it worry her. She decided she would get to the bottom of this, now. "Link..."

"I didn't mean to squash the little bug, but I couldn't stand her anymore. I know she was sent here by-"

"Link, stop it. It's me, Malon. What's happened to you?" Though there was little light, Malon gasped when Link looked up into her eyes from the corner he was huddled in. The look alone on his face was enough to give the poor girl a heart attack, and what was worse, the color of his eyes. They had become a crimson red, and the very sight of him made Malon's stomach knot up. Then, without warning, Link lunged at her and backed her against the wall, covering her mouth before she had time to scream and alert the guard. With his other free hand he pinned both of her wrists above her head and pressed his entire body into hers.

Placing his smirking mouth mere inches from her ear, he whispered hotly, "Why do you tempt me, Malon?" All she could do was stare at him, tears spilling from her eyes uncontrollably while her body shook in complete terror. Link latched onto her earlobe with his teeth and started to grind his hips into hers, but when she closed her eyes and tried to turn her head away from him, the smirk disappeared from his face and he growled with anger. Releasing her, he walked calmly to the heap of potato sacks in the corner and fell into them.

"Tell me what possessed you to come here," he said quietly. At his words, Malon collapsed to the ground, sobbing and shaking. After she had regained some semblance of control, she stood up and bravely went to crouch beside him. Link was surprised at her boldness, but said nothing.

"I know that was not you, Link. You would not harm me."

"What makes you so sure? I am unpredictable," he said flatly. She took his head in her hands and pulled him into her lap, stroking his hair softly. "You have a lot of nerve, acting so brave," Link finally said, subconsciously relaxing at her touch. She was half surprised and half relieved that he allowed her to do this without losing control again.

"You are not yourself, tell me what has happened to you?"

"You've never believed me before, why should you believe me now?" Link lay motionless in Malon's lap, reveling in the human contact he had not known he'd been yearning.

"I've always wanted to believe you, Link, I just didn't know how. Now that...I'm here, I think it's all become clear to me. I do believe you. " At her words, Link's recently closed eyes snapped open and he turned his head up to look at her. Malon gasped when she saw that his eyes had returned to normal. What she saw in them before couldn't have been a trick of the light, could it?

"Why do you like me?"

Malon snorted as if it were obvious.

"Why would you ask such a stupid question?" Link relaxed into her lap again and closed his eyes, trying to think of how he should go about this.

"Now that you know it's all true..what I've done...don't I frighten you?"

"Are you talking about this life, or the one before it?" Malon absently stroked his greasy, blonde hair. Link's mind told him that the question was supposed to be funny, that he was to laugh, but it didn't transfer to his face. ((So she really does believe me.))

"What you did in your past life was not bad. You saved everyone in Hyrule, and I'm sorry I can't remember it."

"You were not meant to. Nor was anyone. Just me and..."

"Her Royal Highness."

"You don't like her much, do you Malon?"

"We've never been on good terms."

"I suppose the same can be said for myself. At least, now it can." Malon scrunched her forehead in wonderment, and decided now was the time.

"I need you to tell me everything, Link. I need to know." Link sighed and without warning, abruptly removed himself from Malon's embrace and paced around the small, square cell. Malon just sat there in curiosity, determined to learn the truth.

"Well, where shall I start? Shall I start from the utmost beginning, or the point where I almost murdered the Princess Zelda?" Link asked sarcastically, somehow feeling a bit invaded. Who was he kidding? He had no one to blame but himself.

Malon's eyes widened in complete shock. Who would have known? The secrecy of the whole ordeal was astounding; she didn't know how the Princess pulled it off.

"Ok, I'll decide myself, since you seem to be incapable of words at the moment. As you know, the Princess sent me back in time after I had 'saved Hyrule.' What I didn't tell you was that when I got back, I was supposedly destined to travel through the lost woods and end up in a place called Termina. However, because of my...shall we say...predicament, my destined path was altered."

Malon looked at him with an expression that told Link she was beyond confusion.

"Ok, I'll start before that, then. I'll tell you what really happened in the water temple." All of a sudden the cell door opened and the guard came in to retrieve the red-head. Malon's head snapped up and she stared at the frantic guard.

"Gotta go, lady. Now."

"No! I can't go!" While Malon and the guard argued, Link made his way to a corner of his cell and disappeared among the shadows. Crawling silently along the wall, he eased his way past the distracted guard and out the cell door without the other two noticing. ((That was so fucking easy.)) Link felt a stirring in the pit of his stomach and felt the presence within him retreating into nothingness once more.