They don't exist! How can Link even think of that? It's a story and she tried to scare me! The girl's got some magical powers, it's got to be that… No one could do this with--

"Roy…" He turned around as he heard his name.

"What!?" The general flared up again.

"I'm sorry… about what I said." Link stood on his doorway, looking at his feet. His voice sounded guilty. "I'm so sorry."

Talk to him! Tell him!

Roy didn't answer. He looked at the text on his wall.

I can tell Link. He wouldn't think I'm weak or something… He knows me. I need to speak about it…

"Please, forgive me, Roy." The redhead nodded.

Speak! Speak about it!

Roy hesitated. He was quiet for a moment, like keeping his breath. Then he sighed and said:

"Link, close the door. I need to speak with you."

The elf was surprised that Roy wanted to open his heart, it was extremely rare. He usually kept his weaknesses inside, trying to get rid of them. And now, he wanted to tell Link about his fear… The Hylian looked at his general.

He closed the door and went sitting on Roy's bed, waiting for the young redhead to start. They were quiet for a long time, the general trying to keep himself together and Link waiting for him to start.

"When I was only a kid …" Roy started. His voice was quiet, he was embarrassed. He stood his back to Link, so that his beloved couldn't see his red face. "…I had a nanny. It was because my father was too busy to rule Ertruria and my mother had died of diphtheria when I was nothing but a baby."

He clenched his fist. This wasn't easy.

"I was with her all the time. Day and night. She was like a mother to me. One day, she had to go to see her family. She lived very far from Ertruria, so my father gave her a vacation of two weeks. I was lost for that time… I had no one."

He felt a tear rolling down his cheek, but wiped it off quickly.

"When she came back, she was totally different. She had lost weight, her hair was grey, her face pale. She looked so sad.... One night, when she put me to sleep, she told me about her daughter, who was haunted… That's just so crazy! Like ghosts exist!? … And they'd tried everything to make the 'ghost' go away. It just followed her daughter, teasing her and hurting everyone around her. The 'ghost' haunted happiness, it made people fight and hurt each other, destroyed houses, broke up lovers,…" Roy swallowed his tears. "…Finally they'd thrown her daughter out of their house, …telling her not to come back ever again." The redhead was quiet for a moment. "…My nanny's heart was broken. Her own daughter, and she could do nothing. In a few years, she died… In her sorrow." The general felt tears rolling down his cheeks, but he didn't care anymore. He had opened his heart to Link, who listened his eyes wide.

"Roy…"

"And you know what was the name of that girl!?" Roy turned around, his eyes flaming of anger and sorrow. "ESTHER!!" His tears fell on his breastplate.

God, Roy. You scare me.

"Roy…" Link stood up and took the general's head to his hands. "I'm so sorry." He said and kissed the boy's lips, tasting the salty tears. Roy answered and held Link tight. He felt the pain again, the pain of losing her.

"You don't know what it's like… I found her in her bed and she was so cold and pale… She wasn't breathing! And my father didn't even care. And now--" Roy held the Hylian even tighter. "And now… I'm afraid I'm going to lose you too…" His voice was nothing but a small whisper, he was afraid and vulnerable. His heart had been opened and all the contents of it had been poured to Link.

Link didn't know what to do. He was shocked about Roy's past and lost about what he should do to comfort him. He just didn't know. The Hylian held him, letting his tunic moisten from the boy's hot tears.

"I love you, Roy." He whispered so quietly to Roy that only the boy could hear it. It was meant only for him, no one else. The general looked at him, his eyes wet from his tears. Then he kissed him with so much love that Link realised: the redhead was telling him that he loved as well.

---

Esther sat on the couch, Peach was changing her bandages. She looked around the living room and the smashers, who went to the teleporter and came back. It was unbelievable that they let her stay in this house, they cared for her. She thought of her mother. She hadn't heard of her ever since she was eleven.

And It had been quiet as well. It hadn't hurt anyone yet and she hoped it wouldn't as long as they were going to stay here with these lovely people. Esther was so happy to be around them. They were all so friendly, she loved the small pokémons that spent most of their spare time with her. She caressed them and loved them. Especially she loved the small yellow pokémon. Esther thought of its name for a while. It was Pichu. Oh, how she would want to take it with her. She'd have someone to love and care of. But she couldn't. It was already jealous. It might do something to her precious Pichu.

"There you go. Your knee's going to be better than new in just a few days!" Peach said happily. She was glad that the girl hadn't hurt herself worse.

"T-thank you." She smiled. Pikachu had been sitting on a chair for the whole time Peach had changed her bandages. He jumped to Esther's arms and spoke in his own pokémon language.

You are all so sweet and loveable…

---

He jumped backwards and used his Shield Breaker. Sheik ran towards him, but rolled around and hit him from behind. Marth flew on his face. He got up and hit the Sheikah's foot and he jumped backwards. Sheik used his chain to attack the prince from distance, but Marth countered his attack. The ruby-eyed man got the damage of his own attack and flew on his back to the ground. Marth ran towards him to give him a strong smash, but he rolled behind the prince and hit him with a smash. Then he turned back to Zelda and used Din's fire. Marth had no chance against the long-range attack and he got the hit. He ran again towards her, ready to attack.

Zelda realised that if she got one hit from the blue-eyed warrior, she'd be a goner. She jumped right before Marth's smash hit the ground. The Fire Emblem warrior jumped behind her, he knew that he'd need only one smash. He got close enough in the air to attack the princess, who fell down. He fell on top of her and used a smash. Zelda screamed as she flew to the sky.

They were both teleported back to the Smash Road.

"Oh, what a match!" Zelda said, smiling her kind smile.

"Yeah, it was a good fight."

"Um… Marth?"

"Yes?" The prince looked at her.

"What happened when we were having breakfast?" She said, trying to hide her curiosity.

"Oh, you mean that when Roy ran off?"

"Yes." She was a bit embarrassed to ask, because it was none of her business.

"Link made him upset."

"Because of…?"

"Of Esther."

"Oh." Zelda was quiet for a while. "But why would he flare up like that when you spoke about poltergeists? I always thought he didn't believe in supernatural…"

"He doesn't. I don't know why he got so mad. She's just a crazy girl."

"Mm." They both thought of Roy. And they both knew everything wasn't all right. They felt awkward in the silence.

"Shall we go back to the building?"

"Yes. Let's go." Zelda followed the blue-haired prince back to the teleporters. They jumped on them and came to the living room.

Link was hanging from knives that had pierced his tunic on the wall. He struggled to get down, but the knives had gone down to the wooden wall almost completely. Esther was sitting on the couch and screaming:

"No! Don't hurt him! No! Please don't! Please! Stop! I beg of you!"

Marth saw another knife, floating from the kitchen towards Link. He took a hold of it, but couldn't stop it. He used all his strength to make the knife stop, but it was no use. Zelda stood near the teleporters, casting a spell, but something always interrupted her chanting.

Suddenly the knife turned around and Marth flew back. His back hit the wall and the knife went through his palm to the door. He was shocked. Soon the horrible pain reached the prince's brain and he tried to get the knife off. It had gone down to the wood almost completely, just like all the knives around Link. There was no way he could get it off. He looked at his hand to see how the red blood flowed down his hand and the door and dripped to the floor.

"Please stop now! Don't kill them! Stop!"

ESTHER HAS BEEN WARNED

SHE IS MINE burned to the wall from nowhere. Esther looked at it in horror, her face was as white as a milk bottle.

Zelda ran to Link, asking him is he okay and then to Marth. She tried to use a spell to get off the knives, but something more powerful held them back.

"I'll go get Ganondorf. He'll get them off. Try to hang in there!"

"Hee-hee." Link said derisively. Marth looked at him in great surprise. "'Try to hang in there?' Very funny, Zelda."

"Forgive her... What on earth happened here?" The prince's hand ached, but he tolerated the pain.

"I just spoke to Esther. I asked her of her past and then suddenly knives started to fly and now I'm here."

"I see. So she's got magical powers too?"

"No!!" The girl shouted. "I didn't do this! Believe me!!"

"I know you didn't do this, Esther." Link said to the girl. "I know what did this. I know who is the one who writes that sentence", the Hylian nodded at the text.

"You-you believe me?" Esther was surprised that someone actually thought her as a sane person.

"Link, can you tell me what's going on?" Marth asked calmly.

"It's a poltergeist. It's a real one. Esther's haunted by a poltergeist, she's been ever since she was born, isn't that right, Esther?"

"Y-yes." The couch started to move and hit Link's feet with an incredible power. He shouted in the pain. Esther started screaming again.

"Stop" Please! Don't hurt him anymore!"

"Link! Don't talk about it!" Marth shouted to the elf. Link felt how his feet were in incredible pain. Esther jumped on her feet and pulled the couch farther away from Link. "I'm so sorry, Mister! I'm so sorry!"

"It's alright." The Hylian said through his teeth.

"Ganondorf came!" Zelda ran to the living room and looked at the girl who pulled the couch farther away from the elf who was in great pain.

"Are you both alright?"

"Yes, I'm fine, but Link isn't." Marth answered. "Get him down first."

Ganondorf walked to the Hylian, thinking that now he could easily break the elf's neck and he could do nothing to stop it. Oh, how he wanted to hit that pretty face with his fist and see the blood… But no, he was here to help him. He took a hold of one of the knives, pulled them and one at a time they slowly came out of the wall.

"These are very hard to get off." He huffed after the third knife. Link was now hanging only from his shoulders, feeling how the blades cut his tunic.

The Gerudo pulled the last two off and Link fell to the floor. Esther ran to him, asking if he was okay. Then Ganondorf went to Marth and pulled the knife from his palm.

"Thank you." Marth said. He still didn't like the Gerudo. He thought that he'd probably never trust him, but they needed to get along.

"You're welcome", Ganondorf said derisively.

"T-Thanks." Link said, looking at him under his eyebrows. The Gerudo King said nothing.

Is Roy okay? Was the first thought that came to Link's mind now that he wasn't hanging on the wall anymore. He stood up and went upstairs as Zelda put bandages to Marth's hand. He'd left Roy in the boy's room. The general had wanted to be alone for a while.

He knocked on the door and heard Roy's broken voice calling him to come inside. He went to the boy's room and closed the door behind him.

"Link! Your tunic!" Roy stood up in surprise, his eyes still showing that he was upset.

"Oh, it's nothing bad. I'll just get myself a new tunic."

"But, where'd that come from!?" The general was ready to kill for Link.

"The poltergeist. It attacked me… Roy, it's real, your nanny wasn't crazy."

"NO!!" Roy held him from his shoulders. "I don't want it to be true! I don't want it to hurt you!"

I love you too, Roy. Link thought as he wrapped his arms around his general.

"It won't hurt me again. Don't worry." He smoothed down Roy's hair. The boy really loved him. And he really loved the boy as well.

"…Stay with me… Don't leave me alone again... I don't want to be without you today." The redhead spoke to his tunic. Link made him sit down on top of the bed and changed his tunic. Luckily he had change clothes in Roy's room too.

As he got the blue tunic on, he saw that the Fire Emblem general laid on his back, thinking something his eyes closed. He said nothing as he went on top of the boy, holding him tight. It felt so good. Just the two of them, no one else.

Thoughts crossed Roy's mind. He held Link in his arms, caressing him at times.

I don't want to lose you, too… I will do everything to protect you from that. Everything! I already lost someone very special to me and I can't bear losing you… He pressed Link tight against himself. I have never felt anything like this… And I want to keep it this way… for now.

"Link…"

"Hm?" The Hylian snorted.

"I just… don't want to lose you." It wasn't easy for him to admit that Link was his weakness. He could do nothing if he lost the elf. But it didn't matter. As long as they were together, everything was fine.

"I don't want to lose you either." When Link said it, his voice was so comforting, it made Roy feel better, feel like nothing could never come between them.

I care for you, Link.

The general closed his eyes and heaved a deep sigh. He had faced his weaknesses and fears and admitted them. Now he needed to learn to live with them.

---

After lunch, everyone was sitting in the living room, thinking of Roy's fiery reaction at breakfast. They had remembered it as they'd sat down around the dining table to eat and now they thought if he was all right. He'd asked for his lunch to be brought to his room, or, Link had asked for that. He'd spent the whole day with the hot-headed young boy.

It had been quiet after the knives had stopped flying. But everyone knew that it would strike again, it was just a matter of time when. And everyone feared Esther. She had almost killed Link and hurt Marth so that he couldn't use his sword. There was something going on. And it wasn't natural.

Peach was sitting near her make-up table, looking at her reflection in the mirror. She was scared, because she'd said badly about the girl to Marth. What if she'd heard it and was now on her way to kill her? The girl in the mirror wasn't a beautiful princess, it was a scared girl, looking pale. She touched the mirror with her finger, trying to feel the image of herself.

She saw how a light blue shadow flashed behind her and she turned around to see if there was someone in her room. It was empty, there was no one.

How foolish of me. My eyes were just playing tricks... I'm so scared that I see things already. There's no way someone could be in my room.

She turned back to look at herself, this time she saw a hand on her shoulder. She froze. The hand was light blue, it had long dirty nails. Peach felt the icy touch, but couldn't look was there really something. She looked at the hand, moving from her shoulder to her neck, slowly, caressing her skin with its sharp nails. The princess shivered, she couldn't even scream. Now the girl had summoned some spirit to kill her, because she was being mean to her before.

Another hand touched the other side of her neck with its icy touch. The chill went through her body, making her unable to move. The hands smoothed down her neck, the skin where they touched was turning wrinkled and blue, dead. They started to strangle her and she finally screamed. Maybe it was survival instinct, trying to reach someone who would come and save her.

I… will… never… talk… about her… again…

Air!… I need… AIR…

…