To LunaticChaos: Actually, I have been reading Evil Link since you first put it up, I just haven't reviewed until now. Heh.and I never said that I like the Holy Knight Link guy more than Evil Link.eh, I forgot the reason. But the point is, evil rules, good grovels at its feet.

To Zerachiel: Thank you for your review, and I love your story. 'Tis beautiful. *hugs a Quill plushie*

And to anyone else who happens upon my humble little story, you will most likely find that this chapter is not nearly as good as the first, but that is only because it has much more dialogue. Personally, I hate dialogue. Don't know why. But anyway, Enjoy (or not)!

~*~*~*~*~*~*~ There was nothing Niar could do to hide the surprise on her face. "Goddesses," she whispered, and put a hand on her horse to steady herself. Realizing she could move again, Niar made the assumption that the man was just as astonished as she was. Quickly regaining her composure, the Gerudo mounted her horse, and was about to spur the graceful animal when the man spoke again.

"You are not Ifalna? But you look just like her." His eyes widened, and the man pulled back his hood the rest of the way, revealing the pale, cavernous face of one who was starving. He had raven black hair, which would have been handsome, had it not been graying from old age. The bloodshot eyes that had frightened her so much not a moment before now held a new, but waning hope. "You mustn't leave! You know who Ifalna is, don't you?" The man called desperately to Niar, rummaging through the deep pockets of his frayed cloak.

Niar turned her head to stare at him, as if having an internal debate on whether to trust him or not. Finally, she turned away and replied in a quiet, sad voice, "Ifalna was my mother." As she said these words, Niar felt a great burden being lifted from her shoulders, and she was all the better for it. "Who are you, to know the name of one long dead?" She asked as a suspicious though entered her head. How many people had known her mother who weren't Gerudos? This man was obviously Hylian, so, unless her mother had been extremely outgoing, he should know nothing of Ifalna. There was a good chance that her parent's deaths were anything but accidental.

The Hylian breathed a sigh of relief, but his mind was quite chaotic. Ifalna didn't have a daughter! She would have told him if she had, right? Yes, of course, Ifalna wouldn't have been able to keep something like that secret from anyone, least of all him. As he reached this final decision, Niar's question registered at last, and he looked up at her, his face full of disbelief. "Dead?" he repeated with a shaky timbre, "But how?" It couldn't be.there was no way. She couldn't be dead! Had he not just seen her a week ago? "Lies, all lies! First you try to trick me into believing you are Ifalna's daughter, and now you tell me she is dead! Even if she is dead, why do you say 'long?' I conversed with her a week ago today."

"I-impossible." Niar's expression was that of shock, but she did not attempt to hide it. "Ifalna Khaliizi died sixteen years ago after falling into the Gerudo Valley, when I was only a few months old. You are the one who lies." Her icy blue eyes narrowed, and she began to unsheathe her stiletto. If the man tried anything, she'd be ready. Niar hadn't gone through all the intense combat training in the Gerudo Fortress for nothing.

A chill wind blew across the field, as if the weather wished to enforce Niar's statement. "Khaliizi," he said thoughtfully, "is not Ifalna's name. Although, she did use it as one of her alias' when." The Hylian trailed off, and cursed under his breath. This just didn't make any sense, unless.

But before he could finish his thought, Niar eyed him disdainfully and curtly replied, "What do you mean by 'alias'? And where do I fit in this whole web of deceit?" The Gerudo sighed and removed her hand from the hilt of her sword. This man was obviously not going to attack her. He seemed to know that he was no match for her superior skills. But at the same time, Niar noticed something else about him, some kind of inner power. There was only one thing that fit that description: magic! She had never seen magic before, only heard of it in the stories that were told by the man who sold Bombchus in the desert.

"Do you really want to know? You know the saying, 'ignorance is bliss.'"

"Goddesses, yes! It's not like I've been sitting around for all these years without ever wondering about my past."

Now it was his turn to sigh. Niar was quite a stubborn girl. "Well, you had better sit down," he started, "because this might take a while."