neeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeew chapter, people!! yipee!!

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Later that night, Marth crept silently down to the small cell that contained Roy and Zelda. He was quite pleased to see that the two of them had managed to fall asleep... Zelda lying in Roy's loose embrace. That was what he'd been expecting, of course--he'd spread some sleeping powder around their cell earlier; which caused them to slip into a doze for several hours. Smirking, the Prince turned and walked back up the flight of steps.

"Well?" Malon asked, once her brother returned to her bedroom. Marth grinned and nodded, and the princess immediately left the room, making a bee line for the library (she'd been told that that was where Link was).

Indeed, she saw him sitting in one of the chairs, slightly slumped over. At the sound of her footsteps, Link looked up. "Have you seen Darryl?" he asked.

"Erm...no, I'm afraid not," Malon responded. She took a deep breath, then slowly said, "I hate to be the bearer of bad news, Link, but I...well, I bring bad news, I'm afraid."

Link stood up. "What is it?"

"Well...it's about...Zelda," Malon answered, choosing her words with caution. "She and Roy were both imprisoned earlier today."

"Why?!" Link demanded.

Malon gave a simple, solemn shrug. "I'm not sure, exactly...your mother got into a rather terrible quarrell with the two of them...they started talking back a bit...and so she got incredibly angry and threw them into a cell. I, myself, attempted to stop it by sticking up for Zelda and Roy. But alas..." She sighed. "Your parents turned deaf ears towards my pleading words."

Link looked worried, then grimaced darkly. "It's easy to tell that you never liked Zelda...how do I know you're telling the truth?"

"Ask Roy," Malon said. She sat down on a plush couch, and said, "Speaking of Roy, there's something else I think you should know about..."

"What now?"

"Well, you know Roy's always had this sort of...well actually, you probably wouldn't know, but Roy's been infatuated with Zelda for some time, now. You see, I'm left only with the assumption that Zelda has been trying to make him jealous, using you... Marth and I went just went down there to see how thing's were going, and we saw the two of them...how should I put it...lost in each other." The princess gave Link a provocative glance.

Link sank back down into his chair. "You can't be serious!" he choked.

"I'm deadly so, I'm afraid," Malon sighed wistfully. "I myself was rather shocked about the whole thing, and I asked Zelda about you...she seemed a little annoyed by my interruption, but said that she..." Malon winced slightly. "She said she really couldn't care less about what might happen to you."

The prince stared at her, as Malon's words began to slowly sink in.

"So then I told her that she could be sentenced to death for such words against the prince," Malon continued. "But she didn't really seem to care...it was all Roy, Roy, Roy. She's finally let her feelings out." Small tears came out of Malon's eyes. "I'm sorry, Link. I understand how much this must hurt you, but I couldn't stand to let it just go on right under your nose!"

Slowly, Link shook his head. "Don't apologize, Malon. She's hurt me more than you ever will. Just please, get out...leave alone for a...while."

"Of course." Turning to walk out the door, Malon grinned. The worst was over.

The princess headed slowly towards her room. Humming softly to herself, Malon started to undress. She might as well take a bath before performing the ominous deed that laid before her.

Peach came walking past Malon's bedroom, and heard soft singing coming out of it. Scowling in annoyance at the princess's glee, Peach walked on. She was ready to turn left around the corner, when Margaret came running into her.

"What is it, Margaret?" Peach asked.

"It's Link!" Margie cried. "I was walking past the library just now, and I heard crying coming from behind the door! At first I thought it was Nick because I was afraid he found out that I'd accidentally smashed his portrait of Princess Malon, but I was wrong and it was LINK!"

"Link? Crying?!" Peach asked incredulously. "Are you sure?" She'd never seen her brother cry before.

"Yes, I opened the door the tiniest bit, and I saw him sobbing crazily in the library! Peach, you've got to go console him! I'm only a child, I'd only make him feel worse!"

"Um...well, I guess it...okay." Peach turned right, and walked quickly towards the library. She couldn't even begin to imagine what could make Link cry. The princess began to imagine the worst as she finally wrenched open the library doors.

"What're you doing here?" Link asked, looking up from his postion on his chair.

"Well, it IS our library, and you ARE crying," Peach answered, walking in and sitting in a chair facing him. "Link, you're a complete mess!! What ever is the matter?!"

"Nothing that would interest you," Link sniffed, turning away.

"Link, my brother is in a fit of sobbing hysterics, and I've never seen him do this before; at least not at such an age! Of course I want to know what's happened! Just tell me what it is!"

Taking a deep breath and trying to stop his tears from flowing, Link looked up at his sister. "It's Zelda."

Peach's eyes widened. "She's dead..."

"No, but I wish she was!!" Link cried in frustration.

"What on earth do you mean?! I thought that you--"

"I thought I did too!" Link interrupted. "But that was only until I found out that I'm just...she was just...she used me!"

"What do you mean 'used' you?" Peach demanded.

"Sh-she was attempting to make Roy jealous," Link sobbed, running his hands through his hair in desperation. "They're doing fine by themselves now, just fine! Trying to make him jealous!! B-by making it look as if she loved me!"

"She does love you!" Peach insisted.

"How would you know?!"

"Well you how do YOU know she doesn't?! Where did you hear this ridiculous story?! Did Zelda tell you herself?"

"Of course not," Link muttered. "Malon told me."

Peach hesitated. She almost laughed, but knew it would unbelievably unkind of her to do so right now. "Malon? And you believed her??"

"I had to," Link insisted. "She told me to ask Roy if I didn't believe her, and besides, it all fits!"

"What fits?"

"The servant girl 'falling in love' with a Prince! Coincidental, isn't it? That I'm a rich royal, and she's a penniless servant! That's just perfect how it would've worked out for her, isn't it?!"

"Link, you know it's not like that!"

"I don't!" Link shotued. "And what d'you know? You didn't hear Malon w-when she told me! She feels bad for me! I should've paid her more attention than I have been--it's easy to see that she really cares for me!"

"If she's so broken up, why was she singing just a--" Peach stopped in mid-sentence. Something had just clicked. Immediately, she stood up and swept out of the room. Link stayed in the library, continuing to torture himself with the lies Malon had guiltlessly fed him.

Peach walked swiftly past the stairway to the kitchen and stopped when she saw Scarlett. "Excuse me, but have you seen Princess Malon recently?" she asked.

"No, not since yesterday," Scarlett answered.

The princess continued on her way, then stopped. It occured to her that she didn't know where Malon was, and couldn't do anything to stop her. Peach didn't know what Malon was up to, but she had to be doing something bad.

She heard a door shut quietly to her right. Snapping her attention towards it, Peach ran towards the door and wrenched it open. She could see feminine figure walking down the stairs, holding a rather bulky object.

Malon reached the foot of the steps, and unsheathed the sword she'd brought. Roy and Zelda were still asleep; completely unaware that they were to be meeting their deaths in the not-too-distant-future.

Quietly, Malon opened the cell door. She raised the sword, when suddenly, someone grabbed her around the neck. The princess screeched in shock as the sword was knocked from her hands. The grip on her neck loosened, and Malon turned to see who had nearly throttled her. "PEACH!"

"Yes, do you want to tell the whole world?"

Malon lunged forward, but Peach reached her first, and shoved her against the wall. Malon struggled, but Peach held her there tightly.

"What do you want?!"

"You're going to listen to me, and what I have to say," Peach answered darkly. "I'd like to know what you were doing down here at this time of night with my father's sword in your hands!"

"I was--I merely just came down to see how Zelda was--"

"Don't give me such filthy lies!" Peach growled. "I can see right through you! You'd best start coughing up the truth! Link told me all about the little story you gave him, and let me tell you something--you've gotten him a tad more than 'upset' about it!! Going and telling him Zelda doesn't love him!"

"That was the point!" Malon blurted angrily. "Besides, it doesn't matter anymore! She thinks that he's engaged to me!!" She suddenly stopped.

Peach's expression turned even angrier (if that was at all possible). She looked from the sword to Malon, who she was still pinning against the wall. "So you thought you were going to kill her, hm?" Peach asked sourly. "Just bump her off, perhaps Roy too, and just skip away from it all? Do you know how stupid that was?!"

Malon's mouth twitched, but she still remained silent.

"And I've got another question! Just what makes you think that if you kill Zelda, Link will love you?!"

"He'd never know I killed her!" Malon shrieked. "He'd never know!"

"He would if I told him!" Peach screamed. "And this little meeting of ours isn't going to stay secret for long!"

"We'll have to see about that one!" Gathering up all her strength, Malon lifted her feet off the ground and shoved them against Peach roughly. Then she leapt on top of her, slamming her into the gritty floor.

Malon got to her feet and ran towards King George's sword. She walked back to Peach and thrust it at her. Peach barely managed to roll out of the way, quickly getting to her feet. She pulled a brass shield off the wall and held it up.

Yelling in fury, Malon swung the sword repeatedly. Peach managed to block all the shots; but just scarcely.

Starting to breath heavily, Malon lowered her arm. "If...I kill all three of you with this sword, no one will--"

"You've gone insane!" Peach shouted. "What do you think you're doing?!"

"It's called blind with rage!!" Malon screeched.

"No," came a voice. "It's called stupid." A large cooking pan came out of apparently no where, and whacked Malon's head. Subsequently, the princess collapsed to the floor.

Peach looked up to see Scarlett and Sophie; the first clutching the iron pan, and the latter holding a wooden roller.

"How did--How'd you..." Suddenly, Peach's eyes rolled back and she fainted.

Scarlett walked towards Malon and lifted her arm. "Well, she's not dead...still a pulse. That's good, I s'pose. Wouldn't want to be charged with murder."

"But you'll be hung for attacking a princess!" Sophie squeaked.

"No I won't," Scarlett said. "She literally doesn't know what hit her!"

Zelda stirred, and slowly stood up; Roy's arms slipping off her (he was still snoozing away). She stared at the sight before her. "What in Din's name happened here?!"

"Oh, Zelda!" Scarlett cried. "You wouldn't believe it! Princess Malon's done the most monstrous thing--she got into a huge fight with Princess Peach, and they nearly killed each other!"

"We heard a commotion coming from down here, so we ran down the steps and hid behind the doorway," said Sophie. "We overheard their conversation, and--oh, Zelda!! Princess Malon's gone and told Prince Link that you don't love him anymore!!"

"And then Princess Malon said that she had convinced you that Link was engaged to her," Scarlett said. "So we're telling you now--it's not true!!"

"WHAT?!" Zelda shouted, her eyes widening. The news hit her like a ton of bricks. "Then Roy was set up?! Goddesses, I've got go find Link!!" Rushing up the stairs to find the Prince, Zelda nearly crashed into the door that led into the hallway...oops.

"This is terrible!" Sophie cried, pulling at her hair. "Just horrid!"

"So it is!" Scarlett wailed, also pulling at Sophie's hair. "But come on, we can't just stand here doing nothing...we'd better see that Princess Peach is taken care of!"

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"Unbelievable," Din muttered.

"What?" asked Nayru.

"THE THREE OF US GO AND GIVE ZELDA HAND, PEACH, NAMELY, SAVE HER LIFE, AND HOW DOES SHE REPAY US?!"

"In...rupees?" Farore joked.

"BY USING OUR NAMES IN VAIN!!! HOLY ELVES!! HAVE THEY NO SHAME DOWN THERE?! DYLAN'S DONE THIS!! SHE'S LEFT A BAD IMPRESSION!!"

"Calm down, Din, and stop making such a din," Farore said. "She was just really worried about Link...relax."

Sighing, Din sat down. "All right, I guess I should just be glad that Impa and the others can breathe, now..."

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sry its been taking me so long 2 update, lately!! i cant help it!! but i hope that chapter was suitable...plz review!!