Broken
A Knight in Shining Armor

Rated:: PG-13

Summary:: A princess is becoming broken and she is in need of a bodyguard. When a certain ex-assassin comes and aids her in her quest, will love cross between them or will betrayal tear them apart? {Malink}

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Light began to filter through the glass window, giving auburn hair a healthier shine. There was a soft knock and the Princess groaned.

"Five more minutes..." she muttered, placing the pillow over her head to avoid hearing the knocking.

Zelda soon barged in, this time dressed in peasant clothes. She wore a clean white bonnet, a long, dark dress which was sleeveless, perfect for the summer weather. She wore white stockings underneath it, along with matching shoes. "More like five hours." She laughed, pulling the pillow away.

Malon almost let out a string of curse words, but was interrupted with the weight of a pillow hitting her across the head.

"And don't you curse, potty mouth!"

Malon grumbled several incoherent mumbles before lifting her head off of the mattress. "What is it, Zelda?" she snapped, groggy.

The lady-in-waiting merely chuckled. "We're going to the village, Mizu*, to post the advertisement there first. A lot of tourists and the population is quite big, so I'm sure no one will miss it."

The Princess shook her head, "They always find a way to ignore it..."

The blonde let out a bark of laughter, causing Malon to shiver slightly. "Not unless your father posts it up all over the place. Someone's bound to notice it!"

Malon paused to think at that. What Zelda said was true...

"Alright then. Let's get ready."

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"Are you ready to get out, milady?"

Malon nodded curtly. She was dressed in hunter green casual clothes (for a princess), the exquisite designs setting off the alarm that she, indeed, was rich. Her hair was tied in a low ponytail, the tie a lovely shade of green. A bracelet occupied her right wrist, the pearls glinting off the sun's rays. As she stepped out of the white carriage, with the help of Zelda, she gazed at the scenery before her. A small crowd had gathered to see what was going on. They all gasped, however, when they found out that the girl before them was none other than the princess.

"Princess! Please, lay your hand on my son!"

"Princess, please! Touch the hem of my cloak!"

That was all that she heard. "Princess, please do this!" or "Princess, please do that!" It got her really annoyed. All of them wanted her to touch them. All they would do would brag to their friends on how a regal woman actually touched them. Of course, they would stretch the truth and probably say the princess came to visit them on an important matter...but that was only used for the gullible people.

She ignored them and brushed on. Zelda turned to tell all of them that the Princess was busy and that she had really important matters to attend to. After that, the crowd drifted away, minus a few young men who were charmed by her fragile beauty.

They were wandering down the path when Malon noticed that the men were still following her. "Tell them to leave me alone."

Zelda attempted to do so, but they ignored her and pushed on. She ended up in a nearby pond, due to the shoving they had all done. "MALON, RUN!"

"Aw, crap..." Malon muttered. "Here we go again..."

In one fluid motion Malon was off sprinting, the men chasing her like dogs. This happened quite frequently, so she was used to it. Sort of. Her father never liked this happening, so that's why he always restricted her from going to the villages. Especially Mizu. Malon passed several shops, the shouts and hoots from the men behind her continuing like a wave of water. It just kept rushing at her...

"Shit." she hissed.

She was stuck in the town square and she was cornered...

"Princess! Come date me please!" a desperate male cried out, reaching for the hem of her skirts.

She backed up before she spotted a random guy eyeing a vase at the local antique shop. Coming up with a "brilliant" plan, she ran in his direction before taking his chin towards her face and kissing him. As soon as she let go, she faked a sob. Screw being a princess...she was born to be an actress!

"Where were you, honey!?" she cried, faking a cry. "I was looking for you all over the place!"

The man gave her a look of surprised, but said nothing. There were several "boos" from the men and "come on!", but nevertheless, they left her alone. She smirked. It had worked. She had kissed some random stranger, but hell, she got rid of them, right?

She turned in the direction of the man she had just kissed and looked him over. He had aqua blue eyes, a charming smile, and beautiful blonde hair. He was dressed in plate armor and she inwardly melted. He was like one of those fairy tale knight in shining armor guys. He grinned at her amusedly.

"Thanks," Malon said, flashing him a rare smile. "For sticking up as my boyfriend, I mean."

"Sure," he answered, returning to looking at the vases. He was about to say something to her, but was rudely interrupted.

"MALON!" a feminine voice cried. Malon snapped her neck around to see Zelda running in her direction, still slightly wet and muddy.

"Hey, Zelda." Malon cried. She stepped in her friend's direction.

"Did you fend them off? Show them a piece of your mind?"

She nodded. "In a way, yes."

"Come on, let's go! Your dad's posting the advertisement for the whole bodyguard thing!"

"Oh!" Malon cried, as she was grabbed by the arm and dragged away. She turned to face the mysterious man and cried, "Sorry again! What's your name, by the way?"

"Link!" He cried at the Princess. "What's yours?"

Unfortunately, she was already out of ear shot when he asked the question. Link sighed. It always seemed that he never caught any of the pretty ladies' names. Pity.

After a few moments of constant thinking, he asked himself, "Bodyguard, hunh?"

A/N:: There! Link's in there! Finally! O_O; Someone wanted Link to enter, so I made it happen. x] Anyway, the next chapter is (hopefully) going to be longer. To make up for this one, I mean. Then again, maybe it won't. XD

Reviewing Replies::

Chel Bel:: Yes, I updated this fast. XD I'm in the mood for writing this week. Let's hope it doesn't go away. ;)

Kon Hoshi:: Hehe. Thanks!

Feskan:: Wee! Glad you like it! =D