A/N: Terribly sorry about the long wait. I've been extremely busy with marching band and homework and haven't been able to work on this hardly at all. I have another two weeks of band, and then it's over, so I'll try to get working harder on it then. Anyway, again, please review!

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Predestined Foe

About a year passed since Brock's death, and I never even went near his part of the village again. I never saw Brock's father again, either. Everyone agreed to put the past behind them and move on with life. But the villagers' animosity toward me became dramatically more noticeable as time dragged on. The only thing that didn't change was my friendship with Arvin. He believed me and supported me the entire time. However, I began to get the feeling that his grandmother didn't approve of him seeing me, but I didn't dwell on it.

Yes, we were living rather peacefully considering the circumstances. That is, until one day when the fragile peace was shattered by the vile Link.

I had just returned from one of my daily rampages of the village with Arvin. We had just played a little prank on the beggar man who lived behind a wooden crate. It was one of those rare times in my childhood when I truly felt free and careless. Still giggling, I charged through the doorway of our home and slammed the door behind me. When I paused to catch my breath and wipe the sweat off of my forehead, I noticed Link and my mother standing together, both staring at me as if I were a complete stranger. They were holding hands, and I immediately stopped smiling.

My mother broke away from him and grinned widely. I could see tears streaming down her face.

"Oh, darling, I'm so glad you're here. Something wonderful has happened!" she exclaimed, hugging me and kissing the top of my head.

I kept my straight face. "What?" I asked, my voice sounding rather tedious for a six-year-old.

She wiped the tears from her eyes and thrust her hand in front of my face, showing off a new ring on her finger. Pure joy and excitement danced in her eyes as she spoke. "Link proposed!" she said, holding up her left hand. On her ring finger was a silver ring with a tiny blue sapphire. It was so simple-looking, yet she regarded it as if it were the Triforce itself. "He asked me to marry him! Kiran, you're going to have a father!"

I stared at her angrily. "My father is dead. You told me."

Her smile faded somewhat. "Yes, yes, of course. But… you see, Link will be your stepfather."

I glanced at Link, standing there with a look that appeared to me as a look of self-satisfaction. Suddenly, I wanted nothing more than to wipe that smug grin off of his face.

"He's no father of mine," I said through clenched teeth, pivoting and running toward the door.

"Kiran!" I heard my mother cry after me.

"Let him go," I heard Link mutter before I slammed the door behind me. It wouldn't be the last time I slammed the door on them.

Full of anger and anxious to get as far away from the house as I could, I sprinted aimlessly past the neighbor's houses, not entirely sure where I was going. There were no really secluded areas in the village at this time of day. So I headed toward the one place I hadn't been to for over a year.

I entered the graveyard, relieved to see that no one else was currently there. It was eerily silent, the overcast sky enhanced the gloomy atmosphere. I cringed slightly as I walked past Brock's grave, remembering the guilt I had felt and was still feeling. I continued toward the back of the graveyard, where I sat beneath the giant tombstone of the Royal Family of Hyrule.

'How could she do this to me?' my mind screamed. She knew that I didn't get along with Link. At least, I thought she knew. Perhaps she simply hadn't noticed?

No, I thought. It was too obvious. Link clearly held no warm feelings toward me, nor I toward him. How could she not see it?

A stray tear slid down my cheek and I angrily wiped it away. Now I would be forced to share my mother's love with Link every single day. I wasn't ready for that yet. Couldn't she have at least waited a little bit longer?

However, I had to admit that it was obvious that they were very much in love, and had been for a long time. Who was I to keep them apart?

With that thought, I reluctantly trudged back home, where my mother greeted me with a hug. She surprisingly didn't seem angry, and it appeared as though Link had left.

"Are you all right?" she asked me, and I nodded. She helped me prepare for bed and tucked me in before speaking again.

"I'm sorry, Kiran," she said softly, sitting on my bed. "I know it's very sudden and it came as a shock to you. I shouldn't have told you without warning like that. But… Link's a wonderful person, and I know he'll be a wonderful father. That's why I'm marrying him," she told me.

"He doesn't like me," I protested.

"Oh, Kiran, that's not true," she said. "He likes you... he really does. It's just... you see, honey, Link just has trouble expressing his emotions. He likes to keep them inside. That's just the way he is. The way he's always been." She stopped, staring off in the distance with a soft smile. "I love him," she said softly.

I grimaced, a question burning in the back of my mind. "But what about my real father?" I asked quietly.

My mother's smile disappeared, and she shifted her eyes away. "What about him?"

"Didn't you love him?" I asked.

She hesitated for a moment, staring wide-eyed at me. "I..." she began, her lower lip quivering slightly. "Yes, I... of course I did, honey. But... well, I was very young, and I didn't know him as long as I've known Link…" She trailed off.

"Do I have to call him Father?" I asked, grimacing again.

She smiled. "No, you can still refer to him as Link. But I hope that with time you'll start to think of him as your father."

She kissed me on the forehead and blew out the candle. As she crawled into her bed, I couldn't help but think about her words and feel a little hopeful. Could Link be the one person I had always needed in my life? Could he be a father to me?

But my hopes were destroyed before the night was over. For my dreams that night wiped away all hope that I might have had and replaced it with a newly refueled hatred towards Link.

Something was stirring within my soul; something dark and sinister. Voices, low and ominous, were haunting my dreams, and though I could not understand what they were saying, the message was clear.

Link was the enemy. And he was to be eliminated at all costs.