Thirty: Poison Kiss

Zelda awoke sobbing, choking on her own tears. She could still remember the feel of Link's lips on hers, and then the feeling of ice as the shadows engulfed her. Weeping, she stumbled out of her bed and wandered blindly through the castle, down a staircase and into the courtyard where she sat down on a bench crying.

Aileen appeared in an instant with an arm around her daughter. "Zelda, what's wrong?"

"I had a bad dream," she sobbed. Aileen stroked her beloved daughter's hair, holding her tight.

"Would you like to tell me about it?" Zelda's mother asked, and in a moment, words were bubbling from sniffling Zelda.

"First I dreamed I was a teacher and Link was singing Van Halen's 'Hot for Teacher' and he wouldn't cooperate, and then I ran into him at a library and we decided to see what was behind a book, except it was really a window, and we fell through into another world, and it was like Hyrule, and the Third was there and so was Sheik, except I thought I was in love with Sheik and I said so and he got mad at me, and then there was a battle and the Third and Sheik sent me away with a knight with a broken wrist, and we wound up in a safe house in the lost woods, and then I went to have a bath and there were fairies everywhere and then I went back to the safe house, except it was a temple, and there was an old lady who told me that I needed to learn to love to break the curse, and then after that I was unconscious on the ground and the knight was trying to wake me up, but the knight was Link and we both remembered how we'd gotten to the weird world, and we tried to figure out a way out but we couldn't, so he promised to protect me and then he kissed me, and all the fairies started screaming and a black shadow came out of nowhere and swallowed us and then I woke up," she wailed. "And it was scary."

"Oh Zelda," said Aileen, hugging her daughter. "I'm sorry you had a bad dream… it must have been from shock. There are still a few more hours before we think the sun comes up… I think you should go back to bed. In the morning I'll make you breakfast, and then we'll learn some more and I'll teach you how to switch between the two worlds. Would you like that?"

Zelda sniffled. "Yeah." She then hugger her mother tightly and thanked her. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you up," Zelda apologized. Aileen waved her hand with a smile, dismissing Zelda's apology.

"I don't sleep much anymore anyway. Ever since I realized I don't even need it, I've taken to staying up all night and reading instead. After all, when I return to my body, it won't be especially important that my being is rested, as I'll die."

"Oh, Mom…" Zelda clutched to her mother. "I wish that you didn't…"

"I know, but that's the plan that the goddesses had for me, and I just have to accept it. At least we were able to spend some time together, and we have a while yet together. I don't expect Hylia to remerge for another few months in your world, so we have time."

"Yes," Zelda agreed, standing and allowing Aileen to lead her back towards her room. "We have time."

&-

When Zelda came to the next morning, she felt better and most of the remnants of her stirring and frightening dream were gone. Aileen explained her nightmare away as stress- Zelda had, after all, found herself plopped down in the middle of a loophole in time with no previous warning. Yawning, Zelda pushed herself out of bed, still in the stiff garb of the day before, and gladly shed it for a softer, simpler gown that fit her like a second skin. Sleepily, Zelda opted against slippers and padded barefoot through the castle with its plush carpets and rugs and many tapestries and paintings, this time taking note of her surroundings, trying not to get lost.

Aileen was sitting in the great hall, a steaming plate of pancakes in front of her. And it struck Zelda-

"Where does the food come from?"

"The women bring it when they visit. I prepare it, aided by magic because I hate cooking. Good morning. Feeling better?"

"Yeah." Zelda rubbed her forehead, and then sat down across from her mother. Instantly, a plate appeared before her. Zelda nodded, impressed.

"Do I get to learn to do that?"

"Someday, perhaps. It's not my job to teach you magic, however."

"Then whose?"

"Impa's." Aileen sipped her tea, and Zelda knew that that was the end of the conversation. How Aileen was so sure of this, Zelda didn't know, but she didn't dare to ask. If there was one thing she'd heard over and over again, it was that, for all Aileen's gentleness she had an indomitable will of steel.

Instead, Zelda began to dig in to her pancakes. "What's today?"

"More learning," Aileen stated simply. "As much as we can cram into your head."

&-

That night, Zelda's head was indeed full of facts, but not school facts- facts that she was most certainly notgoing to forget. Aileen was smiling sadly as she stood back from her daughter, who was standing in the center of the spring in the courtyard, on a small stepping stone, clad in her pajamas, the clothes she'd appeared in Hyrule in.

"Are you ready?" Aileen asked her daughter. "Remember, you must come back each night before you go to sleep so that I can teach you."

"I'll come back whenever I can," Zelda replied, her throat thick. "I promise."

"Good." Aileen smiled at her daughter, and then nodded. "Go on, then. You can do it. It's not difficult."

Zelda shut her eyes, thinking hard.

Envision the place you want to be. The memory of Aileen's voice rang in her head, instructions amplified by Zelda's own slight nervousness. Envision your home, where you were last.

Link's house, Zelda said to herself. The Tudor's. I was in my bed last, closing my eyes to go to sleep.

Now release your soul from this world and you will be there in an instant.

Zelda took a deep breath and let herself go with a snap like a rubber band. The next second, she was lying in her bed, blinking, trying to see in the dark. The clock on her bedside table read 12:31 with its luminescent blue numbers- fifteen minutes after she'd fallen asleep. But she was awake now, and she wasn't tired. So Zelda stood, deciding to pay a small visit to the ocean, and walked from her room.

She padded down the stairs, familiarly unfamiliar, and through the dim kitchen to the door. She unlocked it with a quiet click and stepped outside, the sweet sea air engulfing her and tousling her messy bed hair. Zelda stopped for a moment, breathing it in deep, and then padded barefoot down the porch steps and up the path to the top of the incline, sitting down and swinging her legs over the steep edge and resting her heels in the grass. Leaning back on her hands, Zelda admired the crescent moon shimmering on the dark blue ocean, the way the stars reflected in the ripples made by the wind. The crash and roar of the surf coming in was comforting to Zelda- in it, she heard a slow, bittersweet ballad of Hyrule that her mother had sung her one night, one of the ballads of the Hero of Time. Zelda couldn't remember the words, only that it had been very beautiful. She'd have to get her mother to teach her all the old ballads. At least, though, Zelda could remember the tune, and she sat there watching the sea humming it under her breath.

Somewhere far out, Zelda saw dolphins leaping in the water, and she smiled, still humming softly. A lone seagull soared somewhere far out over the water, and let out a keening cry as it swooped to catch a fish. And still Zelda kept humming, contented by the music, the sound of the surf, the beauty of the night.

She didn't know how long she sat out there- five minutes or fifty, but somehow, she didn't really care. The only break in her simple contentment was when she was joined by an unexpected visitor. He sat down next to her so suddenly that it made her jump and stop her humming as she turned, startled, to face him.

"Link," Zelda gasped, putting a hand to her thudding heart. "I didn't hear you come up. You startled me."

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to surprise you." He looked around the beach with a contented smile, the wind tousling his shaggy hair. "It's a beautiful night."

"It is," Zelda agreed, her muscles uncoiling as she resumed her relaxed observation. They sat in silence, lulled by the crash and roar of the surf, and slowly, softly, Zelda began to hum again.

"That's pretty," Link remarked. "But it sounds sad, too. Did you write it?"

"No," Zelda replied softly. "I heard it somewhere a long time ago and the tune has just now come back to mind. I don't remember the words, though…"

"That's a shame," Link stated.

"It is."

Their bodies were slowly creeping closer and closer underneath the light of the growing moon. Sighing, Zelda rested her head on Link's shoulder, and he wrapped an arm around her.

"Sometimes I feel so lost, Link," she stated simply. "Like the whole world's against me."

"You and me both," Link murmured, stroking her hair. "My birthday was nice, really great, but… I don't know. It almost felt like there was something missing."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. Like I'm… I don't know. Incomplete. It's nothing anybody did," he added hastily. "It's just like there's something missing, you know?"

"I understand completely."

She turned to look at him then, watching his profile as he stared thoughtfully out at the sea.

"There's just times, Zelda," he finally sighed. "Times when it feels like I'm utterly alone and always will be."

This shocked Zelda- Link, alone? When he had so many great friends and such a loving family? "Don't say that," she admonished softly. "You have parents who love you, and sisters who idolize you. And you've got wonderful friends, and a place where you belong."

"Impa and Haft love me," Link corrected. "My parents left me at the doorstep of an orphanage when I was just a day old. So often, I wonder why they did it, and who I might be if I'd stayed with them."

They were silent for a while, Link looking out at the sea and Zelda staring miserably at his shoulder, her eyes wet.

"Link, you've turned out to be the best person I've ever known," she finally said. "Don't let the actions of two stupid people make you feel bad about yourself. You're fantastic. You have honor and pride, and you're chivalrous and strong… and you're a wonderful person who will never be alone, no matter how hard you try. There will always be people who love you no matter what."

"People who love me…" Link looked down at Zelda, an expression of shock and stupefaction on his face. "I can't think of anyone who…" His words slowly fell silent as he continued to study her pale face under the light of the moon.

There was something collecting in Zelda's throat that made her next word difficult to speak. "Try," she stated, her voice thick. She watched his eyes, those beautiful blue eyes that she could drown in, saw herself reflected in their unreadable depths as they came closer and closer to hers, and then closed them as his lips met hers slowly, tentatively, questioningly. Zelda returned the soft kiss, slowly wrapping her arms around Link's neck, hand over slow hand. Link cradled Zelda's waist, pulling her to him on the soft grass and deepening the kiss, filling her with new sensations, the feeling overwhelming joy, of belonging. Zelda's soul began to sing and soar, filling every inch of her body with tingling exuberance.

Slowly, Link pulled away from her, looking down at her with his eyes, eyes that seemed to glow.

"Link…" Zelda whispered. "Link, we can't…"

"Why not?"

"If one of us gets hurt, I'd have to go back to my father's house, or maybe even to somebody else's house. I don't want to do that, Link. I want to stay here, with you."

"Then we'll have to be extra careful." He kissed her again, tilting her chin up with a finger, his thumb caressing her cheek.

She wanted to resist but she couldn't. Not while he was kissing her, anyway. Especially not when he was kissing her like this… Link parted her lips and Zelda gasped, pulling away. She couldn't let him. He would be killed.

"No, Link, we can't," she protested, a little more loudly. Link ran a frustrated hand through his hair.

"So you're too good for me? Is that it?"

"No, Link, it's just…" the back of her hand began to burn. Zelda used the pain to keep her grounded, keep her sane, to keep her from falling prey to his intoxicating spell. "Link, if you're with me, you'll be hurt horribly. I don't want to put you through that."

"You won't hurt me, Zelda."

"I won't," she agreed. "But…" the stinging pain on her hand worsened. She swallowed it as best she could. "There's just some things in this world that you and I can't control, and some things that you and I can't face together. And there's things that I…" she gulped, gnashing her teeth against the pain, "…things that I just can't put you through, because I care about you too much."

Link sat back, glaring at the moon. Zelda sat there in agony, unable to move, unable to speak. Finally, he angrily opened his mouth. "Is this about Sterling?"

"What?" Zelda asked, totally taken aback. "No. It's not."

"Then what?" He whirled quickly to face her, his beautiful blue eyes sparkling with hurt. "Why can't we be together?"

The pain in her hand was nothing compared to the pain in her heart. Zelda's throat was filled with agony and despair as she choked out the next words- "I can't tell you, Link. I'm so sorry…"

"Dammit!" He cursed violently, pounding his fist into the ground. "Why not, Zelda? What are you trying to protect? Don't you know that you can trust me? That you can turn to me for anything and I won't shun you or do anything but care for you? Because you're important to me, Zelda, and I'd give my soul for you. If you told me to, I'd swim across this damn ocean." Link violently gestured at the roaring Pacific, anger in every line of his form. "Is that what you want me to do to prove myself to you? Just say the word, Zelda, and I'll be off."

"Don't." Tears were streaming down her cheeks. "Don't make me make this choice."

"So there's someone else, then." Link laid back against the grass miserably. "Some pretty boy up in Napa whose parents are rich and famous, who conveniently was unable to come to the house while your host family and their pathetic adoptive son Link were there, and those cute, clueless little girls. I bet you were just so embarrassed of us. Well thanks, Zelda. It's so nice to know you care about us."

"No, Link, that's not it at all. Link, you're not listening to me. Please, Link, stop it…" Zelda was unable to say any more, and instead cradled her head in her hands, rocking back and forth as she sobbed.

"Are… are you crying?" It was impossible to tell the meaning behind Link's words as he sat up and looked at her. "Zelda?"

"Go away, Link," she sobbed. "Just go."

"Oh, Zelda…" He had gathered her up in his arms in an instant and Zelda was sobbing against his chest, trying to relieve herself of both the physical and emotional agony she was experiencing. He rubbed her back in slow, soothing circles and kissed her hair: "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to make you cry…"

"Just forget about this, Link," she wept. "Forget about everything that's happened tonight."

"I'll forget in the morning," he murmured, pulling her tighter into him. "But for tonight, can't we pretend like there's nothing keeping us apart? Please, Zelda… it's all I've wanted for god-knows how long."

Words came back to Zelda from her dream the previous night in Hyrule, words that flowed from her lips like rolling water. "You tempt the fates of things that cannot be."

And then she stood and fled.

When she arrived in her room, she locked the door, and then went and hid in her bathroom, stripping off her leather glove and grimacing at the sight of the inflamed triforce on the back of her hand. It was oozing blood and pus, emitting a horrible reek. Zelda wrinkled her nose and ran it under cold water, and once the bleeding had stopped, she wrapped her hand in a spare towel and crept downstairs in search of Neosporin and bandages. Link had already returned to bed, apparently- there was nobody outside the house, and nobody in the kitchen, either. Mission completed, Zelda crept back up to her room, where she spent a sleepless night sitting on her window seat and gazing out at the ocean.

The next morning, she left before anybody else was awake, leaving a note on the fridge that she'd gone in early to do research at the library. Armed with a still-steaming toaster strudel and a heart full of anguish, Zelda walked below the rising sun to the train station, the semi-chill morning air clearing her head.

It had been a long twelve hours, Zelda realized as she tried to remember what homework she had. Though in the time of her real world, only sixteen hours had elapsed since Zelda had left school, it felt like much longer. What classes did Zelda have that day, anyway?

She puzzled over it on the train ride up to school and as she walked alone down the streets that were slowly wakening, and thought also the whole time of Link and his actions of the night before.

Why? She asked herself. Why had Link felt the compulsion to do that? He knew as well as she what could happen if they tried a relationship and it failed miserably. If they weren't living in the same house, Zelda would have said go for it. Or, at least, she would have if that stupid Triforce piece hadn't dug its way into her hand. Now she couldn't risk loving anybody- they would be destroyed. Zelda herself wasn't even sure that she would live to see twenty, depressingly enough. Not if the soon-to-be manifestation was half as bad Aileen claimed it was going to be…

"Oh, Mom," Zelda sighed as she turned into school. She walked through campus, thinking- she passed the cafeteria, where the drill team was already practicing inside, doors open, music wafting out on the chill morning air. She walked to the library, and then stopped, thinking- Link would look for her there, of that she was sure. Where could she go, somewhere where she wouldn't be found for a while?

Zelda's eyes landed on one particularly dense tree next to the library. Perfect. She hitched her Prada backpack high on her shoulders and then nimbly climbed up, settling herself on a particularly thick branch that was all but invisible from below and around the tree, but above, Zelda could see the pearly morning sky. She pulled her bag into her lap and thought, following her mother's instructions, hoping, praying, that they would lead her to Hyrule.

Envision the place I want to be, Zelda told herself. Hyrule, the place where I was last.

Now release your soul from this world and you will be there in an instant

Again there was the strange snapping rubber band sensation, and then Zelda found herself in the halls of Hyrule castle. She was running then, calling out for her mother.

Aileen was sitting in the garden, reading a thick tome.

"Zelda?" she asked as her daughter sprinted in. "Zelda, what's wrong?"

"I want to stay here," she cried. "I never want to go back to the world again."

"Did something happen?" Aileen asked, snapping the book shut and standing in concern. Zelda was only able to nod. She presented her bandaged hand to her mother, and in an instant, Aileen understood.

"I'm sorry, Zelda. Did it just randomly do that?"

Zelda nodded, sniffling. Aileen carefully took her daughter's hand, unpeeling the sticky bandage that had congealed to Zelda's skin.

"Let's get this cleaned up," Aileen stated gently. "We'll talk later. Where are you right now in the real world?"

"Hiding," Zelda stated. "School doesn't start for another few hours and I'm sitting in a tree."

"Why are you at school that early?"

Zelda sniffled pathetically, hoping to get out of an explanation. Aileen, however, was not to be deterred. "Zelda?" The older woman raised her eyebrows.

"I couldn't sleep when I got home so I went and sat out and stared at the ocean and then all of a sudden Link came along too and we were talking and then he kissed me and I knew it was a bad idea but I couldn't help it, but then my hand started to really hurt and I understood that it was a sign from the goddesses so I told Link that we couldn't be together and he got angry at me and we had a fight and then I ran away and took a look at my hand and it was a mess you aren't mad at me are you?"

Aileen looked contemplative. "Did you tell Link anything? About the triforce, the goddesses, fate?"

"No… but urrrrgh, Goddesses, was he a jerk!" Zelda made a strangling motion in thin air, screaming through her teeth. "I can't believe some of the things he said!"

"Men can be like that sometimes," Aileen stated wisely. "Let's get that hand of yours cleaned up, that heart of yours taken care of, and then you can go back to school. I'm sorry about this, Zelda. If I could have given you a different future, I would have."

"It's okay, Mom," Zelda stated, and then allowed her mother to lead her out of the courtyard and through the halls of the castle. "I'd tell you that it's okay, even though it's kind of not, but… at least this makes me someone important. At least I have a purpose."

"You are afraid." It wasn't a question- Aileen stated it as though it was simple fact. And it was.

"I am."

"You'd be a fool not to be. But don't fear, Zelda. You have a while yet. And you'll grow in that time. We can stretch it out as long as you need."

"I know," Zelda replied softly as her mother led her into a room that she supposed was the infirmary. Aileen guided her daughter to a bench and commanded simply, "sit." Then she walked to a cabinet and pulled out a salve and a roll of gauze, then brought it back to her daughter.

"I've got a question," Zelda stated as her mother began to clean off her wound.

"Shoot," Aileen replied, pretty face concentrated on her sole child's hand.

"Is this stuff transplanar? Is it going to stay on?"

"I've cast a spell on it- as long as it remains in contact with your skin or the skin of any heir, it will exist."

"Weird," Zelda stated. "And I have another question. Does Audrey ever come and visit you?"

A sad smile crept across Aileen's face. "No," she stated sadly. "She can't."

"Why not?"

"Only the heirs can get here. You could escort Audrey to the castle, but somehow, I don't think it would be a good idea."

"Why not?" Zelda asked as her mother tied the bandage.

"Because," said Aileen simply, "she has already mourned for her dead sister and moved on. Can you imagine what it would be like for her to see me again, and have to accept my death once more?"

"I understand, I guess," Zelda replied, wiggling the fingers on her left hand. "That makes sense."

"Well, now your hand is fixed," Aileen proclaimed cheerfully, "or at least well on its way. Now we need to do something about that heart of yours."

"No, we don't… not really..." Zelda looked down, cheeks red. "I'll be okay."

"And we want to ensure that, don't we? Come on, Zelda. I can lend you a book from the library to read. It'll help you feel better. It always helps me."

Against her will, Zelda eyed her mother curiously. "What book?"

"A book of Hylian fairy tales. The first and second queens are in it. The line wasn't cursed yet, and their stories are… joyous, one would say. And the tales are fantastic. But about that curse…"

Zelda looked at her toes, which were wiggling uncomfortably in her cheap flip flops.

"I think you can break it, Zelda. You just need to accept everything first. And that's going to be difficult for you to do, and you may not be able to accept everything until your ordeal is over, but… you can break the curse. Of this I have no doubt."

"Why do you say that?"

"Just read the fairy tales. And put a strand of your hair in the sleeve of it to keep it from vanishing."

Aileen pushed open the library doors and led Zelda over to one particularly tall shelf, pulling out a well-kept leather bound book with beautiful writing on the front.

"That's not English," Zelda stated rather obviously. Aileen laughed.

"No, it's not. But you can read it anyway."

"How can I read it if it's a language I don't know?"

"Just trust me," Aileen stated, patting her daughter's head. "Now go on and get back to your world. I don't like the idea of you sitting up in a tree alone, even for a minute."

"But that's on pause," Zelda pointed out. Aileen sighed, shaking her head.

"As your mother, I order you back to the world you belong in. I don't want you leaving anywhere important at any time to come here."

"Why not?"

"Because it breaks your concentration. Now go back! You can return tonight."

"Alright, alright." Zelda allowed Aileen to push her out of the library, and then turned to smile at her mother over her shoulder.

"Mom?" she asked.

"Yes, dear?"

"Thanks."

Zelda concentrated on the tree in the courtyard of school and found herself sitting in it a moment later, her hand feeling just fine, a book sharing her lap with her backpack. There were still the strange words on the front, but Zelda opened the book anyway and began to read.

Oddly enough, the weird linear markings made sense, though Zelda wasn't sure how. So she read, and allowed herself to be caught up in tales of days of old, stories about great fairies and dark dungeons and heroes. Zelda didn't notice when people began to slowly make their way into the courtyard until her phone began to ring. Irritated, she answered it: "hello?"

"Where are you?" It was Malon. Zelda realized with a jolt where she was- sitting in a tree at school reading a book of fairy tales.

"I'm in a tree," she stated simply. "I'll be down in a minute."

She hung up, put a strand of her hair in the book sleeve, deposited it in her bag and hopped out, startling the two freshmen making out below the tree.

"Sorry," Zelda called laughingly to them, and then sauntered away on a quest for Malon.

She found her friend several minutes later out by the football stadium, and lightly, Zelda plopped down next to her dear friend.

"In a tree?"

"A tree," Zelda confirmed. "Reading a book of arcane fairy tales."

"You feeling okay?"

"Didn't sleep," Zelda laughed. "What day is today?"

"B day." Malon rolled her eyes. "Zelda, just go back to bed, okay?"

"Never!" she giggled, laughing harder as Lulu, Mikau, and Darmani sat down.

"Been drinking red bull?" Darmani asked as he sat down next to Malon, looping an arm around her shoulder.

"She's been sitting in a tree, actually," Lulu proclaimed.

"How did you know that?" Zelda and Malon asked at the same time.

"There's twigs in her hair," Lulu stated gently, sitting down as well.

"Hey Zelda," Mikau said with a nod, sitting down by his girlfriend. Zelda felt a small pang of loneliness remembering the night before, knowing that she could be sitting here with Link's arm draped around her waist, but she shook it off. Now was a time for fun.

She slipped easily into the normal morning banter with her friends, and by the time that Zelda got to her fifth block class she was feeling fine and normal again.

The rest of the day passed, and Link was behaving as though nothing had happened, though when he got home, he did immediately lock himself up in his room and start blasting Stairway To Heaven by Led Zeppelin. He couldn't be blamed, though, Zelda reasoned- he'd had a horrible rejection.

At least, she reasoned, there was only one day left of school, and then spring break at her father's house, where she could hide and spend her time with Sheik.

Sheik!

Zelda grabbed her phone and dialed, and somewhere on the other end Sheik finally picked up.

"Yo?"

"Did you do something or was it just me?"

"I didn't do anything. But it still started bleeding and oozing. Nearly sent the maid into a fit."

"Poor maid. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine now, mostly. It got better a bit this morning. It stopped hurting so much."

"Mine too." Zelda turned over the neat bandage her mother had applied.

"Any idea what happened?"

"Some," Zelda replied, absently petting Valoo as he jumped onto her bed.

"Well, tell me when you know what's going on. See you Saturday?"

"You bet."

And they hung up.

&-

Uploaded: 12:53 PM

Monday, June 06, 2005

A/N: Okay, I'm compensating for that dream. I've been working on this all day since I recognized that a lot of people probably are not very happy with me because of the dream, and since this chapter did sort of flow out, I just decided to go ahead and give it to you today. The wait for the next chapter may or may not be slightly longer- we will, unfortunately, be seeing some Sterling, some sulky Link, but fortunately there will be lots of comic Sheik-ness to keep us cheery. See you…eventually!

that person.