I stand at the doorway, numb. There is no possible way that I will ever be able to get out of this mess alive. I start crying as I hear the house fall around me, but I am suddenly aware of a stone pathway that leads through what was once the kitchen. It's incredibly hot, but I decide to take my chances and I run through the burning house to try and catch up with Link, but my legs collapse under me and I sit, watching Romani's house burn.

"What do you think you're doing, jerk? Get off of me!" Romani, pretending to be Malon, hits the guard that was trying to restrain her and rushes over to where Link holds his daughter, who is kicking and screaming hysterically.

"WANT… Mommy!" Kierana starts to cry again when she saw Romani running towards her. Link laughs and turns to face her.

"How'd they let you go?" he asks, raising his eyebrows suspiciously. "I know that you're strong, but… wait a minute. Where are we?" Romani glances around and recognizes the hidden valley, a place that not too many people know about in the darkest part of the Swamp.

"The hidden valley. But that's not the point." She looks up and sees Link staring at her with a satisfied expression on his face.

"You aren't who I'm looking for," he whispers, leaning close to her. "Romani. Nice try, though. Malon wouldn't know anything about where we were." She instantly freezes, realizing that there was no way out. "Where is she, Romani? I want you to tell me. I would like to talk to her." Romani glances at Kierana, then sighs.

"You can't." Link opens his mouth to object, but Romani continues. "She was locked in the storeroom of the ranch house. The one that you b-u-r-n-e-d." She spelled it quickly because she knows that Kierana is a smart four-year-old and didn't want to let on what she knew about the child's mother's demise.

"You. Come here." A young guard rushes over to Link and bows clumsily, then looks up and nods. "Yes. Do you know if Saria is still in custody?" Romani looks at him oddly. "Yes, Saria. Or maybe you know her as Aires? Long story," he says breezily. "You two can talk all about it while you wait in prison. Well? Is she?" The man looks at Link sideways.

"Um, sir? We just received word that she escaped today… and your wife is missing."

I push myself up and force myself to stay standing. I look at the remains of the beautiful ranch and regret that I had come here. It's my fault that Link has Kierana and Romani, and I figure that it is only a matter of time before he rediscovers me, too. I think vaguely about Aires. I wonder what had happened to her when she made Link so angry. I shudder and walk around, slowing assessing the damage done to me.

My arms look fine, but my legs are burned a little bit and they are painful to touch. I know that I can't go too far with my injuries, and I can feel a pain starting to grow up my back. When I hear a scream, I instantly feel relieved.

"Oh my gosh! Roma- um… Malon? Um... What's going on here?" Cremia rushes over to me and I fall into her arms, sobbing.

"Cremia? L-Link's got… got… Romani and … Kierana." I barely manage to get the words out before I start crying again. She looks over at the house and pulls me to a standing position again. "Wh-hat are w-e going to do?" I asked, looking at her.

"I'm not sure what we're going to do, but we aren't going to stay here unless you want to get caught by someone."

Author's Notes:

I am so sorry that it's taken so much time for me to do this chapter- I've been busy with school stuff, but I'm going to try and update soon. Hope that you liked this, it was kind of short, unfortunately, I am suffering from a small case of writer's block. Okay, so keep updating and be patient!