CHAPTER SEVEN

It was dark, the moon was hidden behind the dark clouds, and the air was wet. The only sources of light were from the edges of the moon's aura and the fireflies that lit the forested areas on both sides of the dirt road. The branches of the leaves swayed gently in the breeze. The sound of the river hidden somewhere behind the trees kept the road from becoming completely silent, the sound of rapid hoof-beats began to grow louder until a white horse with two riders blow past, causing the fallen leaves to float lightly off of the ground before gently fluttering back down to the cold earth.

Zelda had a serious look on her face ever since the discovery at the docks, she hadn't spoken a word since they left town, pushing the horse to it's limits.

Nave senses the horse struggling to keep the pace and yells to Zelda over the wind blowing past them, "Zelda! We've been in a full gallop for awhile now, the horse is losing strength and we have to let it rest."

Zelda didn't reply.

Nave repeats himself, "Zelda…"

"I know!" Zelda sighs and slows down, coming to a complete stop and dismounting, Nave does the same and he hears the river somewhere to the left side of the road and leads the horse there for a drink and rest. The horse eagerly trots over to the river and begins to drink. Zelda follows from the road and watches. A few more minutes pass and Zelda begins to pace back and forth impatiently. Nave notices this and pulls the canteen from the box of food slung over his shoulder and tosses it over to her. Zelda catches the canteen and downs more water than she can take, spilling quite a bit before stopping. She wipes the water away with her forearm and tosses it back, "Thanks."

"You have to calm down; we don't even have a plan yet." Nave said, trying his best to ease her.

"You're right…I have to calm down." She muttered and sits down by the river, "We can't just barge in through the front door, can we?" she looks at her hands, they were trembling. Nave walks over to her, "Your adrenaline is doing that…relax." He puts his hands on her shoulders, "This is one useful thing I learned from my old job, because it can get very stressful sometimes. Close your eyes." She did so and Nave began to give her a shoulder and neck message, she tilts her head to the side, her breathing slowed down a bit as she began to finally relax, "That feels good…you're really good at that…" she said, her voice almost a whisper.

Nave smiles, "I know, it's one thing I can do pretty well."

As he continued, his mind began to wander, he kept himself in check and muttered to himself, "Stop that…she's taken."

"…Hmm?" Zelda asked, "What is it?" she was half asleep.

"Oh…uh, nothing…"

"You're strange…" Zelda muttered.

Nave stops after awhile and moves beside her, "I think that's enough for now."

Zelda's eyes open and she turns to him, "Hey."

Nave looks at her, Zelda smiles, "Thank you."

"Thanks for what?"

"Well," she began, "before I met you, it was really lonely traveling around. I didn't have anyone to talk to. So, I'd like to thank you for putting up with me for so long."

He laughed, "It's only been about two days, but yeah…" he paused, trying to form the right words, "I guess this hasn't been all bad. It was...kind of fun? Yeah, that's the word."

Zelda smiled, "Yeah." everything goes silent for awhile except for the river.

"Look…" Zelda said, "If anything happens tomorrow, know that I consider us really good friends. And…if things turn out the way I hope it will…you can come to Hyrule with us."

"Sounds good..." Nave said, "…let's rest up, I guess…hopefully we'll figure out a plan by tomorrow." He stands up and heads over to one of the trees, he rests his back against the trunk and closes his eyes for a moment, "…Will the horse go anywhere?" he asked. Zelda answered, "No, it won't. Trust me, I know horses. This one will stay close."

Zelda walks past him and sits down on the other side of the same tree he was using.

"By the way," Zelda said before closing her eyes, "We're friends, but don't get any ideas while I'm asleep, ok?"

Nave smirked, "Sure thing, Princess."

Early morning; the white horse gallops down the road with Zelda and Nave along for the ride.

As they reached Vanale, they decide that it's best to enter on foot to avoid drawing attention. They both dismount.

Nave and Zelda pat the horse on the head softly and hand it over to some travelers for some rupees rather than leave it alone unattended.

The two finally re-enter Vanale.

As they both stood at the entrance, Zelda muttered, "Alright, now we need a plan."

"How about we check out the castle and look around? It should give us an idea." Nave offered.

Zelda shrugs, "Sure, sounds good."

Half an hour later they were still staring at the castle, "Ugh," Zelda mumbled, "this place is better guarded than Hyrule Castle."

"Yeah…this is gonna be a tough one." Nave agreed.

"Hey!" someone shouted, startling them. It was one of the guards. Zelda notices something about the guard.

She exclaims, "Wait, he's a guard from Hyrule!"

The guard stops in front of them, "It's you! Princess Zelda, am I right?"

Zelda nods, "Yes, it is."

The guard begins the bow, but Zelda stops him, "Don't do that! You'll attract attention!"

The guard blinked and laughed to himself, "I…I'm sorry, Princess, but we've been looking for you! His majesty…!"

Zelda interrupts, "Please, take us to my father! This is an emergency! His life is in danger."

The guard's expression turns grim, "Alright, follow me closely, please."

The three run into the castle through the front entrance, they arrived at the room where the Kings of Hyrule and Vanale, along with their emissaries were negotiating.

"We'll need to approach this situation very carefully." Nave muttered as they stopped in front of the door. "I'll do it my way." Zelda said, sounding determined.

The guard opens the door and Zelda walks in, startling everyone in the room.

"Zelda?" the king of Hyrule asked in shock, standing up. Zelda pointed straight at Vincent and said, "That man is an imposter! The real Vincent has been dead for two weeks! The same time Link had gone missing! I know you know where he is! Guards! Arrest that man!" The five Hyrulian knights, who had been standing behind the King of Hyrule, drew their swords. Vincent backed up, "What the hell!…Guards!"

The Vanale knights who stood behind Vincent and the Vanale King drew their swords as well.

"Nice way to handle things, Zelda." Nave muttered sarcastically.

The Vanale King stood up angrily, "Enough! I will have order! Lower your weapons!"

The Hyrulian King agreed, "Knights, sheath your swords, there will be no bloodshed!"

Everyone in the room slowly re-sheaths their weapons. The two kings sit back down, relieved.

The Hyrulian king turns to Zelda, "What is the meaning of these accusations? Where have you been?"

Vincent eyes Zelda carefully with a smirk on his face, the King of Vanale notices this and stands up, confronting the man face to face, "You…you're not Vincent are you? I knew there was something different about you. Guards arrest this man!"

Before anyone could react, Vincent draws a knife and plunges it into the King's chest, he turns to the King of Hyrule and withdraws the bloodied blade, letting his victim drop before throwing it at the Hyrulian king. It plunges into his chest as well. The world froze. Everyone was in shock at what had just happened. It happened so fast. Zelda's horrified scream broke the silence and time resumed.

"Protect the Princess!" one of the Hyrulian knights yelled. The Vanale knights however turned on the Hyrulians, their eyes glowed red.

Vincent points at Zelda, his tone changed, sounding wicked, his eyes glowed red "…You're not going anywhere, Princess. You'll all die here and Lord Ganon will rise once again!"

The Knights of Hyrule surrounded Zelda protectively. The Vanale knights charged and all hell broke loose.

One of Hyrule's knights manages to slay the enemy; he turns to Nave and tosses him his sword, "Protect the Princess with your life! Now go! Run back to Hyrule! She must live!" the knight then grabs the slain Vanale knight's sword and continues the battle. Nave tightens his grip on the sword and turns to Zelda. She was frozen, tears were streaming down her face. "Zelda!" he yelled, grabbing her by the arm, shaking her from her shocked state "Let's go!"

"I can't…I can't leave my father here!" she cried, her mind was a mess.

Nave forcibly yanks her out of the room as the doors close, locking the remaining knights inside.

As they ran through the castle, the Vanale knights turned to them with their red eyes. They seemed to be under the control of some spell. Nave had no choice but to fight back as they forced their way out of the castle and out into the rain.

As they ran through the castle gates, the Vanale soldiers stopped. Nave notices this and stops as well, turning to look at them.

"They can't leave the castle…" Zelda said, seeming to have recovered.

Nave nods, "Yeah, you're right. Let's get out of here."

They both turn and run.

Time passes and they both end up on the now familiar road that connects Vanale and Ceres. It was raining hard now and they had to stop to catch their breaths. Zelda stumbles towards the trees and places her hand on the bark, her head was down and she was breathing hard. Nave walks over to her and puts a hand on her shoulder comfortingly, "Zelda…I'm so sorry..."

He gently turns her to face him and sees her face contorted in emotional pain. The rain mixed with her tears. Looking at her like this, Nave was about to burst in tears as well, but he didn't. Zelda's lips quivered and she hugs Nave tightly, openly shedding her tears onto his shoulder.

Nave wraps his arms around her and held her tightly as she cried.

He wanted to say something to comfort her, but didn't know the right words. They stood like that for a long time, as the rain fell around them. The leaves of the branches above shielded both, but they still got wet anyways. "I…" Zelda struggled to say, but Nave stops her, "We'll get Vincent back for this, I promise."

Zelda nods slowly, "…Thank you." She simply clung to him.

Nave held her close. Being so close to her, it felt so right for some reason.

Zelda looked up and their eyes met. Nave lost control and slowly tilted his head, leaning closer to her. Zelda knew what was coming, "…don't…" she whispered.

Nave paused for a second, but continued. As their lips neared, Zelda muttered, "Please…stop…I…"

But he didn't stop.

Their lips finally touched, but Zelda didn't resist. The kiss deepens and Zelda actually began to kiss back.

Her hand twitched and they moved to his chest, her eyes tightened and she roughly pushes him away, breaking the kiss.

She angrily slaps him across the face.

Nave was stunned. Zelda backed away, rain and tears rolling down her face, she looked heartbroken. Her eyes told him that she felt betrayed.

Nave regains his senses and realizes what he had done, "Zelda…I…I'm so sorry…I didn't mean to…it just…"

Zelda silently backs away and turns, running off into the woods. Nave didn't chase her.

…and the rain continues to fall.