Hi hello, I apologize for the long absence but life gets in the way sometimes. I will definetly continue this story, not sure how long it will take me to update but I promise it wont take this long! Anyway I hope you enjoy this chapter, I can't tell you how many times I rewrote it. Let me know if you like it and whether or not you find the detail to be to much.

Rated M

Chapter 6: Old Flames

Her eyes stung from the thick black cloud of smoke surrounding her. She tried to shield her eyes using the back of her hand, but it was useless. The smoke wedged in and out of the curves of her hand stinging her eyes.

Zelda tried to leave the cloud of black smoke, but she could not find her way around the darkness.

She could hear someone calling her name.

The sound was faint, but she was certain someone was calling her name, Impa? Maybe, she wasn't she couldn't recognize the voice sure, but she followed the sound hoping it would lead her out of this plume of smoke.

She could begin to see rays of light shredding the darkness that enveloped her, she was almost there, almost out of here. When she reached the end of the cloud, she regretted ever coming out of it. There was chaos all around her, people were screaming and running away towards the exit, but no one could get out. The doors were sealed shut and it seemed no one could get them opened. As she looked around, She realized she was in the Temple of Time. Out in the distance was Impa fighting against a black shadow. She was far away and as she tried to run towards her Zelda realized her legs could not move. She tugged at her legs in desperation trying to get them to move.

"What is happening, why can't I move? She thought.

In an instant she was surrounded by a group of knights. They were yelling something at someone, but she couldn't make it out. It was as if her whole body had suddenly stopped working

Suddenly without warning the 5 knights dropped around her, dead. Just as she tried to scream in terror a black shadow stepped in front of her. The shadow looked at her with their bright amber eyes , they raised the blades in a flash the shadow struck down towards Zelda and everything went dark.

Zelda opened her eyes to find herself still laying by the fire. Her breath was heavy and sweat dripped down the side of her face into the nooks of her neck. She rubbed her hand across her forehead, wiping the beads of cold sweat away.

It was a dream.

No, it was a nightmare.

One she knew would haunt her every day of her life.

She sat up against the dying fire and brought her knees up to her chest. As she did, she winced from the pain coming from her arm.

That's right I got hurt from whoever attacked me. She thought.

She got up from her spot by the fire and threw a few pieces of wood into the hearth. The dying flames picked up the dry wood and instantly devoured it.

With the room lit Zelda looked around her bedroom searching for the vials the doctor had given her. If she remembered correctly, they should be…

She let out a frustrating sigh. She'd left the vials in the desk in her study. On the other side of castle.

She cursed her clumsiness.

She thought about walking to her study to retrieve the medicine she so desperately needed but for the first time in her life she felt afraid.

Afraid to walk down the halls of the castle, her home.

Feeling angry at herself for allowing this person to play with her, she reached for her cloak and wrapped her around her body. She lifted the hood over her head thinking if they couldn't see her face perhaps no one would attack her. She felt very brave for choosing to not let fear rule her life, either that or she was very foolish.

Zelda reached into her armoire and pulled out a velvet pouch. From the pouch she pulled out a small knife and unwrapped the blade.

It was small but deadly. She could use it to defend herself if she were attacked.

Zelda opened the door to her bedroom and lifted the small lantern lighting the hall. Her eyes scanned the area quickly for anything out of place. Feeling satisfied with her surveillance she left the safety of her chambers and closed the door behind her. The halls of the castle were dim and for the first time since she was a child, she felt she could not trust the darkness. The assassins had stolen that from her too.

Zelda walked slowly down the halls of the castle, blade in hand. She held the handle so tight her knuckles had turned white.

The halls were empty, she had expected there would have been an increase in surveillance around the castle. Maybe they were in the middle of a shift change. That would explain the lack of knights around the castle.

The further she walked through the empty halls of the castle the more uneasy she felt. Zelda clutched her small blade harder and she quickened her steps; anxious to reach the safety of her study.

She was almost there. The closer she got the quicker her stride was. She had just crossed the great hall when she heard a sound.

It was the sound of footsteps, they were rushed and getting closer.

At that moment, her fight or flight instincts kicked in and she ran as quickly as she could through the great hall. Her chest felt like it was on fire as air filled her lungs. She was almost there, almost safe. She rounded the corner, still running as fast as she could. The door was in her sights, she was going to make it.

Any hope of reaching her destination was shattered as she felt a powerful force tackle her against the stone wall.

The lantern slipped out of her hand and shattered. The sound of glass breaking echoed through the empty halls of the castle but by the time someone heard it she would be dead, and the assassin long gone.

She looked at her attacker, determined to look them in the eye as they took her life. As she looked up, she was surprised to see it wasn't the shadow from her nightmares but Link who had her pinned against the wall. His body was pressed tightly against hers to restrain her, his right arm held her bladed hand against the above her against the wall while his left hand clutched her left wrist. His right knee was pressed in between her legs making it impossible for her to move. His face was inches away from hers, his eyes wild and dangerous.

Link had been certain he saw an intruder walking through the castle. He'd been taking a short walk through the gardens adjacent to the great hall to clear his head when he saw a hooded figure gliding through the halls of the castle. Fully expecting it to be an assassin he ran towards the figure hoping to find out who they were and why they were trying to kill Zelda. To his surprised it was the queen he had tackled and pinned under him.

He immediately released his grip on her. "Zelda are you hurt?" feeling concerned.

She was still trying to catch her breath and although she wanted to speak, her lungs denied her that basic request. She could feel her heart thumping in her chest, her lungs burned, and she felt like no matter how many breaths she took the air continued to escape her.

She shook her head and placed her free hand against her chest.

She leaned against the wall and felt herself getting lightheaded. Suddenly she felt her body give in and everything went black.

At that moment Link offered his arms to his falling Queen. The blade she was carrying slipped out of her hand and onto the shattered lantern.

Effortlessly, Link carried Zelda into the study. Inside he laid her on the chase closest to the fireplace, careful not to injure her arm. He used what little bit of light entered the room to start a fire with the few pieces of firewood he found. Once the flames were large enough, he threw a few more pieces in to burn. The red glow of the fire soon lit the study, he then turned his attention to Zelda who was sleeping on the small chase. He kneeled beside her and took careful notes of how her breath seemed to steady itself. He studied her face and traced the contours of her cheeks with a finger. She had not changed much since he last saw her. Her golden hair still shamed the purest gold in the land, her skin as soft as silk, and plump lips that shamed the red rose. And yet as beautiful as she was the torment that she experienced a few hours ago cast a dark shadow upon her fair features.

She's been through so much already, he thought.

He turned his body around and sat next to her sleeping body leaning his back against the chase. He hung his arms casually on top of his knees and closed his eyes. He would let her sleep for now. He would be here to guard her and keep her safe.

Impa help me! She yelled at her tutor.

The assassin glided the blades across the marbled floor of the temple, mocking her.

She knew Impa would never reach her in time and as she picked her arms over face, she heard the blades slice through the air, and then everything went dark.

Zelda swung her body forward as she awoke from yet another nightmare. The sweat dripped from her brows and into her eyes causing them to sting.

"Are you alright?" She heard a voice speak from across the room.

It took a moment for her eyes to adjust to the glowing light of the fire.

Link was standing by the fireplace, casually leaning against the mantle his arms were crossed over his chest. He was wearing a simple pair of black trousers and a linen shirt opened at the top just enough to see his chest.

She looked away from him anger replacing the fear she'd just felt.

"I'm fine" she said with resentment, suddenly realizing she was in nothing but a nightgown. She reached for the cloak at the foot of the chase and pulled it over her body.

Holding on to what little dignity she had left, Zelda picked herself off the chaise but instantly felt lightheaded again. She sat down not wanting to black out for the second time that night.

"Zelda are you ok?" He was beside her now ready to catch her if she fainted again.

"I need my medicine, it's on the first drawer on the left" she said pointing in the direction of her desk.

He leaped over to the area she was pointing and in no time was back at her side, two vials in hand.

She uncorked the vial and took a quick sip of the liquid. The contents burned as it went down her throat and into the pits of her stomach. She let out a cough trying to ease the burning sensation the liquid had left her with.

Without realizing it Link was at her side once again this time with a glass of water in his hand. She took the glass from him and took a large sip from it.

"Thank you" she whispered hoarsely as the cold water soothed her burning throat.

He took the glass from her and set it down

"Are you still in pain?" he said placing his hand on hers.

His hand was warm to the touch and if he didn't already belong to someone else, she would have allowed his hand to linger on hers.

But the fact was that HE WAS already with someone else and she'd found out in the worst possible way. She looked into his cobalt eyes there was concern and pain behind them. The gleam of adventure and innocence long gone from his electric blue eyes that somehow always lured her in.

She looked away from his penetrating gaze and jerked her hand away from under his, feeling a rush of anger as she did

"Why are you here" she demanded

"What do you mean, you fainted outside in the hall, I couldn't just leave you there" he said.

He hunched his body over a bit trying to catch her eyes, but she wouldn't look at him. Her head was turned away from him so he couldn't see the tears that were rolling down her face.

"No, I mean why are you here, in Hyrule, after all these years of being absent. Why are you back" she spat.

. She was angry, angrier than she'd ever been before in her life.

A heavy silence fell upon them, he didn't have an answer for her. No excuse or reason to give. Link knew he would one day have to answer for abandoning her in Hyrule all those years ago. That day had arrived, but he wasn't at all prepared to give her an answer.

As the silence thickened Zeldas anger rose and without thinking she darted towards the door, assassin or not she did not want to be in the same room with him anymore.

Before she could reach the door however Link reached for the queen and pulled her into his arms. Eyes wide Zelda tried to pull away from his embrace, but his grip was too strong to overcome. "I'm sorry" he whispered.

Zelda ceased her struggling resting her fisted hands on his chest. Without warning she started to cry, the anger and frustration that had built up till this moment finally burst. She started to sob uncontrollably and clutched his shirt tightly with her fists. Link responded by loosening his grip on her waist. He brought his hand and placed it gently behind her head, pushing her head towards his chest. The young queen complied and placed her forehead where her fists clutched at his shirt.

Instinctively she wrapped her arms under his and returned the embrace. "you abandoned me here, after everything we had talked about, after everything we did, you left me" she whispered softly, hurt present in her low voice. "I'm sorry Zelda, I really am" he whispered with regret.

"I know you want an explanation, and you'll get one but not right now" he continued, hoping this reassurance would put her at ease for the time being.

Zelda had stopped sobbing at this point, she loosened her grip on his back and picked up her gaze to meet his. She was conflicted about his declaration; she didn't know whether to accept that he wasn't ready to talk or that he was stalling for something. As she looked into his eyes Zelda was surprised to see the pain and regret reflected in those cool blue waters that once made her heart skip a beat.

Seeing the pain and regret in his eyes settled the young queen's fury. She relaxed in his soothing and warm embrace and was suddenly taken back to when they were children. Back then being close to Link this way made Zelda feel tranquil and loved; those feelings remained.

He looked into her cerulean eyes and gently cupped her cheek with his hand, in a low voice he whispered, "Zelda no matter what happens, as long as I am here, I will always protect you from anyone and everything"

His proclamation awoke a feeling she thought had burned long ago. Carelessly she leaned into his hand and slowly slid her hands up his chest. The feeling of her touch on his skin was like being touched by heaven itself.

Without realizing it Link had pulled her body closer to his, tightening his grip on her small waist, their breath was slow and heavy at the same time. Cupping her face, he slowly closed the distance between them. Every instinct in Zelda's body said to pull away but she ignored it, she wanted it. She wanted him. His face inched closer and closer to hers.

Then without any more restraint Link lowered his lips to hers.

He kissed her softly moving his lips against hers. Zelda returned the kiss and found herself melting into the rhythm of his lips on hers, the caress of his lips awakening a feeling she had buried long ago. She cupped his face eager to deepen the kiss. His hand moved from her face down to her arm and onto the other side of her waist, it was a delightful feeling one she had not felt in a long time. Her arms slid up his chest and wrapped themselves around his neck, pulling him closer to her lips. As she did this Link offered his tongue into her mouth which she gladly accepted. His hands started to wander her body and he'd found that this was no longer the body of a young girl, this was the body of a woman. Her curves were addicting as he pressed his hand on her hips and deepened the ferocity to which he kissed her. Feeling the passion of his kiss Zelda let out a soft moan, thoroughly enjoying the feeling of his hands on her body. The sound of her moans excited Link and he responded by gently squeezing her bottom.

Zelda found her hands had slipped under his shirt and were now caressing the muscles of his body. Without thinking she pulled his shirt over his head breaking the kiss for a split second. She gazed into his eyes and there was desire in them. She scanned his torso with her eyes careful to take in every inch of his perfectly sculpted body. Zelda kissed his chest softly and seductively. His breathing intensified. She then stood on her tip toes and kissed him again this time offering her tongue into his mouth.

As he opened his mouth to let her tongue in Link picked up his queen and carried her to the edge of the fireplace where he gently put her down on the rug. He was bending over her now passion and desire present in her cerulean eyes. He lowered his body onto hers and started kissing her neck. His hands wandered down to her thighs feeling the warmth of her skin through her silken nightgown. Zelda's hands ran down his back eyeing every curve of his muscles wanting more with each kiss on her neck. She arched her back as his hand found its way up her nightgown and began caressing her legs. She bent her knee allowing him to reach further up her gown and into her thigs. He brought his mouth up to hers again, hungry for more. His hands moving up father and farther up her gown until he reached her breasts and squeezed. She let out a moan as he began to press and move his lower body against hers. He then moved his mouth on the exposed curves of her breasts as his hand continued to gently squeeze it. Zelda ran her fingers through his blond hair and up and down his back, enjoying the caress of his tongue on her body. She could feel his erection getting harder and harder against her groin. As her excitement rose Zelda pushed Link off her body and pulled her nightgown over her head revealing her naked skin. Link scanned her body taking mental pictures as he gazed not upon a queen but a goddess. Her skin was fair, untouched by the harsh rays of the sun, her breasts full and round, he reached for her and wrapped her legs around his midsection as he buried his face between her breasts. Zelda wrapped her arms around his head and swung her head back as he suckled on her breasts. She started to sway her body against his shaft anxious to feel him. Swiftly he picked her body up and laid her gently back onto the rug. Link removed his trousers revealing his manhood to her. He caught her mouth once more and gently inserted himself into her. As the pressure from his manhood entered her Zelda arched her back in sweet delight welcoming him in. She ran her hands up and down his torso as he thrust deeper into her allowing a moan to escape her lips. He broke the kiss and lifted himself with his arms thrusting his body against her. Their moans echoed through the study and through the empty halls of the castle. As they reached their climax Link intertwined his fingers through hers and kissed her again. She let out a loud moan and writhed her body under his signaling her peak, he thrust harder and faster as her fluids drenched his shaft until he himself had ejaculated.

He let his body fall on top of her as they relaxed their breathing. Zelda hugged his body closer to hers and kissed his head softly, enjoying the warmth coming from his naked body.

He picked up his head to gaze upon his queen, their eyes met, her golden hair was spread out over the rug, bits and pieces stuck to her neck and face from where she'd been sweating. Link pushed the pieces of hair away from her face and caressed her face lovingly. His lips met hers once again this time kissing her softly and gently.

They laid there for a while longer, Link caressed her body and placed a soft kiss to her neck every now and then. Zelda relaxed her head on his arm which was wrapped under her head for support. Her hand rested gently on his torso, she could feel the rising and falling of his chest as his breathing steadied itself.

Pretty soon she had fallen asleep. If it weren't for the fact that it was almost morning, he would have let her sleep there, however he was sure the servants would soon start waking up and he didn't want someone to see the queen of Hyrule exiting the study like this. He took one last look at her wanting to capture this moment, he kissed her lips softly and whispered "I love you" before waking her up.

"it's almost morning, we have to get you back to your bedroom" he said softly shaking her shoulder.

She opened her eyes and nodded her head sleepily as she reached for her nightgown. They dressed themselves in silence neither one of them knowing what to say to the other. Zelda wrapped her cloak over her shoulders, fully dressed in her nightgown. Her mind was whirling now, Link was a married man, and she was the queen of Hyrule. She couldn't involve herself in a scandal like this.

"I'll escort you to your chambers'" his voice breaking her thoughts.

Zelda nodded her head not wanting to argue about whether it would be appropriate for him to take her to her bedroom. And there was no arguing when someone wanted her dead.

They left the study and Link quickly and quietly walked her up to her quarters. Outside the sun was beginning to light the sky. They reached the door to her bedroom and before she opened the door, she turned back to look at Link.

He was looking at her with longing in his eyes. At this moment he wanted nothing more than to lie in her bed with her and watch her sleep.

"Thank you Link for brining me up to my bedroom" she whispered with regret.

He gave her a slight nod and stood there until she was safely inside her bedroom. As he turned around and made his back to his own bedroom, he thought about what he would say to his wife. He had left Ilia alone all night and was sure she would notice his long absence. As he opened the door to his quarters, he realized she was sleeping peacefully. He didn't want to lay in the bed smelling of another woman, so he quickly prepared a hot bath for himself. As he removed his shirt, he could smell Zelda's scent all over it. It was sweet. He finished washing his body and put on some fresh clothes. The sun was beginning to light the room and he knew Ilia would wake in a few hours. Slowly he got into bed trying not to wake her. As he lay in the bed, he shared with another woman he thought about how his life would have been different if he had waited for Zelda that day, if they would have left together just like he had promised; it would be Zelda lying in the bed next to him now not Ilia. He turned his body away from his sleeping wife and was soon fast asleep.