Guest: Not really, but I have listened to the entire soundtrack a... few too many times. Someone I know is very obsessed with it.

Notaname: I'm doing this at 5 in the morning, so I'm going to apologize now for that. This probably won't be a great reply. It's fine! Longer reviews are great, even if they can take a while to reply to. Ocarinas really shouldn't sound like recorders, but I guess French horns probably shouldn't sound like dying birds, either, so we're even? The ocarina is nothing compared to the short time I played the violin. I... wasn't great. Well, the only way to improve writing is to write! SO WRITE ON (see what I did there?)! Ah, yes. Wearing sweatshirts in San Diego weather is pretty much the same thing as suicide. OH, I saw someone do that for a video. They just took that memory and edited that as Link's reply. It was great. What secrets? No, I don't know what you're talking about. *Whistles* Yeah... I read the Harry Potter series three or four times in one year. I had a problem. But now I'm back to being obsessed with Zelda, so we're good now. THE CUPCAKE WAS SO FREAKING HUGE. I STILL DON'T KNOW HOW I MANAGED TO FIT IT INSIDE MY MOUTH. Oops, caps lock. EH, it's fine. Yeah, Zelda's powers pretty much defy all laws of physics. Does that mean that if she's driving at 100 mph and had to slam on the breaks, she wouldn't have to wear a seat belt because she wouldn't fly through the windshield? I wish I could do that. Seat belts are annoying! Maybe Purah could just stuff the cake with bombs. That would blast the pieces into oblivion. Canadian people (no offense, Canadians) can be weird. But not as weird as California. You need a permit to throw a frisbee on the beach! They need actual, necessary laws! Like Alaska's famous "Don't shove moose out of airplanes." Mothers know all. YOU CAN'T HIDE ANYTHING FROM THEM! Except I've hidden all of my writing works because they can seem like crap sometimes. Actually... I don't laugh very hard anymore. I just kind of laugh at my own jokes and feel lonely. My poor friends have to deal with that (XD). Hmm... I could do something like that. Actually, I've been planning something like that, except she goes to Impa instead *spoilers*. SHHHH. You'd think that the two themes would clash, but they totally fit together! It's so weird.

notaname (2.0): The original sucks. I need to print it out and burn it just so that I can feel better about that. You should be able to just google the duct tape wallets! I think they're easy enough to make. When I was in elementary school, there was this kid that made stuff out of duct tape and sold it at lunch for WAY too much money. He also MADE too much money. I really can't carry all my stuff around in my pockets. I don't think I could fit a cat or the entire Zelda manga collection in a pocket. That would probably look weird XD

Have a good week, y'all (y'all, really? I really am tired!)! ROLL THE TAPE!

Chapter 14: Interrogation

A mere few days had passed since her return from Rito Village before Zelda received another letter, this one bearing the seal of the Gorons.

"Dear Princess," it began. "Sorry for the handwriting. I've never been great at it. I hope you're doing okay over there at the castle. I have a little favor I need to ask ya. See, I've been having some trouble with controlling Rudania. I heard that you've been researching the Divine Beasts, so I was hoping that you'd be able to come and help me, as long as your father's alright with it. -Daruk."

Zelda hoped that her father would let her go to help the friendly Goron Champion. As long as he never found out that she had spent an extra day "unnecessarily" researching Revali's Divine Beast, she would probably be fine.

According to Purah, who had just left to get some more materials, Princess Zelda was going to be visiting their lab in a mere few minutes. So, rather than actually do her work, Liari decided to come up with a plan.

First, perhaps, she would have to find out how the princess felt about Link. Did she tolerate him? Did she hate his guts? Or better yet, did she secretly love him?

Liari doubted the last two. She was sure that the princess couldn't care less as to whether Link accompanied her or not. However, you could never be sure. For all she knew, Princess Zelda thought him a barbarian or something because of her noble status. Liari confessed that she did not know the princess very well - if at all.

All of the next steps depended on the princess's response… if Liari could manage to get one.

"Hello?"

Liari jolted in her seat. That's the princess. Purah's not back yet!

Liari stood up made her way to the entrance of the lab. There stood Princess Zelda, no knight around.

Liari dipped her head respectfully to the princess. "Welcome, Princess. Doctor Purah has not returned from getting more materials yet, but she will be back shortly."

"Thank you," said the princess. "What's your name? I don't believe I've run into you before."

"Liari," Liari replied with a smile. "I'm new to the field. I'm Lady Impa's apprentice, but she had to bring me with her when she was assigned to more work here. I became interested in ancient technology after that."

"That's nice," Princess Zelda said, slightly indifferently. Oh no, I'm losing her! Quick, think of something!

"I notice that Link is not with you," Liari blurted out. Well, good enough. The princess gave her a strange look. "May I ask why?"

"He has a meeting with Captain Arduum, and the rest of the day off. Are you…" Princess Zelda paused. "... familiar with Sir Link?"

This would be where things got difficult. Respect Link's wishes to hide any sort of relationship with the Sheikah, or get the princess to be friends with him?

"He has also been doing some training under Lady Impa. We survivors have to stick together," Liari added with a slight grin. "May I ask what you think of him?"

The princess looked as if she wasn't quite sure what to say. "He is very… quiet."

Liari gave the princess a strange look, before laughing. "Yes, I suppose you could say that. He's always prefered to be that way. But if you manage to gain his trust, he can be a loud boy - or so I'm told." Liari couldn't give away all of Link's secrets.

"Really?" Princess Zelda sounded intrigued. "He's been near silent within my presence. At first I thought him mute."

...What? Link was quiet, but he usually spoke every now and then, even to strangers…

What has changed? ...Actually, that was a ridiculous question. Everything had changed! But what was it that made Link shut himself out even more than he already had?

"Are you well, Liari?" The princess's voice jerked Liari out of her thoughts.

Liari quickly changed her facial expression to a faux cheeriness. "Oh, yes, I'm fine."

"You froze up…"

"I'm fine," Liari repeated. "I just… thought of something, is all."

There was a slightly awkward silence

"I'm baaack!" Purah called from behind Liari, causing the younger Sheikah to wince. "Hello, Zellie. Hey, Liari, can you go get my tools and bring 'em out here?"

Liari dragged herself out of her stupor. "Of course, Purah." She hurried quickly out of the entryway, desperate to hide the many emotions that seemed to be cycling through her face, a single question plaguing her mind: Why?

"Well?" the captain demanded.

"I apologize, Sir," Link said blankly. "I was not aware that the princess had decided to stay a day longer than expected."

"What exactly did she spend that day doing?" Captain Arduum asked sternly.

"She conducted extra research on Divine Beast Vah Medoh, Sir," Link replied.

The captain leaned closer to Link, eyes narrowed. "Why?"

"She believes that it would be beneficial to gain more information on how the Divine Beasts function, Sir," Link droned. "I am in no position to argue with her."

There was a moment of silence, before a sharp pain erupted from Link's right cheek.

Link remained blank and silent as the captain lowered his hand. "The king's orders are before the princess's. If His Majesty states that she is to return as soon as possible, it is your job as her Appointed Knight to enforce that. Understood?"

"Understood, Sir," Link replied blankly.

"See to it that it doesn't happen again," the captain said coldly. "You are dismissed."

With a dip of his head, Link turned and exited the captain's office, resisting the urge to raise a hand to his cheek.

Dear Hylia, I hope that doesn't leave a mark. If it did, it would be no good for his image. Rumors would spread about him picking fights or something. He didn't know how they came up with the sort of exaggerated nonsense that had people whispering for weeks, but he did know that he didn't need more rumors about himself. There were some quite… disturbing ones, to say the least.

I most certainly do not eat live puppies. That is simply inhumane!

Link walked leisurely through the halls, heading towards the stables. It was finally his day off, though he knew a certain princess was far more excited about that than he was. Now that he couldn't speak to Liari and Impa (Well… he still had a lesson with Impa every now and then), he didn't quite know what to do with his free time. If he was caught doodling or reading, a few old minor hobbies of his, he would definitely get some weird looks. There weren't any cliffs around, either, and the kitchens were filled to the brim with chefs and servants, so there would be no experimenting with recipes. He didn't need food, anyway.

Ignoring the way his stomach growled discontentedly, Link turned a corner…

...only to slam right into a servant girl. Link, having not expected it, was sent off balance. Putting his Sheikah training to good use, he quickly steadied himself.

The girl was not as fortunate as he. She had fallen backwards and onto her back. She remained lying their, gasping for the breath that had been knocked out of her.

Link approached her quickly. "Are you alright?" For some reason, this situation had cracked open his mask, letting concern slip into his voice.

The girl's big brown eyes focussed on him, before they widened fearfully. "Y-yes, I'm f-fine, Sir L-"

Link offered his hand. "Let me help you up."

The girl accepted it quietly, and he pulled her to her feet.

"I-I'm very sorry, S-Sir Link," she stuttered quickly. It was then Link noticed how young she was. The servant girl couldn't have been older than eleven or twelve. "I w-wasn't paying attention, and I-"

"No, it's my fault," Link interrupted. "I was lost in my thoughts, as my mentor points out all the time." Link chuckled slightly, ignoring the part of his brain that screamed, What are you doing?! You're blowing your cover, you idiot! "Sorry about that."

The girl seemed completely baffled, her mouth opening and closing several times before she finally managed to respond. "Um… maybe we can settle for it being... both our faults?"

Link smiled. It had been awhile since he had last done so, and the muscles in his mouth strained from being out of practice. "Yes, let's do that."

The girl smiled as well, finally calm… before twisting into one of horror. "S-sir Link, there's a very large b-bruise forming on your face…"

Link raised a hand to his cheek at winced as he touched it. Darn it. "It's nothing," he said blankly. "A mere difference of opinion between my face and a wall. I told you I was clumsy!" Link forced out a chuckle. Link didn't like lying, but sometimes it was necessary. "I should be off now."

"S-so should I." The girl bowed slightly before hurrying past him.

When he was sure he was alone, Link slouched slightly and breathed out a sigh. It seemed that, rather than taking Epona for a ride right away, he would have to go to his private room in the barracks (they had decided to give him an upgrade, though he confessed that it still wasn't that much better) and spend the next hour using various powders and goops to hide his now bruised face.

He hoped that no one besides the servant girl saw him before then. Who knew what rumors they would come up with?

Poor Link. But hey, what's a good Zelda fan fic that doesn't include Link torture?

I don't know why I thought doing this at 5 in the morning was a good idea. I mean, I still have school in a few hours. Oh well. I'm probably not going to fall back asleep anyway.

SO, because I'm doing this when my eyes are still drooping, there are probably a few mistakes that I missed in the chapter. If you see one, it would be GREAT if you put it in a review or PMed me or something. If there's anything that's written weird, that's probably something I should know about, too. Cookies.

*GASP* I FORGOT ABOUT THE SECRET REVIEW PHRASE. Did I put one in the last chapter? SECRET REVIEW PHRASE IS COOKIES BECAUSE I'M TIRED AND I AM NOT FEELING CREATIVE RIGHT NOW.

Sincerely (I'm tired, so you can't really if it's true or not),

Ari