notaname: Well, the definition of wet is when something is "covered or saturated with water or another liquid." Water, technically, is not covered or saturated with itself. Therefore, water is not wet. BOOM! Hah, the thing with the trombone player reminds me of this time during my sister's elementary school concert - she was singing SO MUCH LOUDER than everyone else. But to be fair, she was like, five or something. Five year olds are very lacking in the department of discipline, so I'll give it to her. Your sister, however, sounds very evil compared to mine. I just invented the foreshadowing dance. It probably looks like the ghost type Z-Move pose in Pokemon or something. Hmm... well, if you imagined up, say, unicorns, they aren't real, yet are real in the mind. The idea is clear, the logic is clear... everything is real except for the actual physical existence. You know how people say "if you set your mind to something, you can do anything"? My friend took this phrase literally and asked, "Does that mean I can find DRAGONS?!" She's a Wings of Fire fan (I am too, but whatever), so... yeah. Have a good week!

Chapter 21: Fool

Two wonderfully blissful days had come and gone. The time had come to be shipped off back to Hyrule Castle. Zelda's father would surely be furious, but… she had a job to do. Failure though she may be, she still had duties as the Princess of Hyrule.

...And she promised Urbosa, not that the hint was even close to enough. She still continued puzzling over the riddle, failing to come to any sort of conclusion. Through the twilight's beauty, something solemn hides - those who don't seek it shall never find.

She had long since committed it to memory. What it meant was another story. She felt nothing as she saw the sunset - awe, perhaps, as it was quite beautiful. The poem said as much. But no sense of sadness or solemnity came over her, as Urbosa's poem also said. What was she supposed to find? And, as she had asked many times, what in Hylia's name did this have to do with her appointed knight?

That boy, she thought angrily. If only he would just leave me alone. All he's done is trail me and constantly remind me of my failures.

"I am to escort you to the stables to wait for your knight," the Gerudo soldier said with a dip of her head, jolting Zelda back to reality. "And don't get any ideas," the Gerudo added firmly. "I'm to ensure that you stay put until he arrives."

I've been able to escape from knights before, Zelda thought silently. I'll figure out how to slip away without him, whether you like it or not. "As you say," Zelda said instead, nodding.

As he peeled away from the wall, Link tugged his hood closer to his face, trailing behind the princess as silently as he could, though he kept a decent distance. Urbosa had warned him that the princess would do all she could to avoid him. So, as before, he was going to follow from afar.

He couldn't keep lying to himself, however. Link… he feared what lay in wait. He felt a prickling sense of unease. It was as if a beast lay in the shadows, awaiting the perfect moment to pounce.

So he kept up his guard up, his hand readily prepared to draw the Master Sword at a moment's notice. Link could only hope that it wasn't necessary… though, he'd had this feeling before, too often for his liking. And when it came… it was never wrong.

Stay vigilant, he thought. Stay watchful, silent, ever the warrior...

Link breathed out a silent sigh.

Hylia, give me strength.

Everything was going fine, according to plan. Not a single monster or obstacle had gotten in Zelda and the Gerudo's way. They continued on at a near leisurely pace, no signs of danger setting off the Gerudo.

As they passed a small group of travelers, however, the Gerudo soldier froze in place.

"Sa'oten," she breathed. The Gerudo glanced back at the group, which had paused in their trek.

Zelda looked at the Gerudo soldier questioningly. "Is something wrong?"

"Run, princess," the Gerudo said quietly.

"What?" Where did this sudden shock come from all of the sudden?

"Run!" the Gerudo cried as the group of travelers turned to them, smirks adorning their faces.

Then, in a swirl of cards, red suited, white masked assassins took their place.

Zelda quickly turned, hearing the Gerudo beginning to fight off the assassins. Yiga? The very ones Purah had warned her about… the very ones that she had laughed at, calling them mere bandits and nothing more.

And now they were after her.

Adrenaline flowed through her veins, as speedily acting as a deadly poison. There was only one thing that she could risk thinking about right now - survival.

She glanced backward, and immediately realized her mistake. In the distance, the Gerudo soldier lay limp on the ground… two Yiga rushing at her with inhuman speed.

Zelda forced her legs to keep going, though she felt as if she could freeze with fear at any moment. Faster. Just a bit farther. The bazaar is right there! Help!

Then the two Yiga appeared before her out of thin air.

She quickly pivoted, turning speedily and attempting to escape, but yet another Yiga blocked her path.

She backed away with a strangled gasp, but felt her heel snag on a rock, sending her tumbling to the ground.

The Yiga before her raised their sickle, the cold steel glinting viciously in the sunlight.

This is the end, she realized. After everything… I will die a failure and a fool. I'm so sorry, she thought. Who she was apologizing to, she did not know. Herself? Her knight? The Gerudo who had died because of her? Her kingdom?

It mattered not. Death was to come. She prepared for the pain…

...but no pain came.

She heard a quiet grunt, and the strangled cry of a sudden death. However, the cry was not hers.

She opened her eyes, risking a glance upwards, and gaped at the scene she saw.

The knight. The one who she had scorned and scolded relentlessly. He was there, standing over her, the body of the Yiga limp on the ground beside her. She thought she saw something in the knight's eyes - a silent storm, lightning flashing.

She saw the knight straighten, brandishing his sword, which glowed as brilliant a cerulean as his eyes.

The two remaining Yiga backed up slightly, but one paused in its movements. "You!" a male voice hissed gleefully from behind the mask. "So you are the champion! Just as the master said!"

Her knight remained silent, the familiar coldness in his eyes somehow comforting.

"How does it feel?" the Yiga laughed. "How does it feel, to know that you almost had to add another to your list of guilt?" Another? She had no time to think on it - the Yiga continued to speak. "To realize she almost died because of you? You're lucky you were quick enough this-"

"Leave," her knight interrupted, his voice cold as ice. She recognized it instantly. He had spoken that way the night she had tried to sneak away - when he had thought her some sort of intruder... or assassin. "More blood needn't be spilled," he continued. "Go now, before I have second thoughts about sparing your lives."

"Not as vengeful as you should be," the Yiga chuckled. "Ever the fool, aren't you, Hero?"

But he said no more, his companion disappearing with him in a whirling swish of cards.

The knight's eyes lingered on the place where the Yiga vanished momentarily. After heaving a deep breath and loosening the grip on his sword with his hand, he turned towards her, offering her his left hand (free of a weapon).

She recalled a moment quite like this - when the guardian had been about to take her life. The one he had destroyed… saving her life. He had offered his hand with the same blank expression, and she had refused it, instead standing on her own and scolding him mercilessly.

She had been such a fool back then, hadn't she?

Zelda gripped his hand and the knight raised her to her feet.

He scanned her quickly. "Are you injured?" he asked quietly.

Zelda shook her head silently.

Her knight nodded, seeming satisfied, and freed her hand. However… she felt something warm and sticky upon release.

She looked down at her hand, only to see crimson blood… and it wasn't hers.

"You're injured," she realized, looking back up at him.

Her knight tilted his head at her, before lifting his hand to his face. She could see the blood that had seeped onto the leather of his glove. She also saw a long, jagged cut in the sleeve of his undershirt, going from the wrist to his elbow, all of it stained with a vibrant red. She was surprised she hadn't noticed it earlier.

"I'm fine," he said curtly, dropping his arm back to his side. "It's time to go."

She knew what he meant. There could be more. Yet Zelda hesitated. "I will go right now," Zelda said slowly, "if you promise that you'll get that patched up as soon as possible."

Her knight gave her an unreadable look. But there was emotion in it - small, but it was there in the slight raise of a single brow.

After a moment, he nodded silently. In her experience, she knew that he wouldn't speak another word.

They reached the stable, in the same silence as always. This time, however, it was not frustrating or infuriating. This time, Zelda found the feeling of those eyes on her back a comfort… she knew that no Yiga would be sneaking up on her again. Not as long as he was there, following quietly from behind.

Even so, she felt guilt creeping up inside of her, and this time, she didn't dare to swat it away. She deserved this guilt. She had been cruel.

She glanced up at the knight who sat mere feet away. He had rolled up his sleeve and was currently wrapping the freshly cleaned wound.

It's deep, Zelda thought with a wince. That much was clear. And it still hadn't ceased bleeding. But her knight had not so much as winced as he cleaned it, and approached wrapping it with the same steely demeanor.

Zelda looked down at the diary in her hands. Where should she start? "I am unsure how to put today's events into words." That seemed a good start. "Words so often evade me lately, and now more than ever."

She hesitated. She seemed to be doing that an awful lot as of late. "He saved me."

After that, the words seemed to flow easily. "Without a thought for his own life, he protected me from the ruthless blades of the Yiga Clan. Though I've been cold to him all this time...taking my selfish and childish anger out on him at every turn…" Zelda felt the guilt grow even stronger within her. "Still, he was there for me. I won't ever forget that.

"Tomorrow," she decided, "I shall apologize for all that has transpired between us. And then… I will try talking to him. To Sir Link. It's worth a shot."

Hmm... this rewrite is FAR more satisfying than the old story. I occasionally look back at the old chapters, think about using parts, and then decide against it. I've improved by leaps and bounds! If you haven't read the old story, please don't. Save yourself from those horrors!

Blablabla, excuses for publishing slightly later than usual, migraines, blablabla, tiredness, etc, etc. Life happens, and that's fine! I still got it out today, and that's all that matters.

Secret review phrase is the word "fool," because why not?

For my fellow writers out there, I have found myself stuck on the chapter after the chapter after this one. Blank page syndrome SUCKS. I shouldn't have ended at that spot! So yeah. If I publish a bit later than usual next week, I blame that.

Remember to vote for the next story using the poll on my profile! For guests, the options are listed on chapter 19, underlined in the author's note, and you can vote via review. It is very difficult to decide between stories when there's a two-way tie (though I find myself leaning towards the OoT one).

THANK YOU TO ALL OF THE REVIEWERS! Your support is very much appreciated! If I missed anyone... I sincerely apologize! I THINK I got everyone, but I checked this morning at 6 when I had a killer migraine. SOOOO... if I missed you, that's my bad! I blame the migraine!

Sincerely (Hear me! "With your ears!" "And your eyes!"),

Ari~