notaname: Oh my gosh, the puns (XD)! Don't worry, I won't be killing off Link's catto! *whispering* at least not yet... wait, you didn't hear that! ANYWAY... it's all good! I totally understand - happens to me all the time! Ooh, Wind Waker's a great game! I last played it about a year ago. I just love getting attacked by seagulls! Ah, the memories. My week's been going fine - not much going on for me recently, just normal school things (doing work, getting homework, forgetting about said homework, frantically doing said homework in freetime before/during other classes) and being antisocial. How are you doing?

Chapter 31: Weapons

Zelda had never been very athletic. As a princess, from the moment she was born she had been coddled and spoiled. She'd never done any farm work or anything of the sort, leaving her with little muscle, and she most certainly had no experience with combat.

But, at the very least, her not-so-strong legs were strengthened by the rush of adrenaline that had immediately pumped into her bloodstream the moment she realized what was happening.

She was leaving her knight behind to fight of who knew how many monsters - she could've sworn she heard the roar of a lynel, but her heart was pounding so loudly in her ears that it was hard to tell. She didn't dare to look back - she had learned that slowing to turn around was the last thing she should do.

Please be alright, Link, she pleaded as she skittered around a rock. She was, hopefully, far enough from the battleground now to stop and take a breather.

She collapsed beside the rock, leaning on the warm stone. The sound of the battle had faded with distance, so she could only hear faint cries of monsters and… oh please, don't let that scream be human.

She panted heavily, but she forced herself to keep aware of her surroundings. She was tired, yes, but her knight was fighting off so many monsters at once… if one escaped his sight, going after her, or something happened to him…

She mentally insisted that the latter of the two options was impossible. Link (Sir Link, she berated herself) was strong enough to become a Royal Guard at a young age (though now that she thought about it, she really didn't know how old he was)! He was praised by Captain Arduum and Lady Impa, not to mention the servants (though the maids in particular were usually praising his appearance) and soldiers!

But then those cursed words came back to her.

"They want someone stoic and strong. Ensuring their faith is my duty to the kingdom. I will not fail."

He was only human. True, an incredible human that seemed to have no real faults (besides being too quiet - and if she were being honest, that might not have been such a bad thing, considering how some people were), but human. And because of that, her knight's mortality became a greater fear with every cry that reached her sharp ears.

She didn't know how long she sat their, her eyes wide as she did her best to keep her surroundings sharp. She wanted nothing more than to close her eyes and ears, to force the sounds of battle out of her mind.

And the last thing I ever say to him… of course it has to be bringing up his mother. She hadn't known, but she didn't let that smother her guilt in the slightest. But now that she knew the truth, she only had more questions. How long had it been since Link's mother had died? How could she have died - illness, or perhaps murder? What about his father?

Then she remembered the painting that she had seen of that soldier, Sir Lycanthryn… the moment the painting came to her mind, the gears in her head began to turn.

But before she had managed to truly grasp the concept of the new theory, she heard a loud, angered roar, but mixed with the cry of rage there was agony, throwing the vague concept out of her mind. That roar… it was definitely a lynel's.

The sounds of battle faded completely, leaving a tense silence in the air. Zelda found herself holding her breath, anxious for what came next. Her hands were shaking.

She was scared, she admitted, as she heard footsteps approaching from the other side of the rock, which was the only reason she wasn't lying on the ground and curled up in a ball. She was afraid that what would come around the corner would not be her knight, but instead a vicious beast that had a taste for human blood.

"Princess?" said a voice as a figure rounded the corner, and Zelda almost collapsed from relief.

"R-right here," she said a bit shakily.

Her knight walked forward and offered a hand, which she accepted with warm cheeks. He pulled her to her feet, and after steadying herself, she reluctantly released his hand.

"How did you manage to fight them all off?" she blurted out.

"Turned them against each other," he said nonchalantly, sheathing the Master Sword in a single swift motion. "The lynels trampled down most of the bokoblins and severely wounded each other. I only took care of what was left to do."

"Lynels?" Zelda squeaked. "There was more than one?" She looked at her knight's face more carefully, before gasping. "You're bleeding!"

Her knight tilted his head slightly, before raising his hand to the gash on his forehead, his fingers coming away crimson.

"I'll be fine," he said emotionlessly. "Just a flesh wound."

"I have bandages and water," Zelda said firmly, quickly turning to the leather bag on her hip. "We should get it cleaned up so there's no infection-"

"We should get back to the stable, Your Highness," her knight said, the slightest bit of exasperation slipping into his voice (Zelda didn't know whether to count that as a victory or not). "There could be more monsters-"

"I insist!" Zelda said, and before she knew what she was doing, she had grabbed her knight's arm and dragged him to a good place to sit down.

After using a rag and some water to clear up the blood, she found that the wound was not as bad as previously expected. "That cut doesn't look too bad, actually," she said, voicing her thoughts, as she began to wrap the bandages around Sir Link's head. "You're fine for now, but we might as well bandage it now that it's clean."

The princess folded the end of the bandage so that it would hold, blushing as she realized how this might look from the outside. What princess bandages the wounds on her knight? Zelda cleared her throat and sat up straight. "You know, there's a fine line between courage and recklessness. As brave as you are, that does not make you immortal."

Don't you dare do that again, she wanted to say as she looked into her knight's curious and somewhat amused blue eyes. I was worried!

Her knight nodded, showing his understanding. But Zelda knew that he wouldn't hesitate to go into battle again - not only that, he would go into battle again, against the incarnation of evil and hatred itself. It was funny that she thought there would be any chance of it being otherwise.

It was then Zelda finally took the time to survey the battlefield, standing up to see it in full view. By the sound of the slight clink of a scabbard, she knew that Link had followed.

It was as she saw the piles of mangled bokoblins and dead lynels, splattered with blood. that she was reminded of just how capable her knight was. She had known he was a skilled fighter, yes - he had successfully fought off the Yiga, saving her life. But to destroy such an army of beasts… to turn them against each other so cleverly… it was no wonder he was the chosen one.

"It seems that, not only the frequency of these attacks is on the rise…" she mused aloud, recalling the reports that came in everywhere from the north to the south, "...but the scale of the beasts we are facing is intensifying as well."

She looked down at her feet, her hand going up to her chest, feeling the heartbeat finally begin to slow. "I fear that… I fear that this is an omen which portends the return of Calamity Ganon," Zelda said quietly.

She shook her head and dusted off her trousers, turning to look her knight determinedly in the eye. "And, if that's the case, I'm ready to expect the worst. We'll need to make preparations as soon as possible."

Her knight nodded. "Of course, Princess," he said, surprising Zelda for the who-knows-what-number time that day.

"Zelda," she blurted, before her hands shot up to her mouth. What am I doing? what am I doing?! Her mind screamed.

Link tilted his head.

Her hands fell down to her waist with a sigh. "Please call me Zelda," she said quietly. "I… we're equals. If anything, you are more than me. You've achieved more than I have, more than I possibly will, Sir Link."

Confusion at the conversation turned to a wince at his title, leaving Zelda even more confused as to what was happening. It was a strange day indeed.

"Sir Link?" she repeated.

"I…" his voice was hesitant. "...I am undeserving of calling you anything besides 'Princess' or 'Your Highness,'" he explained. "If anything, I am beneath having a title. There is little honor in being a knight."

The conversation from just a night or so before flooded back to her. He doesn't like killing, she recalled. Of course he would find little pleasure in a title that came with blood - to someone like him it must've been like sticking "Murderer" or "Human Weapon" in front of his name.

Zelda smiled slyly as a plan formed in her mind. "I'll call you Link," she said slowly, drawing Link's eyes back up to hers. He raised an eyebrow, clearly sensing a catch.

"But?"

"But you have to call me Zelda in exchange," Zelda said, grinning.

A conflicted expression came over her knight's face - Zelda had to admit that she was loving the expressions today. It was like seeing a rare ray of sunshine in a normally dreary and rainy land. She was more than happy to bask in its warmth.

"I do not feel like being sentenced to death, Princess," Link said finally, putting stress on the title. "Call me whatever you like, but I am bound by oath."

Zelda blushed. He made an excellent point - nobles and other higher ups would not be happy if they found out her knight was calling her anything other than "Your Highness" or "Your Royal Majesty."

"Just when no one else is around," she insisted. "I… I've spent my whole life as a princess. I'd like to be a normal girl for once… not some failure." She spat out the last three words, the syllables like venom on her tongue. She looked toward her knight, meeting his eyes with a pleading, sincere expression. "At least give me that."

It was like staring at two pools reflecting the sky. They were blank and unfeeling at first glance, but as she looked further… she saw clouded, hazy emotions that she suspected reflected her own. Impossible, she thought. I'm seeing things. This was Link after all!

"...Maybe someday," he said finally, averting his eyes and looking towards the battlefield. "But even if you were a common maid, I wouldn't be worthy of speaking your name as I am now." His face shifted to something like disgust, though it was quite subtle. "I'm nothing more than a weapon. There is little honor in being a knight."

Little honor… at those words, Zelda recalled the veteran knights that she had seen and heard during festivals. They were often asked to give speeches on the honor of being a knight of Hyrule. Sometimes they were powerful, inspiring speeches that were spoken with true sincerity and pride, weaving tales of bravery and winning against the odds. Sometimes they were solemn, remembering the deaths of their comrades with respect and gratitude.

But just a few years before, there had been a speech that didn't fit into either mold. Instead, the elderly veteran, a previous general that had headed the whole of Hyrule's army, had shocked the entire audience into silence.

"I bet you expect me to sing flowery praises about how much pride I have for the Hyrulean army," he had said slowly, as if speaking to young children. "That I'll regale you with tales of glory and might, showing my complete faith in this kingdom's army - telling you to do the same." Then he had scoffed. "Well, I will not let the knights of this kingdom hide behind their curtain of propaganda any longer. You want to know what a knight is?"

At that point in the speech, some higher ranking knights had rushed towards the podium, only to be stopped by the lowly guards that normally cowered beneath them.

"A knight is nothing more than a weapon. A tool, for violence and death! I know it, the king knows it, your general knows it, your soldiers know it! We may protect you, but we also kill other living, breathing human beings! Remember the war with Labrynna, a mere two, near three decades ago?"

When this point in the speech had come, the veteran general's eyes had clouded. "We killed them. Villages of innocent men, women, and children alike, slaughtered like they were worse than animals. All because we hide behind our armies before even bothering to try to resolve conflict by humane means!"

The veteran general's son, a knight in his forties with an eye patch over one of his eyes, had made his way up to the stage to bring guide his father off the podium gently - but not before the veteran had shouted a few last words.

"We humans are fools! There is little honor in being a knight! Remember that, and maybe one day you'll actually understand!"

Zelda blinked away the memories, shaking them off. Though Link was no longer facing her, she could still a portion of his right eye. In it, she saw the same look she had seen in that veteran's eyes. Anger? Hatred? Guilt? Fear?

Perhaps she'd never know. Normally, when Zelda thought this, it steeled her determination to find the answer. No matter what, she would find out how to use her sealing powers. No matter what, she would find out how to get the guardians into working condition.

But, she thought, maybe just this once, just maybe, she didn't want to know.

Whew! One of the longest chapters in the book, and without a single scene OR PoV change! AMAZING! I hardly believe it myself! I mean, I think there's a chapter that's nine pages in the original font, and this one is only 8 1/4, but WHATEVER!

For once in my life, I don't have a ton to write in this here author's note, and it's kind of weird. I've currently given up on my one chapter ahead schedule, because two weeks ago I was *coughcough* procrastinating to the extreme *coughcough* and totally got behind schedule. Maybe I'll fix that eventually, I dunno.

In case you didn't notice, I made some references to the... what's it called? Partner fic? I dunno, but I made some references to the insert whatever its called here to Before (The Rewrite, because the old one confuses me), Weapon. It's literally the chapter's title. I'll probably be making some more references to it in the future... but there were like five in here. One you won't understand until later in Before or Weapon, but yeah, whatever.

Reviews make me happy! Leave one if you can, but if you can't because your cat ripped off your hand, you're in an emergency room, you're feeling shy, or whatever, I won't judge you! But if you want to leave one and just don't know what to say... I'm gonna be blunt. Say anything - literally any review lights up my day. Even critical ones! Wait, have I ever had an actual, legitimate critical/hate review? *Contemplates the average nature of reviewers on and makes extreme thinking noises*

That's all! Have a wonderful two weeks, y'all (why the heck do I keep saying/writing "y'all?!")! I wish you all luck on the chaotic road that is life! Wear your seat belt!

Sincerely (*snort* I'm awake! What am I being sincere about again?),

Ari~