Apple: You're absolutely welcome! I'm so glad that you've enjoyed the story so far! I'm very sorry that you have to wait an extra week... if I could get this done faster, then I totally would. I would write the whole story in like, a week or something if I could! Tale of Two Rulers, huh? That's definitely a good one! I remember that line... definitely hit me. I totally get that feeling! It can be hard to find a good fanfic... oh, some can be SO BAD (no offense to the people that write them, of course). This story has been pretty high on my priority list for about a year and a half now, so I've put a lot of work into it. I'm so happy that you like it! :D

Guest (Chapter 8~ if you ever read this, here you go! Sorry I can't reply somewhere I'll be sure you'll see it...): Oh man, I forgot how bratty Zelda was in the earlier chapters. I definitely understand your anger, but I'm afraid that's just being realistic. If we saw nothing besides Zelda's side of the story, then it would easily make us dislike Link. People are opinionated creatures, and it takes a lot of work for someone to look beyond their own struggles and see other people's stories. To Zelda, Link may not seem blatantly stiff-necked or prideful, as Zelda often describes him, but she sees him as perfect. He seems to get everything right the first time. He was basically handed the Master Sword, while she remains struggling to find her powers that she's been working towards her entire life. It wouldn't be hard to resent him for that, to be honest.

Guest (Chapter 38): Oh no, the horrors of a normal sleep schedule! But the pocket knife makes it totally worth it XD. Jokes aside, thank you! What with winter break, life has been much less chaotic. But you never know what could happen... life is often like a horror movie, what with jump scares happen when you least expect them.

I hope you all had a wonderful week, and a wonderful Christmas/whatever you celebrate! Now, on with the story!

Chapter 37: Crime and Punishment

Liari leaned back impatiently in her chair, the creak echoing in the dungeon room. It was dark, it was damp, it was gloomy… the list went on and on.

But it will be worth it, she told herself. Because she had finally found a way to prove herself. No longer would she be treated like a foolish child…

The guards opened the wooden door and carelessly tossed a figure into the chair opposite herself, Purah, and the knights. After the figure was secured with rope, a guard shook it awake.

"H-huh, what?" the figure gasped out, awakening with a snort.

"Lord Vald of Kakariko," said the interrogating knight slyly. "I would say it's a pleasure to meet you, but I'm not a liar."

"What am I doing here?" the man asked, eyes nervously flitting about the room.

"You are a prime suspect for involvement in the destruction of Sheikah technology," explained the knight firmly. "Every word you speak in this room must be the whole truth, and we will know if you lie.

Cuffs of Sheikah technology were slammed onto Vald's wrists, glowing a sickly green in the half-light of the dungeons.

Vald gaped at them. "I- wha- I don't know what you're talking about!"

The cuffs immediately flashed a vibrant crimson and Vald jolted backward, wincing sharply.

"Now Vald," Liari said, putting her best sinister smile on. "Didn't I tell you, oh, a few days ago or so, that there was a deadly weapon prototype whose circuits lay mainly in the legs?"

"Yes," Vald said firmly, as if not seeing the point. "You made me promise not to tell anyone."

Liari nodded a bit smugly. "Yes. But did you break that promise?"

"N-no," he said quickly, only to be jolted yet again as the cuffs glowed red. "Okay, yes, yes!"

"And who did you tell?" the knight demanded.

"They made me," he murmured feverishly. "I had no choice!"

Liari frowned inwardly as the cuffs didn't glow crimson. Not lying, huh? "Who?" demanded the knight.

"H-he never told me his name!" Bright red flared from the cuffs and Vald threw his head back with a sharp cry.

"Who was it?" the knight questioned forcefully.

Vald remained silent, shivering slightly.

"Tell us who," the knight said, his voice a growl from deep within his throat.

"He'll kill me," he breathed.

"And you think we won't do the same?" the knight snapped, Vald flinching harshly.

"Koru!" he blurted. "I'm not sure if that was his real name, it was all he told me, but he said his name was Koru, and that he was a member of the Yiga Clan!"

"Koru, eh?" the knight murmured. He gave the other knight in the room a pointed look. "Everything was recorded, yes?"

The other knight lifted a notepad. "Every word, Sir."

"Good." The knight in charge turned towards Liari. "Is there anything other false information you fed him?" he asked.

Liari shook her head. "No, Sir. That was all."

The knight nodded in approval. "Well done, Miss Liari. Though it caused damage to the guardians, which was somewhat reckless of you, we did manage to get useful information out of this. You are dismissed."

So Liari and Purah left the dungeons, only for Liari to immediately be met with Purah's angry glare. "What in Hylia's name were you thinking?" she hissed.

"What do you mean?" Liari growled right back. "I solved the mystery of the missing lab equipment! I found a traitor and got us a name! What's wrong with that?"

"You were reckless!" Purah shot back, her voice echoing loudly in the dungeons, her furious red eyes glowing in the firelight. "You caused the destruction of 67 percent of our guardians' legs, you fed information, false or not, to a possible thief, and now you act as if you've saved the universe!"

"Well I'm sorry," Liari snarled in a voice that suggested the opposite. "I wasn't aware that solving problems was illegal!"

"Solving problems?" Purah scoffed. "Solving the problem would've been reporting suspicious behavior to the knights. Most of them may be incompetent idiots running around like chickens without their heads, but the ones in charge know what they're doing! Instead, you decided to be overconfident and cocky and take everything into your own hands?"

"So what?" Liari retorted.

"You caused a mess that could've been avoided," Purah growled. "Not only that, but you risked your life. Do you have any idea what the Yiga will do to you if they find out about this?"

"Well, it's what Link would've done!" Liari countered sharply, to which Purah replied with a shocked expression. "I'm sorry that I'm not your perfect hero, your absolutely amazing Hylian Champion that you think of as a younger brother, and I'm just not as selfless and brave and clever as he is!"

"Liari-"

"But then the one time I try to act like he would, coming up with a reckless, effective plan just like he would, you get mad at me!"

With a huff, Liari turned away from Purah and stomped off, an angry huffing cloud of teenage angst.

"Liari, wait!" Liari heard Purah cry after her. But Liari didn't listen. If Purah wouldn't appreciate her efforts, maybe someone else would.

It was a beautiful day in the library, the beams of golden sunlight filtering through the colorful stained glass windows, illuminating trails of dust in the air. It was relatively quiet and peaceful, only a rare few people making use of the sanctuary of knowledge. Some sat at tables, pouring over their old tomes, while others were huddled together, quietly discussing topics beyond the average person's understanding.

Zelda frowned at her book. It wasn't because of what was in the book. No, the book was fine - interesting, and full of facts on the unique properties of rare minerals. But at the moment, she was finding it difficult to focus on it. Instead, her mind was filled with questions.

Zelda glanced at Link out of the corner of her eye. Though he was firm on his feet and in expression, as he usually was, there was a subtle but present darkness beneath his eyes, accompanied by a bruise, green and healing, on his cheek. It was far too much of a coincidence, considering the "Discipline Form" she'd found in his file, added a mere few days before.

"Off task," the form had read. "Informal relations with Her Royal Highness. Class Three disciplinary actions necessary for improvement."

Now, she acknowledged that yes, she had encouraged what could be considered "informal relations." But that was allowed if the royal party gave proper consent, didn't it? That was how it usually worked, but if so… why was he punished?

She glanced around, checking that there was no one watching her table, no one within hearing distance. Once she was certain they were indeed out of earshot, she turned towards her knight.

"Link?" she whispered. The knight in question looked towards her, tilting his head slightly in response.

"There was a… a form filed a few days ago," she said, deciding to get it over with as quickly as possible. "How exactly could 'informal relations' cause Class Three discipline?"

There was a slight twitch of Link's shoulders, as if he had forced himself not to flinch. His face, despite its well-kept blankness, was given away by the slight downward turn of his lips.

"I was off task," he recited with ease. "No matter the occasion, it is necessary for a knight to maintain professionalism while on duty. I failed to do so, and was rightfully punished as a result."

Zelda frowned. "But I gave you permission," she said. "It's not like you get any time off as it is, except to sleep." She suddenly realized he had no designated mealtime, and her frown grew. "Surely it is fine for you to join me in my pastime activities. You are still watching me, after all."

"A knight is not meant to participate in leisure. Knights live to serve," the knight stated, because this wasn't Link, Zelda decided. This was Sir Link, the knight honed to be blank-faced, professional, and firm. Not the young man who was bashful, a bit shy, but (dare she say it) endearing all the same.

"You serve me all day, every day," Zelda said quietly, but firmly. "The least I can do is allow you to 'participate in leisure.'"

He was silent for a moment. Sir Link did not seem to feel like responding.

But then, to her astonishment, a bit of plain old Link bled through. "...I do not think the captain would approve," he said a bit quietly, casting his eyes to the floor. "He was… not happy about what happened the other day." He allowed no emotion into his face, but his voice was infected with the slightest bit of something terrifying.

Fear? But no, it couldn't be. Link was brave, he was selfless and so very strong! There was no way… fear?

The word rolled around in her mind, and she realized it. Something is going on here that isn't alright. Punishment for something he was permitted a member of the Royal Family to do? Exaggeration on forms, perhaps lying about the extent of punishment?

Zelda slammed her book shut. Yes, something was going on here that she didn't like. No, not at all. And Princess Zelda wasn't notorious for being stubborn for nothing.

"Link, I'd like you to help me find every book you can on the rules and guidelines of the disciplinary systems of the kingdom's knights," she said, standing up. She sent him a firm, pointed look. "And I do mean every book." Because now there was a new thing on her to-do list, right beneath finding her sealing powers and defeating Calamity Ganon, and she would ensure that it was achieved.

Summary for this chapter in ten words or less: Liari being a teenager, and Captain? Start running.

My sincere apologies for the delay on this update. If you didn't see the not-a-chapter chapter (which should be deleted by now), I had a lot going on and was unable to finish the chapter by the last due date. Heck, I barely made it to today! I literally finished the chapter like 5-10 minutes ago and had four pages total about an hour and a half ago. It's up to six now, but BOY was that a close call. The most disappointing thing was that there was a lot I could add to this chapter. The Vald interrogation scene didn't have as much development as I'd like, and the second half could use some more too. So when this chapter gets edited in the mass edit, its page count will probably go from six to eight or nine or more. It seems the list of Not-So-Great chapters just grows more and more... not to say I don't like this one. I love this one! There's just so much more I could've done... *cries*

Anyway, enough of that. Thank you all for your wonderful reviews! As always, you all are way too kind! If I failed to reply to your review, I sincerely apologize. I only had a small amount of time to write and whatnot last week, so it all went to writing. If you review again, I will do my best not to miss it!

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas! Oh, and have a happy New Year! 2020... I am totally rating everything 20/20 next year. Or making jokes about the number twenty. Or something. IT'S DOUBLE TWENTIES, IT'S AMAZING!

Sincerely (as a piece of bacon... wait...),

Ari~