notaname (three weeks ago): I can see that. Knowledge is an important thing (that's one reason why I usually take the hardest classes possible)! Confusion is a rarer thing for me, because I do a lot of observing and work things out for myself. I'd say I'm pretty good at that. And I do catch on a bit more quickly than most, which is another plus. But something I've learned is that it's not always a good thing to have those things confirmed. Some things are better left unknown, while others can't ever be known for certain. So, hello! That sounds like a pretty good couple weeks (though it was a while ago). I feel you on the lack of invitations - a couple days ago was the first invite to someone's house I've had in a long time. Because my social life is just like Latin - it's dead. Jokes aside, Champion's Ballad... I did think that seemed a bit disappointing (haven't quite done it yet, but I have watched other people). At least it's not the triforce shard quest in Wind Waker... *shivers*. Aw, you're too kind! I actually kind of needed that today. I can feel you on that personality changing stuff. Depending on who I'm with, I can be anything from sarcastic and witty to cold and calculating. But that doesn't mean you don't have a real personality. It's just different facets of it, if that makes sense. Everyone's got a little bit of everything in them, some people just have sides that are more dominant than others. Oh no, I totally get the fighting skills thing - it was more a joke than anything else, but it is great to learn a bit about how it works when you write stuff. Helps it be more accurate, you know? No need to be sorry! Sleep schedules are really important for me personally, but I know that everyone is different. I've come to appreciate sleep a bit more because I used to have really bad insomnia, so every second counts. I hope you have a great next couple of weeks! Thank you for all the reviews, it's much appreciated! :)

Dash: Personally, I consider Hylians a kind of race, not a species. They're all human, normal humans and Gerudo included. Gorons and Rito are a bit more of a gray area, but I suppose they're technically races too. I'm sorry if that bothers you, that's just my opinion!

notaname (from last week): Oh no, that's completely fine! Life is life, and I completely understand! Thanks for the heads up, though! I'm glad you understand. School is calming down (some classes are so boringly easy now that I want to bang my head against the table... but I won't do that, because that would hurt XD), so I shouldn't have to choose between them anymore. Now it's coming down to choosing between writing and piano, but I've been working on getting that more balanced.

the8horcrux: OH MY GOSH, THANK YOU FOR ALL THE REVIEWS! YOU'RE WAY TOO KIND! Also, I don't judge all caps, because I do it all the time XD. I'm really, REALLY sorry I had to postpone the update. I'm glad Liari isn't boring (I kind of see her as annoying, but that's kind of on purpose XD), because I was a bit worried about that. OCs aren't always all the rage in fanfics, if you know what I mean. I WILL NEVER STOP TORTURING LINK! YOU CAN'T MAKE MEEEEEE... well, this chapter has a considerably lesser amount, but that's besides the point! Yeah, I've been meaning to fit the other champions in here, but I'm working out how to do it without it seeming out of place. I do need some of that Ravioli drama... and Mipha drama... and Daruk bashfulness... and Urbosa = MMMM, yes, love her. It's official, I'm throwing them all in there the moment I spot the slightest opportunity. OH MY GOSH, YOU'RE SO NICE! I really needed that today, but seriously, you're too kind!

Chapter 40: Persuasion

Liari was gone.

Link didn't know how to feel. They had been close, yes, ever since his time in Kakariko. But since he had started cutting himself off from the Sheikah, their bond had withered like a daisy in Hebra. They had talked once or twice since his split with them, but the moments were somewhat awkward. She had come to him to rant about Purah once or twice, but besides that, they had just… drifted apart.

Far apart or not, he did still care about her. But he didn't know the context of her disappearance. He had heard rumors about a massacre of guardians and the murder of a soldier, but the princess was, surprisingly, uninterested. That made for a severe lack of information on the matter.

He found it incredibly strange that Liari was gone (why'd she leave? Did she leave?), but he couldn't dwell on it too much. He'd leave it for those quiet moments at night where he was free to calculate, plot, and cry as he so pleased. For now, however, he had a job to do.

Princess Zelda was sat across from him at the library table, a place they'd come a lot recently. It was no longer books on myths and Sheikah technology that she paged through, replaced by books on prosecution and law. She had been vocal enough about why.

"Your 'punishments' are completely out of line," she said suddenly, pulling him from his stupor with a raised eyebrow. "I can tell you're thinking this is pointless - it's written all over your face."

Fear dropped into Link's stomach. That had been happening more and more lately… a small blink of an eye here, a twitch of his lips, and she could read him like a book. She only became more and more accurate.

The last person to read him so well, even with his guard up, was Impa, and she could read minds. Yet another thing to be concerned about.

Think about that later, he reminded himself. Concerns are for the night, concerns are for the night.

"The captain is just in his punishments," Link repeated, as he had so many times in the past few days. But he'd become more and more doubtful, and Zelda could tell. It was clear from the triumphant twitch at the corners of her mouth, as if she wanted to hide it but couldn't help feeling proud.

"I'll fix this for you, Link," Zelda promised. "Whether you like it or not. This is wrong, and you know it." Then she frowned. "Why are you still standing up?"

Link blinked away his confusion. "I'm not supposed to sit on duty, Princess," he tried.

"Nonsense," Zelda scoffed. "Sit, or else…" She raised an eyebrow, implying all sorts of horrors.

So it was with a heavy heart that Link relented and pulled out the creaky wooden chair, sitting down stiffly.

"If you want, you can read a book," Zelda suggested, gesturing to a pile of books he hadn't noticed before. "I wasn't sure what sort you liked… so I pulled a bit of everything. Some about history, some mythology, some science, some cooking… I think there's even some poetry in there."

"I shouldn't-" Zelda shot him a glare, and Link swallowed. "I need to be alert-"

"I insist." Zelda rolled her eyes. "All you do is stand there, and that's not helpful at the slightest. This way you'll be doing your job, but you'll also be learning, or at the very least you'll be entertained. If you really want to, you can help me with these." Zelda patted the stack of political books. "But since you are so certain that the captain is innocent, I thought you'd rather read something else. Too much incrimination in these books, I'm afraid."

Link knew that a part of him was curious. The curious little boy he'd once been still lived somewhere down there (deep, deep down), but it rarely got a say. Now, though, it seemed that he was fighting for control. Incrimination?

Link shook his head. No, not again. Stop doubting the captain. He's good at what he does. He knows what he's doing. Just keep my head down and keep moving forward. There's no need to fill my head up with nonsense fantasies of a better life.

That last thought surprised him. What's that supposed to mean? This is a great life, the life I'm destined to live. I'm selfish to think otherwise… or so the captain has told me.

"Link?" The princess's voice drew him out of his daze. Her brow was creased with worry.

Link merely gave her a blank look, unsure of what else to offer. What could he say? I'm questioning the meaning of life, his mind offered. Why are we here? Why do we even live, just to suffer? If we're all going to die someday, what's the point of living? Just your everyday existential crisis, you know?

But jokes from knights weren't funny, he reminded himself. But at the same time, it was the captain who had convinced him that joking was bad, and Zelda was quite convinced that the man was wrong. And Zelda wasn't stupid. Stubborn, perhaps. Stupid, she was most definitely not.

"Is something wrong?"

"No," Link said a bit too quickly.

Zelda frowned and tilted her head slightly, as she always did when she was thinking very thoroughly. Link shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

"...Is this about that Liari girl?" Zelda asked.

Link blinked.

"I heard she went missing. And I heard that she was a friend of yours, or at the very least used to be. Are you worried about her?"

Link cast his eyes downward.

"...cousin," he mumbled.

"What?"

"She's my cousin." The only family I have left.

"Oh." Link noted the slight pinkness of the princess's cheeks. "I thought… but nevermind that. You were close?"

"Were," he agreed.

"So you are worried."

Link fought back a sigh, skillfully schooling his expression into blankness. "No. A knight doesn't have time to worry, Your Highness."

Zelda rolled her eyes. "I expect that the captain was the one who told you that?"

Link frowned. Yes, he was. Why did the princess have to keep on making him question everything?

"Think of everything that man has ever told you," Zelda said slowly, "and throw it out the window. I don't care what your ridiculous captain thinks. I don't even care what the oh-so-great Hylian Champion thinks. I want to know what Link thinks."

Link was unable to suppress his shock. His mouth opened aimlessly, eyes widening just enough to be obvious. The princess stared into his shocked eyes with the most serious expression he'd ever seen…

...and then she burst into laughter. Which didn't help his brain. At all.

Zelda said something in her laughter, which Link could barely make out. Something along the lines of "That's the most expression I've seen on your face."

Link frowned. Then a stray hair made its way into his eyes, so he shook his head to rid himself of it. But that only made his bangs replace it, reminding him of his urgent need to cut his hair. This only served to make the princess laugh harder. Link felt his cheeks heat up in embarrassment.

"I'm sorry," Zelda said when she finally stopped laughing, wiping a tear from her eye. "I never get to see that side of you. I do wish you'd be yourself more, you know."

This time, Link managed to suppress all but a slight raise of the eyebrow.

"Did you ever consider," came a familiar voice of Fi, "that she cares about you?"

Link didn't want to admit it, but yes, he had. Zelda had hinted at it multiple times, but this had to be the closest she'd come to voicing it. He had often thought it was too hopeful to be true. He was a knight, she was a princess. Princesses don't care if their knights were themselves. Then again, the captain had said that too.

"What's wrong?"

Link cast his eyes to the side. What should he say? He could make something up. He could lie and say it was nothing.

"I don't know what to think anymore." The words were out of his mouth before he could have a second thought. "The captain… I've known him since I was a kid. Closest thing I've had to a father since…" his eyes went to the floor. The Yiga stood over him, sickle raised over his head...

"Oh, Hylia," came Zelda's horrified voice. "I didn't… but you need to understand that this is still wrong." Link looked up, meeting her solemn yet determined green eyes. "In fact, this makes it even worse. Maybe the captain has made you think he cares, but he doesn't. No one in their right mind would do this to someone they care about. He's abusing you. He's hurting you, and he doesn't care about anything other than your usefulness, I'm sure."

Link frowned yet again, but he couldn't think of anything to say in reply. So instead, he reached over to the pile of books and plucked out a book about horses. When he had been a squire, he had spent a lot of time in the stables with the horses. That was one of the few things he went against the captain's orders on…

Link shook off the thought. The captain was also strongly against reading for leisure at any time, let alone on the job. But…

Link snuck a glance at Zelda's face, now focused on her book. Maybe… she could have a point.

Sorry for the delay, everyone! And for a chapter that's a bit shorter and pure Zelink fluff (platonic or romantic, take it however you so please)... I'm sorry. XD

Oof, I have not been the most motivated lately. Also, life is stupid, because life does whatever the heck it wants. CURSE YOU, LIFE! RAAAAAAAA! And procrastination is a thing too, a lack of motivation being a key part of that. I really need to get the action in this story to pick up, because my lack of motivation is pacing it a bit slowly, and that makes me LESS motivated, and then it gets paced even MORE slowly, and it's an endless cycle of procrastination. Also, I have not done a lot of editing at ALL for the last... ten chapters or so. Which is kind of bad, so oops.

Speaking of a lack of editing, feel free to review! I'm sure there's something worded weirdly in here somewhere, and I'm sure that something can be improved. If you don't catch anything, feel free to suggest things you want to see, theorize, or just drop in to say hi. PLEASE, IT MIGHT HELP PRESSURE ME OUT OF WRITER'S BLOCK, BECAUSE Y'ALL ARE TOO NICE!

Quick shout out to the newcomer reviewer, the8horcrux. How the heck do you have the patience to write reviews for that many chapters? I can barely write one! I am in awe of your dedication to reviewing. XD

Ooh! Another idea for your reviews! Writing prompts, because lack of inspiration is often a large part of procrastination. Though I did recently read that procrastination isn't necessarily bad, it's still procrastination. But writing prompts help that, right?

Anywho, to all of you that reviewed, THANK YOU (read that in Beedle's voice. You know you want to)! Like I said before, you guys are too kind, because this stuff kind of feels crappy sometimes. You're probably the only reason this story hasn't gone on hiatus, because I'd feel too guilty to leave you hanging like that... ;-; So yeah, thanks. Imma go cry now.

Sincerely (as sincere can be, I assure you!),

Ari~