To Aid A Hero Chapter 8: Emotion, a soul calibur fanfic

MistressOfTime1218: Hi everyone. I know what you're thinking, but I ask you all to please put down your torches and pitchforks for just a moment. This chapter should have been out about two weeks ago. I was set and ready to post it, when exactly two Mondays ago, my father came home with some bad news. He had gotten fired, and to cut things short, his company had shot first and asked questions later, relying on people who were envious of my father for his success in the company. I was so mad (sad, upset, distraught, astounded) that this chapter was furiously rewritten and added to quite a bit. The reason I am telling you all this is because there might be some heavy emotional situations in here that may or may not make sense. I was highly emotional when I wrote them, after all. I almost did not want to post this up, but Link kept urging me on, telling me that this needed to be put out. If it is too terrible I will fix it at a later time. Just let me know.

FangOfDoubt25: You forgetting something?

MistressOfTime1218: Oh right! Hey, thanks to all of you who reviewed, faved, and alerted this story. I had almost wanted to give up on writing after my father was so unjustly treated, leaving our family in a hot spot. But Fang kindly printed out every review and email you guys have ever sent to me and presented the papers to me, saying, "Remember who you write for, and remember why you started." It is partly thanks to him that we have this lovely chapter.

FangOfDoubt25: (blushing) You said you weren't going to say anything about me!

MistressOfTime1218: Here you guys go. It's freakishly long and, I hope, fangirl/fanboy friendly. On with the story! Wait, first! Fang, the disclaimer.

FangOfDoubt25: Why do I let you do this to me? MistressOfTime1218 does not own any of the noticeable video game references and characters in this story. Though she does own the game disks, cartridges, and systems needed to play them.

Siegfried had felt her approach more than he had heard it.

His ears had been somewhat shot hours earlier, so he had unconsciously decided not to hear much of anything for a good while. Amy's cries had affected him a great deal more than he originally thought they would. They had also hurt much more than he had expected. It should have come as no real surprise.

She was a little girl. A little girl who had suffered more than enough for her short lifetime, and she did not deserve to suffer again. Not like that. Not by crying her eyes out over something she had no control of. Not by losing something so precious. The pain he caused should have hurt, and it should have hurt him as much as it did her.

"I told you to go to bed." He said to the princess he knew had entered the stables. He should have known she would not listen to his orders so easily. She would never be so cooperative.

He felt her sit beside him on the floor. "It is already morning. I have gone to bed and awoken from my slumber already. You appear to have not."

He had not been able to leave the stable. Not after what he had done to such an innocent child. He did not deserve to sleep in a proper bed. He had no right to sleep peacefully. Amy had not been able to drag herself off to her room either. Instead, after she had stopped crying, she had decided to sleep where she was. Epona, the kind creature that she was, decided to lie down and make herself a cushion for Amy's personal use. The horse hated that position, as it made her extremely uncomfortable and unable to run at a moment's notice, but she made an exception just this once.

Siegfried chose to sit opposite of the stall, silently watching from against the wall he had made himself somewhat comfortable against. That was all he had been able to do. It appeared he had been watching for far longer than he had intended to and had lost track of the time. Honestly, he had hoped he could have been able to act if Amy had woken up due to some kind of nightmare if he remained, but he was well aware that he would have been useless when it came to something like that. Link knew how to calm nightmares. Siegfried only knew how to ignore them.

"I noticed you did not see yourself to bed, nor have you gotten any decent amount of sleep."

He scoffed at her attempt at concern. Or perhaps it was real. He had no idea. Truth be told it would not have mattered much if it was, or was not, sincere. Not when it was her trying to give him comfort. "What, were you looking for me outside your window?" Yunseong's old room did have a decent view of the stables. She would have been able to see him if she had been looking.

"You don't seem very up to par." He could tell she was looking at him, even though he did not turn to ensure that she was. "You usually come up with wittier responses than that."

"Don't speak like you know me so well." Had he not been so tired, he would have done something to get her to leave him alone. He did not like her beside him. It almost made him sick. "Where's Navi?" He took notice that the fairy was not with her.

"She is still asleep. I thought it best to give her a bit more rest after yesterday's ordeal."

"How very kind of you." He noted with sarcasm. How could she not understand that she was the last person he wanted near him at the moment? Was she that dense? Or did she simply not care?

"I am not a cruel person, though you seem highly convinced that I am."

He actually did turn to look at her just then. She was already staring back at him, waiting for a specific kind of response to her statement. In her eyes was a challenge. A challenge that sought out the honest reaction to what she had just said. Did she think he would lie? If she did, she would be highly disappointed.

"It is no surprise that I think lowly of you. I told you that when we met, or at the very least I implied it."

"You truly have no reason to. We have never been formally introduced. I have given you no option that says you should hate me so."

He narrowed his eyes. "You do not give me options period, because you do not get to decide what options I have. And to be clear, I don't hate you. I detest your existence." He stopped to glance at Amy. He wanted the girl to sleep throughout the entire conversation, as he felt it might turn very ugly very shortly. "Hate is a word I reserved for Soul Edge."

"Forgive me if I don't comprehend."

"I forgive you for nothing, but I will understand why you don't 'comprehend'." He wanted her to know where she stood with him. She would have no excuses later on. She would not be able to complain of how he had not made himself clear to begin with. He would say it now. "I can't ever bring myself to like you."

"Why?"

"You hurt Link." That was all the reason he needed. It was truly the only reason that mattered to him. "You were selfish, and he paid the price. You used his kind heart as a weapon to bend him to your every will over and over again. It was because of you that he could not live out his own life, and it was because of you he could never see to himself."

That was what angered him the most. Link was bound to her, whether Siegfried wanted to acknowledge that fact or not. The two had some kind of unbreakable connection that would last for eternity. It would not have been such a bad thing, had she not taken advantage of it. Had that bond not damaged Link in any way, it would have been perfectly fine. She might have also been perfectly fine in Siegfried's book as well. But because it had hurt him, that bond was toxic, and she was too.

"I blame you for everything that happened to him." He added in. The empty life, painful death, she was the cause of everything Link had gone through. And he wanted her to know that she had been the cause of it all.

Her demeanor was quick to change. Instead of arguing with him, like he was certain she would, she wrapped her arms around her legs and rested her chin atop them. It was a position not fondly recognized among royalty because it made them look like something weaker than what they wanted to appear as. He could see it now. For the first time since she had shown herself to him, she did not seem like the heir of royal blood she was intended to be. Right then Zelda just looked like a little girl. A little girl who was now standing against a man, or maybe a boy in her eyes, who was making her take responsibility for what she had done.

"It was not my intention to make him suffer."

"It doesn't matter what your intentions were. The fact still remains that he is suffering because of you."

She tightened the grip on her legs. "Please try to understand me."

He scoffed. "I highly doubt that I would ever be able to understand the likes of you." He did even not want to try. He was lost as to why she wanted his understanding so desperately anyway. It would change nothing. Even if he were to have it, he would still think of her as a monster, and she would still see him as evil.

"Then at least listen as I explain myself. Please?"

He was honestly surprised. Zelda had never asked anything of him before. He never thought he would hear such a thing. Asking implied some kind of need. Needing implied the power of the party one was asking something from. She would never, in any of her lifetimes, give him the impression that she needed him, or that he held any kind of power over her. All she had ever barked out were orders whose proper purpose were to give her control. The fact that she was asking for something now, meant that she was giving him some of the power and control she had tried so hard to hang onto.

"You can explain." He said. "But I give you no guarantee that I will accept any excuses." That was all she would give him. He would bet money on it.

She let loose a hollow little laugh. It seemed oddly twisted to him as he took a moment to think about that gesture, and other actions like it. The two of them were not friends, not by any means, yet they had laughed and smiled at one another numerous times. Those little gestures were reserved for people of the heart. Friends, family, lovers, those people were all given such affectionate tokens of fondness.

Instead of using them as they should, however, the two of them had used those smiles and that laughter as a way to show the contempt and bitterness between them. Was it always his lot in life to turn beauty into ash? Was it hers as well?

"You can't begin to imagine how hard it is to be a reincarnate." She began solemnly. "It is a cycle of never-ending exhaustion. You die, and instead of finally resting in peace, you awake. You rise to find yourself alive, having been denied the release of death once more, yet again placed with the burden of every past memory. You see absolutely everything your past life was used for. The mistakes you made, the plans that fell through when you died, the causes that you did nothing to aid though you tried so hard."

She was not talking about Link. Siegfried knew that she could not have possibly been speaking on behalf of that wonderful hero. He knew everything that Link did was a positive contribution to his lands history. He had made no mistakes. But he knew she had.

"It was difficult. During my first few lives I laid witness to the outcomes of past rulings. There were many disappointments. Changes I had involuntarily forced to be made, stagnant issues that I could not see fixed, innocent people I had persecuted for the wrong reasons. I could never see those mistakes during my current time at the throne. It was only after they had been carried out through time, during every new life, that I saw if I was truly a good queen, or if I was a failure who only made it worse for those after her."

Siegfried wondered if Link had to bear witness to such things as well. It could not have been easy, seeing the full effects of what you had done in the past. Siegfried had experienced something similar after his escape from Nightmare, but it could not possibly have compared to what the elf must have gone through. For one thing, it had never really been Siegfried who had caused such monstrous feats of damage, so none of it had ever been his fault. Everything Link had done would be his responsibility to bear later on. That was a lot of pressure to withstand, and Link was a much softer soul than Siegfried was. The younger blonde might have taken seeing the consequences of his life much harder than his friend would have, even if the events that transpired because of it were not of his own doing.

"I was quick to learn that there was no perfect way to rule. What worked during one lifetime was not guaranteed to work in the next. Trying to force a good outcome would end in disaster. Every life was spent trying desperately to live up to the last. I, at one point, spent days on end looking at portraits of myself from the past, wondering if I was any different from what was on that canvas in my people's eyes. It was ridiculous to me, trying to outdo myself time and time again."

Siegfried furrowed his brows. When Link had first told him of what he was, the knight had been somewhat envious. To be constantly reborn into new times, to see the bounty brought upon by your own efforts, it had all sounded like such a blessing. Maybe it had been nothing more than a curse wrapped up in deceiving packaging. To create an image you had to live up to constantly. It must have been exhausting. How did Link feel trying to live up to his own reputation again and again and again? Did he feel like he had to travel down that same path, trapped in a never ending cycle of life?

"Sometimes I forgot that I was not the same person I once was. Not to the people around me. There were times when I would come upon a familiar face. They would perhaps be the descendant of a past friend, or perhaps an acquaintance's reincarnation."

"What's the difference between that and a reincarnate?" Siegfried found himself asking. Link had told him once that the two types of people were different, though not by much of a defining factor. Siegfried had wanted to ask why, but simply admitting that a line between the two words existed seemed to physically pain the young blonde. So Siegfried had bitten his tongue and left the matter alone.

"A reincarnate is basically the same as someone's reincarnation. Both are the rebirth of someone who has died. The difference comes into play when the true definitions of the words are made clear. It is hard to fully understand the meanings in this language, but in Hylian the terms are vastly different."

"Like?" He hated the thought of being so ignorant when it came to this topic. This had been a crucial part of Link's life, or lives, and Siegfried could hardly believe he had never truly tried to understand it until now.

"In the Hylian language, the word used for reincarnation means a person whose soul has been taken from the grave and placed into a new body similar to the one it had before. Only the soul, understand. The word used for reincarnate, while very similar, has an entirely different criterion. Reincarnates have their entire being brought along for the rebirthing process. Memories, likes and dislikes, abilities, every single thing that made that person who they were the first time, is carried on into their next life."

That had to be painful, the knight found himself thinking. For you to stay the same while others around you changed with the passing of time. For the faces you once treasured so dearly to suddenly look at you as though you had never existed. For those same individuals to then spare not even a passing glance when the two of you encountered each other again.

Was that why Link had been so wonderful to the people of this world, even when they were horrible to him? Had a desperate sort of kindness been trying to make itself remembered? Just this once?

Was that why Link had been so desperate to free Siegfried?

"There was nothing stable in my life. I found myself grabbing hold of anything that could have provided me with some reassurance. Someone whose life I could truly impact."

Was that why the two of them had gotten so close?

"I wanted to know I was precious to someone again, just as they were to me. I wanted my life, not my family name or past titles, to mean something to another. I wanted my life to, perhaps, be loved far beyond the limitations of time."

Had Link been trying to find someone who would keep him in memory? Link the person, not Link the legend. Not the Hero of Time, not the Hero of Twilight, not the hero of anything. Just Link, the boy who had a kind heart and a simple longing for companionship that was truly once in a lifetime.

"I myself never found that one person I was seeking so much. Not a normal existing human being anyway."

Siegfried suddenly felt his stomach turn. His throat chose then and there to close up with halted breath. Something was hitting him hard.

"I think our hero did."

The German had to stand just then. Sitting down was just making him restless. He was dizzy when he finally stood on both feet. He felt sick, sick with a sudden, cruel realization.

He could have asked. Two years ago he could have asked Link to stay. He could have asked and Link would have agreed. Link would have said yes, simply because he could not have said no. Not to Siegfried, because Siegfried was the first person who had ever truly seen Link for something more than just a title, something more than what the elf had been in the past. Siegfried had been that one person whose life had truly been saved with the simple kindness of a simple human heart. And Siegfried had been the only one to appreciate it and reciprocate Link's desire for companionship.

Link had clung to that. Siegfried had never seen it before, but Link had clung to the knight's desire to have the elf remain by his side. Link would have done just about anything to keep the knight happy, including, but not limited to, remaining in a world he did not belong in.

Since Siegfried had said nothing, Link must have assumed that the knight would be happier without him.

"Are you alright?"

Siegfried placed a hand over his mouth. He stomach felt an almost dire need to purge itself of every piece of food he had ingested for the last three months. His heart, meanwhile, started roughly beating gruelingly against his ribcage, almost as though it were trying to kill him. Almost as though it wanted to punish him for his lack of proper attention pertaining to someone who was so dear to it.

"You don't look so good."

"Shut up." He spat harshly. He did not want her talking. Her voice would only make him worse.

She sighed. "I did not mean to make you upset." What the hell did she think she was doing then? "I only wanted you to understand."

"I already told you," He took in a deep breath to calm his nerves. "I won't ever understand you."

"It was not me as a person I wanted you understand." She said firmly, as though she had just reached a final decision on some kind of large conflict. "I merely wanted you to understand why I won't let him go."

Siegfried turned his head so quickly he nearly spun it right off his neck. Zelda was already staring back at him. She looked determined, facing him with nothing less absolute resolution in her eyes. He could only stare back at her in disbelief.

"What did you say?" No, there was no possible way she had just implied that she...that was just… "You can't be serious."

"You can't begin to comprehend what it's been like for me. I have lived countless lives where my name is the only thing to remain the same." She stood up then, trying to seem somewhat intimidating to the man in front of her. "He has been the only constant throughout my existence. I will not relinquish him."

His hands were twitching, itching to grab hold of the princess' throat. After everything was said and done, this girl intended to rescue Link from one imprisonment and put him right back into another. "You sick, selfish brat." He growled out. "Stand down already. You've taken everything away from him. He's been alone for lifetimes because of you! Let him go!"

"Why, so you can have him?"

He could not let loose an answer for a split second. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

She laughed at him. "Oh don't play coy with me." She smiled condescendingly. "The reason you want me to 'set him free' is so that you can capture him yourself."

He really just wanted to slap her. "Don't be a fool."

"Who's the foolish one? Since I've been here all you've done is talk about our hero as though you were a young girl who has just laid eyes on her first crush." She narrowed her eyes. "To see you act so infatuated whenever you say his name is disgusting."

"Watch what you say to me."

He had not noticed how close the two of them had gotten since their argument began. Nor had he realized how each of them had subtlety reached for a nearby weapon the longer they stared each other down. His hand had just found its way to the hilt of his sword when he took notice of it. By then he hardly cared. All he wanted to pay attention to was the red taking over his line of sight.

"Siegfried?" A young voice called out to him.

Siegfried sincerely believed that Zelda owed Amy her life. Had it not been for the young redhead, Zelda would have found herself with a slit throat. As it were, the knight found that he had more important things to tend to than finishing the brat off.

He swiftly turned away and walked over to where Amy lay. "You alright Amy?"

She nodded tiredly. Yawning softly, she pushed herself up from the ground. "What time is it?"

Siegfried looked towards the crack in doorway. Sunlight was quickly gaining control of the land below it. "Probably time for breakfast."

Amy nodded. "I'm hungry then."

Siegfried smiled and began leading her out of the stable. Amy bounded out of the wooden building before he could get the chance to, leaving the knight and princess alone for a few moments. They simply stared, each silently cursing the other and wishing beyond reason that looks could suddenly kill.

She said only one thing to him. "I won't let you take him."

He only responded with one promise. "I won't let you keep him."

The scene at that table could not have been any tenser had Nightmare himself waltzed in with a wedding garbed Soul Edge and an absolute intention of marriage. No one would have been any more uncomfortable than they had been to start with. In fact that disturbing scenario would have been a much more welcomed atmosphere than the one currently taking place.

The morning had gotten off on an odd note to start with, beginning with the seating at the breakfast table. As customary in the Sorel family, Amy took the head of the small table. Mitsurugi and Raphael took seats opposite of each other and waited for the knight and princess to take theirs. Siegfried had requested the seat next to Mitsurugi, leaving the spot next to Raphael for the princess.

It had confused the samurai and the Frenchman a great deal.

Last night the soldier had been adamant about keeping Raphael and Zelda as far apart from each other as humanly possible. He knew that Raphael would attempt to harm her. He knew the Frenchman's rage would get the best of him if the two nobles were not kept separated. That still rang true, and Raphael was still very willing to rip off the girl's head if given the chance. The German almost seemed like he was offering Raphael the opportunity to do so on a silver platter.

Zelda did not say a word in regards to the arrangement. She had to have known that Siegfried was putting her in the line of danger on purpose. She had to have noticed how hostile he was being, how angry he was acting in regards to her. Still, she said noting. Instead she merely asked for a particularly sharp knife to eat her breakfast with. A breakfast that did not happen to be compiled of any kind of meat or food that would require to be cut with a sharp implement. Mitsurugi was also quick to notice that Siegfried was paying very special attention to Zweihander, more so when he caught the princess's eye. Her eyes seemed to glow a menacing blue whenever she caught his in return. Something was not right.

Mitsurugi decided that he would sit next to the girl instead. Raphael would take the seat at the head of the table today, and Siegfried would sit directly opposite of Mitsurugi. If need be, the two older warriors would be able stop a lunge from the German at all the important angles should an argument occur. Mitsurugi had also chosen to place Amy next to the empty seat beside the German, he would not act violently with a child nearby, and had asked Navi to come down to the table to flutter around the princess, as she would keep herself well dignified around the fairy. He, meanwhile, instinctively went into a survival like state, wherein he was constantly monitoring every move his party made.

Raphael felt awkward with the sudden vicious tension. It was so thick that even he had a hard time swallowing in bouts of the air around him. His meal was left to be poked and prodded at, as he could not bring himself to eat it at the moment. Somewhere in the far end of his subconscious he laughed at the memory of the conversation he and Mitsurugi had shared the night before. It was the reason why he was on his absolute best behavior. He had not once said anything impolite to Zelda, though she was not giving him much of an opportunity to do so, and had even agreed to Mitsurugi assigning their seats as though they were children with no arguments whatsoever.

Zelda and Siegfried were not being very fair, though, filling the area around them with such harsh intentions. It almost made him want to unsheathed Rapier. Another part of him, the more childish portion of his mind, crudely remarked that the samurai really should have given the both of them the same speech he had been subjected to.

"So," The Frenchman said casually. "How's the food?"

"Fine."

The two of them had not even looked up from their plates. Raphael looked to Mitsurugi, hoping to get some sort of signal as to what that meant, only to get a shrug in response.

"I wasn't sure what you two would like. I'm afraid I forgot to ask for your preferences last night. I told my servants to just work with what they had."

"Thank you."

"Appreciate it."

The blonde was beginning to get annoyed. They could have at least had the decency to look at him when they answered. Now they were simply being rude.

"Do you need anything else? The cook is still in the kitchen if you want to ask for something."

"I'm alright."

"Don't need anything."

Raphael sighed and dropped his utensils down on his plate. He was done with being polite. If the two of them wanted to sit in such an uncomfortable silence, so be it. Never let it be said that he did not at least try to be a good host.

After a moment Amy looked up from her meal, searching for something that she soon realized was closer to Siegfried than herself. "Siegfried," Amy said gently from the knight's right. "Can you pass me some bread please?"

Siegfried tried to smile at the girl as his hand reached out for the bread basket. His was met with the gloved palm attached to the Hylian princess, and the two locked eyes in a heated exchanged. They looked as though they wanted to rip the others hand right off.

It was she who made the first move. "Excuse me." She quickly clutched on tightly to one side of the basket.

Siegfried narrowed his eyes and hung on to the other. "You're excused."

She tried to tug the basket over to her side. Siegfried made sure she was not able to do so.

Zelda glared at him. "If you don't mind." She tugged on the basket.

Siegfried did the same. "And if I do?"

Mitsurugi could hardly believe what he was seeing. He looked to Raphael for some sort of confirmation, some kind of sign that he was not in fact witnessing two grown adults fighting over food. They could not really be playing tug of war with a mere bread basket. Raphael only shook his head in response. He could not make much sense of it either.

Amy pouted when she realized that the basket had yet to find itself one person to move with. "I want bread."

"You heard her." Siegfried said a bit too politely for anyone's taste. "The girl wants bread."

"I think she can wait a moment or two."

"Could you handle depriving her the food she desires?"

"I think I could very well live with myself."

Siegfried huffed. "I should have assumed. After all, it isn't the first time you've selfishly denied a young innocent something they've deserved."

Her eyes narrowed almost dangerously and she slapped the basket out of his hand. She looked at him menacingly, a warning of attack now at full attention. Siegfried merely looked to where the food had landed on the floor. He tisked and returned to his own meal as though he were not being torn apart by the princess's stare.

"That was mature of you." He 'gently' admonished. "What a waste of food."

She cursed at him. She very, very harshly cursed at Siegfried's entire existence. She went after everything. His name, his family honor, anything he stood for was under the fire of one very bitter royal tongue. She took quite a risk in doing so. With the way the two were interacting with one another, Siegfried was likely to cut her mouth right off for a stunt like that. She probably thought she could get away with saying such things because she was speaking in her own tongue, a langue that not many people of this world had ever come into contact with. Hylian.

Siegfried, however, was not one of the many people of his world who were ignorant to the Hylian language. He knew what she was saying, or at the very least he could translate a few words. Link had somewhat inadvertently taught them to him. The boy was not foul mouthed, but things did tend to slip every now and again when one was hurt or angry. Siegfried knew what she was saying, so he launched into his own angry tirade about just what he thought the princess amounted to. His words were much harsher than hers, and he decided to even out the playing field by screaming it all in German.

She could only look back in astonishment. She had absolutely no idea what he was saying, but she knew it could not have possibly been anything good. Especially not with the pure fury and emotion put behind every word. Such emotional intent towards her could only signify malicious intentions.

The two of them carried on insulting each other in their own respective languages. After about five minutes, Mitsurugi, in complete disbelief and annoyance, lost his calm and started ordering the two of them to stop whatever twisted game they were playing, in Japanese. Raphael chimed in moments later about how ridiculous the lot of them were being, in a perfect French tongue.

Amy sighed. She realized now that she would have to forgo the usual bread and jam portion of her meal. As the adults in the room continued to argue in multi languages, she reached over and took a few uneaten pieces of fruit from Zelda's plate and put them on to her own. She then took hold of Siegfried's untouched glass of orange juice and took a dainty, little sip. What she took would not be missed. The ones they belonged to would not be in any mood to enjoy them for some time.

Meanwhile Amy decided to indulge in the show that was accompanying her breakfast. It would not last much longer. The silly grownups in the room would come to realize that soon. After all, how could anyone keep an interest in an argument if no one knew what the other was saying?

Just like clockwork, Mitsurugi stood up and slammed his hands against the top of the table. All chattering ceased at once.

"You!" He screamed at Siegfried. "And you!" He said to Zelda. "Both of you come with me. Now."

The two stood without looking at one another, and followed Mitsurugi's lead into a nearby, presumably empty, room. Raphael followed seconds later, mumbling something about how he refused to be left out of the conversation.

Amy was left alone with a very confused blue fairy who had not completely understood exactly what had just transpired, or what was to occur. A part of her felt she should follow the princess, just in case the girl's life was in danger. The other part wanted to remain where she was to guarantee her own safety.

"Do you want something to eat, little fairy?" Amy asked, holding up a small strawberry.

Navi decided it might be best to stay put. This argument was none of her business. "Sure."

"What the hell is the matter with you two?" Mitsurugi demanded once the group was out of the dining hall, and in what was assumed to be a second study on the first floor of the Sorel mansion. "Arguing over food as though it was the last damn loaf of bread in the entire world! Disgusting."

Zelda and Siegfried were quick to point an accusing finger at the other.

"He/She started it!" They shouted in unison, glaring at the other once they realized what was said. "It was not my fault!" They said, again, in unison. "Yes it was!"

"Enough!" Now the samurai was starting to get seriously agitated. If the two of them did not stop bickering soon, he was going to start hacking away at something. "The two of you are acting like children. Do us all a favor and start acting your age."

"Yeah grandma," Siegfried muttered. "Start acting your own age." That, admittedly, was a bit of a low blow. Insulting a woman by means of her age was a universal taboo. It was also a bit uncalled for, seeing as Zelda was still young in this lifetime. However, when he thought about it, she was technically probably hundreds of years old with all of her lifetimes combined. It was probably a fair assumption to think her elderly.

Zelda did not believe it was fair at all. "You insolent-"

"What did I just say?" Mitsurugi interrupted. Honestly, were these two even listening to a word he was saying? "What is going on with you two?"

"What, are we acting unusual?" Siegfried sounded so innocent it was almost eerie. "Are we normally so happy with each other that this sort of behavior is baffling to you?"

Raphael had to hold back a laugh. "He has a point there."

Mitsurugi glared at him. Raphael responded by holding up his hands in surrender. "No, this is not really all that surprising, the two of you fighting. What is surprising is that what I saw out there was about to turn violent had I not intervened, and as far as I knew, we agreed nothing would ever turn that vicious."

Siegfried rolled his eyes. "It was not that bad."

"The girl had her hands glowing and you had a steak knife, which I don't understand how you got a hold of anyway, ready by the fourth bilingual insult."

Both guilty parties avoided responding to the accusation. Neither of them had thought anyone had taken notice of those carefully hidden movements.

"Now, I'll ask again. What is going on with you two?"

Just how in the world was Siegfried supposed to explain that? It was hard enough for him to fully grasp it. He just could not fathom it. Why would Zelda do such a thing? Why would she continue to make Link suffer?

She knew he had lost his freedom. Hell, she knew he had never really had it to begin with. Link had always been at someone's beck and call. If it was not her, it was his goddesses. If it was not them, it was the people of his country. If not them, then someone somewhere with some kind of problem always managed to find him, and he never did have the heart to reject their pleas. In return for his kindness he received nothing. Never had he ever been given a second to himself. Never had he ever been offered true friendship. Never had he ever found that one person his heart could truly hold in certainty. Not in that world.

He had in Siegfried's. He was free here. He did as he pleased with who he chose to associate with. Here only a handful of people knew his name, but that handful was enough to fill the blonde's world with precious memories. Here that handful had filled an empty heart. Here they had repaired broken faith. Here they had made themselves as vulnerable as he had. That made Link hope again. That had made him believe again. He was happy here.

How could she not see that? Why did she refuse to see it? Why didn't she just give up?

'Why won't she just let me keep him?'

"Siegfried?"

The knight shook his head and turned his attention back to Mitsurugi. The samurai was looking mildly concerned at his lack of proper focus. If the German was not careful, he would wind up getting slapped again.

"Ask her what she plans to do once this is all over."

"Pardon?"

Siegfried motioned over towards Zelda's general direction. He did not want to look at her right then. He would only end up becoming violent. He did still have some purpose for her, and he could not afford to harm her just yet. "Ask her what she intends to do once we release Link. I think you'll find it very interesting. It's certainly different from what I had planned." He would enjoy this. Just let her try to explain kidnapping Link a second time. He was sure it would go over splendidly.

Mitsurugi raised an eyebrow. "Why? Is that what this is all about?" He turned to Zelda, who was glaring at Siegfried with the fullest intent to end his life then and there. "What are you planning to do with him?"

She huffed. It was an obnoxious little thing the samurai could have slapped her for. "Don't make it sound so deviant." Was that an order she had just tossed his way? "I only mean to take him home."

"Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait," Raphael quickly interrupted. "You mean to tell me she's going to take him back to that godforsaken hellhole?" Over his dead body. "I don't think so."

"My thoughts exactly." Siegfried added in. "But apparently she thinks she has the authority to do so."

She glared at him. "I am his princess. He follows my command."

Siegfried took a menacing step towards her. "You're not his anything in this world. You're not anything to him period."

She took a step towards him as well. "Watch your mouth."

Mitsurugi had had enough. This behavior was going to stop. Now. He swiftly walked over to the knight and princess, inching closer to one another by the second, and yanked them apart from each other by the ear. He was quickly met with yelps and sounds of pain. "Stop whining." He said coldly. "You two want to act like brats, I'll treat you like brats."

Zelda was nearly crying, and though Siegfried did his best to stay still, he too was feeling some pain. Mitsurugi's grip was not tender. It was firm and rough with a harsh intention behind the action. It had better hurt. Otherwise the two of them would not have gotten the message.

"Apparently the two of you aren't grown up enough to stand in the same room with each other. So now I have to waste my time by separating you. Siegfried," He tugged on the knight's ear. "Will go with Raphael. Epona needs a bath. And you princess," He tugged on hers as well. "Will stay with me and explain yourself. Is that clear?"

The two were silent as they tried to remove themselves from the Samurai's grip.

Mitsurugi only tugged harder. "I said is that clear?"

The two nodded quickly.

"Good."

Raphael was torn between arguing with the arrangement, and biting his tongue to avoid meeting the same fate as the two squirming in Mitsurugi's grip. He was not a baby sitter. He loved his own daughter immensely, he had an affectionate fondness for Sophitia's children, and an incredible amount of devotion to Link, but that was the extent of his patience for child like behavior. If the two of them were acting in such a way, he wanted nothing to do with either of them. However, Mitsurugi would be in no mood for any kind of mutiny. Not on this morning when his patience was already wearing thin.

Raphael did not fancy himself a masochist, and he most certainly had no desire to seem as though he had a death wish. After all, Amy still needed a father. So he would, for her sake, bite his tongue and simply go along with whatever the Samurai suggested.

"So," The Frenchman began uncertainly. "Epona needs a bath, correct?"

Mitsurugi waited until Raphael and Siegfried had left the room before giving the princess his full and undivided attention.

She was busily nursing a reddening ear while silently trying not to cry. Mitsurugi knew his grip had not been all that terrible. It had hurt, yes, he had made sure it did cause a small amount of pain, but it was nowhere near painful enough to bring about tears. Even a Hylian's sensitive ears could withstand a small tug here and there. Zelda was not hurt. Not physically anyway.

The only thing he might have been mortally wounding was her pride. She was humiliated, more so than Siegfried had been. She was a royal heir. Mitsurugi, in her eyes, was a common street thug. The difference in social standing between the two was substantial. She should have been able to make him bend over backwards to gain her favor. Instead she had been the one bowing down to him when the question of authority came into play. It was pitiful, and the fact that Mitsurugi was all too aware of the current status quo, and did not care to return it to how it should have been, made it all the more humiliating for her.

"Did you have to be so crude?"

He scoffed. What a childish sort of question. It was stupid even, given the fact that she knew the answer. "Hasn't your own father ever disciplined you before?"

"Never in such a barbaric manner."

"Too bad."

That was one of the worst things about noble children. They believed that they were immune to the workings of the outside world. That was largely due to their parent's lack of proper discipline. More often than not, noble parents were simply too lazy to enforce any decent rules, turning their children into spoiled little creatures. That made them think they could do anything. They failed to realize that other children, other adults, would not care one way or another where they came from. If you were rotten, you were going to get hit the second that large body guard was distracted. And it was going to hurt. It was going to hurt because mommy and daddy did not think to give you a small slap themselves to show you what would happen if you did not behave.

He was not a fan of child abuse. That was a different matter entirely. But a good, reasonable, slap on the hand or to the mouth to get the point across could do a child some good. Zelda certainly could have used those methods in her younger years.

"Now, I believe you and I have something to talk about." Mitsurugi said. "So start talking."

She was uncomfortable. The subtle way her body tensed, the way her eyes narrowed slightly, made him aware of one simple little fact. She did not want to talk. She did not want to talk because she knew he would be displeased with the course of the conversation. This would be an interesting talk indeed.

"I meant what I said." She was awfully calm for someone so nervous. He could almost commend her for it. "Once we have ensured our hero's safety and health, I intend to take him home."

"You mean your home."

"Our home." She corrected. "He was born of Hyrule. He bears the blood of its people. That is where he belongs."

She seemed terribly sure about that. "And what if he doesn't want to go 'home'?"

"Don't be absurd." Another order. "Why wouldn't he?"

Did she want the list in Hylian or Japanese? "I could think of a few reasons why."

"Such as?"

"You, for starters."

She seemed highly affronted. For a moment or two she tried to silently come up with various rebuttals and denials. Obviously nothing had been suitable enough to present to the Samurai, for nothing of consequence came out of her mouth.

"You're awfully arrogant, princess. For one thing, did you honestly think we would let you take Link away from us, a second time, without a fight? Have we given you any indication to assume that we would lie down and just let you walk away with him?"

She slowly shook her head.

"I didn't think so." HhhHe was honestly expecting more of a fight from her. She was certainly very fond of debates when it came to Siegfried. Perhaps she was scared of Mitsurugi? "For another, did you ever think about what he would want?"

She did not answer him.

"Or to be more specific, who Link would want?"

Her eyes widened slightly, a movement barely noticeable to anyone without his keen eye for minute detail. "What do you mean?"

"Let's not beat around the bush. I'm not stupid, and I assume you aren't either." Then again he could be wrong about her character, but he would leave that thought for another day. "What all of this comes down to is Siegfried's company versus yours, am I correct?"

She turned her head to the side. "Don't joke like that. There is no contest."

"Oh I am fully aware of that." The Samurai told her confidently. "I just wanted to make sure you knew you were sorely outmatched."

When she looked back up at him, her eyes were filled with a mixture of raw hurt and pure denial. She did not want to admit to what he had just said, and she did not want him believing that it was even a possibility. The problem was that she knew. She knew it to be fact. That was what was killing her.

"Do not dishonor my hero with such lies."

"Your hero? How incredibly possessive for a princess whose servant did everything in his power to stay away from her."

She was silent once again. Mitsurugi had come to learn that such an act from her was meant as a defense mechanism. Silence was forever golden. It could mean whatever you wanted it to mean, and could be bent in whichever way was necessary to keep up the façade of perfect indifference. It was a good enough strategy. He was simply far too used to it to be properly affected. He knew how to beat it. After all, silence was only golden if nobody else provided a sound.

"Listen carefully girl," Refusing to refer to her in any form of respect would drive the point home. "We need you around. I'll admit that. You have proven to be somewhat useful. That is why you are still alive. However, remember one thing. You need us too, and we outnumber you a good ten to one. We decide what will happen on this little journey, and you have no choice but to go along with whatever we say. Whether that is fair or not does not matter. It is fact and I guarantee you that it is what Link prefers."

Zelda remained silent. This time Mitsurugi did not feel the need to add anything to his previous statements. Instead he went straight for the door, leaving the princess behind in a stupor. He was finished with the current conversation at hand. If she did not understand by now, it was no longer his problem to deal with. He had to go get Amy packed and prepared for the journey ahead.

Raphael was silent at first. If he were to open his mouth too quickly, all that would be able to come out would be something of complete and utter embarrassment to the knight beside him. Siegfried would not be in the mood for his cynical humor. The German had just been dishonored right in front of the princess, the fact that she was embarrassed as well would not make much of a difference to him, and needed to retain at least a bit of his dignity. Raphael could give him that if nothing else.

"How exactly do we go about washing her?" Raphael asked, looking down at the basin of water on the ground. "Just dump the water on her and let her shake it off?"

Epona quickly gave an indignant neigh, to which Siegfried promptly burst out laughing. "She's not a dog."

"Well they're both animals aren't they? Can't they both work the same way?"

Epona angrily blew air in the Frenchman's general direction.

Siegfried could only shake his head. "I hope you never own any kind of animal. The poor thing would die within a week."

"Oh I am not so terrible. I keep a child fit and healthy don't I?"

Siegfried smiled. He took a wash cloth from his pocket, dropped it in the water, and then scoured the area for some soap. "A child is different from an animal. Children can tell you what they want, and it's easier to see if something is wrong with a child." The knight caught sight of what he was looking for and was quick to dump the bar into the warm water, giving it a moment to mix in with the liquid surrounding it. "Animals can't."

Raphael shrugged. "If nothing else my servants could take of it."

Siegfried shook his head, smug smile still standing tall. "Creatures of the earth need affection from the humans that keep them. Otherwise things could get ugly."

"You know this from experience?"

Siegfried shook his head.

"Then kindly shut up. My imaginary pets and I will be just fine."

The knight laughed. It was about as sincere as it could have been at the moment, which was not as much as it should have been, but Raphael could work with that. Siegfried said nothing more as he took hold of the wash cloth again, rung it out, and began the tedious task of washing the horse in front of him. Epona would occasionally force his hand away from scars he would accidently linger on too much, but other than that she stayed still. The warm water and soap mixture seemed to calm her a great deal, and after about ten minutes the Frenchman was shocked to see her completely at ease.

Siegfried soaked the hair of her mane and tail before looking to Raphael in expectation.

The swordsman blinked. Was he supposed to do something now? "Should I dry her off? Do we need a towel?"

"Actually, I was hoping you had a brush I could use for her hair, but if you had a towel on hand, that would be great." He took a glance at the various small cuts and bruises Epona had gained from the day before. "And some kind of disinfectant wouldn't hurt either."

Raphael really would have had no idea where to look for such items. He looked around him, spotted another horse in a stall nearby, and silently asked it with his eyes if he knew anything. The horse, in what appeared to be an answer to his unasked question, tilted its head to the side, motioning towards a haystack in front of it. Raphael moved to stand over the haystack in question. For a moment he stood, unmoving, looking to the horse, the hay, and then back to the horse again. The creature in question seemed confident in the hays content, and with a sigh Raphael fell to his knees and began digging into the stack.

Siegfried and Epona could only stare on in shock. "Raphael Sorel, are you on the floor, digging about in a haystack, of your own free will?"

The curses the Frenchman sent towards the knight were happily overshadowed by the rifling of scratchy yellow horse feed.

Siegfried smirked. "I should call a few of your servants down here. I bet they would be delighted to see their master so low on the social ladder."

Raphael sent a one finger salute out from beneath the hay.

Siegfried could only laugh. "I wish I could document this somehow. Do you think an artist is anywhere nearby? I'm sure this would make a great painting above your mantle."

"Don't you ever," He paused for a moment, before jumping out of the stack in relieved joy. "Ah-ha!" In the blonde's hands were a brush, a small towel, and a small covered tub of cream. "I found them!"

Siegfried turned to Epona. "I don't know which is more amazing. The fact that a horse told him where to find the stuff, or that he actually went and followed the order."

"Ha ha," Raphael could not keep down the victorious smile on his face, despite the various pieces of hay sticking out from his hair and clothes. "You're just jealous."

"Yeah, that's it." Siegfried took hold of the small tub and brush. "You start drying her off. I'll take care of the cuts and hair."

For a few minutes the two men worked together to try and get Epona looking better than ever. She quite liked being pampered, and Raphael and Siegfried made very good gentle hands. The Frenchman and German were almost as gentle handed as her master had been, and Raphael was sure she mentally replacing one of them with the blued eyed boy she loved and adored so much.

"So, what did she say?" Raphael ventured cautiously as he began drying off Epona's hooves.

"Who?"

"The girl…harlot…thing."

Siegfried merely shrugged and dabbed some ointment onto a cut on Epona's neck. "Nothing of major importance. Just what she told you two in the study."

Raphael could not bring himself to believe that. If it had been something so simple, Siegfried would have been able to control his temper better. "There was nothing else? Something besides her threat of whisking him away to hell in a hand basket?"

Siegfried's hands ceased movement for a few seconds. His eyes narrowed and his breathe hitched ever so slightly. "She may have."

Now Raphael was getting somewhere. "She may have what?"

"She may have…accused me of something."

"Accused you of what?"

Siegfried did not answer. For a moment, though, it looked as though he wanted to. Then it almost seemed as though he were going to.

"Siegfried! Raphael!"

And then Mitsurugi walked into the stables, ruining any chance the Frenchman might have had to get the German to talk. The knight would not speak so freely around Mitsurugi. Not for a few days anyway, until the Samurai had a chance to forget the little episode earlier that morning.

"You two almost done?"

Siegfried nodded. "She's all set and cleaned up."

Raphael added, "And I do believe someone already took the liberty of cleaning her saddle."

Siegfried had done that the night before. Watching Amy sleep, tossing and turning with tears in her eyes, had not been good for his guilty heart. He knew he would have gone crazy if he were to watch her for too long. So he kept himself busy. He cleaned, polished, and dusted off every speck of the saddle Epona brought with her to this world. Everything except for the pouches attached to the sides of the saddle. For some reason they were tied shut with very intricate knots he did not care to untie at the moment. He found it odd, but he cleaned around them and soon forgot all about them.

"Well then, get ready." Mitsurugi said. "We leave as soon as the two of you are through. We still have a long journey ahead of us, so remember to pack light."

"You call this light?"

Raphael stared back at Mitsurugi, innocent curiosity at its absolute finest. "What? I only packed the essentials."

Mitsurugi raised an eyebrow at the nearly dozen bags Raphael had around him. "Really? These are just the essentials?"

The Frenchman nodded. "Clothes, bathing materials, life savings, family heirlooms, jewelry, any other valuable I do not trust my staff with, and a few goods that can be sold in other towns."

Mitsurugi shook his head and placed it in his hand. "Do you know the meaning of the word essential?"

Raphael huffed and pouted. An odd combination that would have looked ridiculous on anyone else but him. For one reason or another, even the most childish of actions seemed regal on the head of the Sorel family. "I need clothes don't I? And I'm sorry, but I simply cannot live without my bathing materials. For the life of me I can't bring myself to trust these people with heirlooms or jewelry, and you cannot deny that I will need money along the way. Eventually the money I have will run out, in which case I will need to sell a few things in order to get some more."

Mitsurugi felt like finding a nearby brick wall and bashing his head against it. The Sorel's were impossible. He thought Amy had been hard headed when she packed her belongings. Despite Mitsurugi's request, more like gentle orders if he were honest with himself, Amy had not chosen to pack the simple necessities. Instead she had chosen to pack around three bags worth of materials the Samurai was willing to bet she would not even need. Suddenly, three seemed like nothing next to the dozen her father had.

"I hope you realize that you're carrying all this yourself."

Raphael waved off the warning. "Once we manage to get to our next destination I'll sell of a few things to lighten the load."

There was no more room for arguments. Even if there was, Mitsurugi did not want to try. His head would surely implode. "Everyone just circle around Mt. Sorel. Princess, in the center."

A few minutes later, after the initial adjusting of bags and horses, the group circled around Zelda in a somewhat uncomfortable circular formation. Siegfried had not remembered the gathering being nearly so cramped the first time around. He and Zelda were so close together he nearly vomited on the spot. Mt. Sorel would have to be torn down as soon as possible. Siegfried could not handle such close spaces with such a vulgar princess a second time.

Farore's Wind was repeated. This time, something was different.

Siegfried had at once begun to experience the same sensations he had the first time Zelda had cast the transportation spell. The same unusual pain, the same numbness, the same tear jerking white, only this time,

"Siegfried!"

There was also his voice.

To have them all together like this was a rare treat.

The men in the group could not usually say they had a free minute to themselves. They were the breadwinners, so to speak, of their odd little family. They were the first line of defense for any and all means of the journey, whether it be in a fight, collecting money for the voyage, or making sure the women in their group were at their best at all times. Someone had to do it.

Sophitia needed Mitsurugi's help in seeing to the overall wellbeing of the group. She would tend to the medical and emotional needs of her younger companions. Jobs like those were her specialty, a forte of which no one else could rival. That was a lot of responsibility to take on, especially with the added task of making ground rules for the group to follow. Some of them were not always favored. Mitsurugi needed to be that added muscle to enforce any rules Sophitia thought needed to be seen to. It was not often needed, but it was good to have his figure looming about in order to discourage any bad behavior. It also helped the Athenian know that she had some support at her disposal. Had she not had that reassurance, she probably would have felt too overwhelmed and unable to handle the pressure. The woman was a gentle soul, and Mitsurugi had gotten fair warning from her husband to keep it that way. The samurai was also the leader, the first man people went to with concerns and complaints. He had been the most experienced in battle and issues pertaining to the ugly side of human nature. He had become hardened over the harsh years of war and fighting, and so he had turned into a marvelous rock that kept his group grounded.

Yunseong had a duty to both Talim and to Seong Mina, more so than any other of his companions. That duty often involved making himself a scapegoat for sudden rage, and becoming open to embarrassment from far too awkward questions. He was also the group's main source of muscle power. He was not, by any means, the only man capable of completing manual labor, but he was the one with the hardest head. He could take damage easier than anyone, and as such was expected to do so every time it was asked of him.

Raphael was in charge of keeping a dignified air around the group, wherever it saw fit to travel to. He made sure the men were always on their best behavior and never lacking in somewhat decent manners, and that the women knew to keep a classy and feminine demeanor around the right people. He was fond of all his traveling companions, and he did not wish to change any of them. However, he knew that certain mannerisms were important to different classes around the world. The group had to be prepared to travel in all walks of life. They knew the bottom of the food chain. Raphael just wanted to ensure they knew how to act around the higher class. He had been given quite a fight at first, from just about every member of the group, and was at times still being fought against by hard heads. Despite it all the Frenchman knew how to keep his companions in decent shape.

Yoshimitsu was expected to keep the group well stocked in regards to both supplies and in money. It would be disastrous if they were to suddenly run out of food during a leg of a journey, or become sick without proper methods of treatment. They were a large group who needed a large amount of items to keep functioning. Yoshimitsu saw to it that they were never short on anything. They would always have what they needed when he was in charge of supplies. The thief was very good at his job, and he knew how to gather what was needed. He may never have done so legally, but he did always manage to get the job done.

Maxi and Kilik took on their duties as a tag team. They were the ones who gathered and spread various pieces of information about the country. Maxi knew the ins and outs of the harsher areas of the world. A pirate himself, he knew how to appear sleazy and dangerous enough to get what he wanted. Often times the underground had valuable information that needed to be extracted in a very intimidating way. Maxi was more than happy to stoop so low for the sake of his team.

Kilik did the same, except he was used more for the kinder, less trusting patrons of the gossip world. He was a kind soul, and very unassuming to the average eye. He was easy to trust. People like priests and unwilling participants in the fight against Soul Edge felt like their knowledge was safe with him. With he and Maxi covering both sides of life, their methods for gathering information was near perfect in execution.

Link and Siegfried had to be the ones to take the brunt of the women's mothering instincts. The blondes were warriors, the best of their lands, just as strong and capable as their male comrades were. However, the two of them were one thing that their friends were not. They were sympathetic and understanding to the need a woman has to be nurturing. It was in a girl's nature to take care of an object of affection. Whether it be a friend, a lover, or a child, the want and desire to baby something or someone was always present. It did not matter how hardened a woman was. That desire was still buried deep within her, somewhere she herself might not even be aware of. Other men in the group were quite uncomfortable with such strong instinct.

Link was used to it by now. Saria had babied him quite a bit back in his old forest home. She had been the one to soothe his small child injuries, and scold him when he did something foolhardy. She was also the one to go about punishing the ones who teased him, who was more often than not Mido or someone working on behalf of Mido. Link had hated the treatment at one point in time. He knew how to take care of himself, and he had proven himself capable of doing so on many occasions. Saria just never gave him the chance to showcase his skills. She took care of his problems for him without him necessarily asking her too. The other girls in the forest soon followed her example, and took to caring for him as well. They felt it necessary after seeing how naïve and vulnerable he was compared to the other boys. He had not seen it that way, - again, he knew how to fend for himself just fine thank you very much- but they had gotten very cross with him whenever he tried to argue with them, which was about 99% of the time. After a while he simply let them do as they pleased. He found he rather liked having a sort of parental presence over him. It certainly came in handy when he was thinking of things to threaten his tormentors with. Little boys, surprisingly enough, were absolutely terrified when faced with the possible rage of little girls.

The German had had similar experiences in his young life. Siegfried's mother was the most excruciatingly nurturing person in all of Germany, if not the entire world. She was the one woman all the little boys in his hometown feared to have as their mother. She loved to kiss, cuddle, and hug her child. She did not care one way or another who was within view as she was doing so. Siegfried secretly believed she had wanted a girl as her first child, a gender that could very well take said gestures kindly, and would in fact actually welcome them out in public. Siegfried often found himself wishing he had a little sister, if only to take his mother's attention away from him. Her love could be quite embarrassing, especially when she expressed it around other boys his own age. He stopped trying to fight it when he realized she would not stop, no matter many times he begged her to, and simply decided to deal with those who had a problem with it. If they laughed at him when his mother showed she cared, he quickly hit the closest body part he could reach, made sure to mention how they would not be so quick to laugh if they had mothers who actually wanted to come near their ugly little mutant bodies, and pushed them down to the ground. Those who did not cry never bothered him again. Those who did cry never came near him again.

The two blondes had taken those past experiences and turned them into tolerance. When Sophitia wanted to be strict about how hard the two of them were allowed to train, they agreed with her wholeheartedly and only sparred with the other once they were sure they were out of her line of sight. When Ivy decided to monitor their meals, spouting something about proper nutrition, they simply nodded, ate what she told them to, and then ate whatever they wanted to in secret. When Cassandra wanted to take them shopping, they followed her through the line of various shops with little more than grumbles, making sure she never ever found them something to wear. When Xianghua wanted to teach them how to dance, they studiously attended her lessons and let her take care of anyone who made fun of them. That was their civic duty to the group, to make sure all the women had something to take care of. They carried it out with pride.

Needless to say, each and every male member of the group had an important job to do. They saw to them as well, and as often, as they could. Because of this, they rarely ever had free time. Especially free time to spend with each other. When they did get together, it was to see that a job had been done to its fullest and in the best interest for the group. They were not little boys. They could not come together for fun.

Tonight was different. The women had all shuffled off to some kind of 'festival' that their male companions were not welcome to attend. Mitsurugi suspected that this 'festival' was nothing more than some kind of girl getaway, seeing as none them had on any formal festival wear, and had taken Voldo and Lizardman as their source of protection instead of one of the actual human men. Nevertheless Yoshimitsu still asked if they would need any money for the night, Mitsurugi still asked Sophitia if she would have any trouble handling the small group on her own, and Raphael still asked if they were sure that they would need no one else to go with them. A negative response was given to each inquiry, and then the women were off.

No matter. Those remaining saw the free night as a gift, and they had never been ones to look a gift horse in the mouth. Within the hour they were all drinking outside of their current inn, sitting around a bonfire, behaving as though they were all on some kind of glorious vacation. They laughed, complained, and made bold declarations well into the night. Forget fanciful festivals. Men did not need such parties to bond. Simply drinking together could show you so much more about your traveling companions. The words you spoke in the daylight hours could be deceiving. The way you drank was not.

Raphael, for example, took his time with every drink. He would smell the wine, hold it up to the fires light, and when he was satisfied with what he saw, he allowed himself to take a sip. Once he did he rolled it around in his mouth to assess the quality. Only when he was assured of its richness did he completely immerse himself in the alcohol he let pour down his throat. The way he investigated every detail about each and every single glass was a testament to how he chose everything in his life. Nothing was ever second hand shop worthy in his world. His friends, his family, his weapon, his duties, were all of the highest brand, and taken care of with the finest of efforts. Raphael would never take on any endeavor, accept any kind of offering, with anything less than a feral grace that knew the taste of perfection.

Mitsurugi could drink to his heart's content. He had long since grown immune to alcohols immense power over the human mind. Technically, he could drink however much he desired and would not be punished for it in the usual sense. Still, even though he did drink enough to keep up with his younger comrades, he did not overdo it. His rate was steady, just enough to be social and have a good time. He did not guzzle or chug whatever was in his glass. That would make him look like a drunkard. The samurai prided himself on having a proper image wherever he walked in life. On the battlefield he was the powerful warrior. In his group he was the strict father figure. In a social gathering he was the man who could hold his liquor. However, he was never overbearing with his presence. He was not a cruel slaughter machine when he fought, though some would argue against that. He did not beat on those he looked after like some kind of abusive father. And he was most certainly no over indulgent drunk. He knew when enough was enough to make a point. Anything more than that was overkill. Just enough, what was needed to the full extent, and nothing more than that was necessary.

Yunseong, one of the youngest members of the group in mind, drank alcohol as though it were some kind of fruity drink. He was indulgent in the way it made him feel. He knew his limits. That much was certain, otherwise he would have been attempting to fly off the roof by the second round. But he also knew that while he could not go over those limits, he could meet them in a pleasant way. He wanted to smile. He wanted to feel good. Sure, he could not fly off the roof, but that did not mean he could not dream of some wild way of doing so. He liked to dream, and drinking was just a way to dream whilst still awake. The drinks he let flow were a way of letting those dreams come out of his mouth where others could hear them. When he was under the influence of the drink, he did not care if others laughed at those dreams. The smiles they produced were just as good as what he had been thinking about anyway. It made him feel as though he had done something right for a little while.

Maxi drank every glass as though it were his last. Never was one wasted. He had tasted his fair share of liquor in the past, no doubt the fruits he bore of holding the title of a pirate, and had tasted some of the finest wines in all of humanity. What he was drinking now, though not cheap, was not the grand ambrosia of taste. Yet, he appreciated it. He let it slide down as though it were as refined as a high glass drink. He knew better than to discriminate. Looks can be deceiving. If a man walked into a situation with the mindset that there was something better, what was before him would seem inferior. If one were to look at a situation as though it were a God given gift, he would be pleasantly surprised at how good it truly was. Maxi applied that kind of thinking to everything in life. Including drinking with the guys.

Kilik was not used to indulging in 'sinful' activities like drinking. He was self disciplined. He knew how to overlook certain temptations. He was always too busy trying to redeem or protect. Anything that would weaken him to a point of lacking in the skills to do so was not something he wanted to partake in. When he did indulge in such things, with a few little shoves from who he was with, everyone was quick to realize just how unprepared he was to deal with them. He drank like a newcomer. He did chug when his pride was teasingly threatened, and he did his best to hide the fact that it burned. He was the first to become inebriated simply because he was not used to the pace he had set for himself. It was further proof of how unused he was to letting himself enjoy a few guilty pleasures in life, because when he did he went overboard with how much fun he really had with them. However, it also proved that he trusted who he was drinking with. Otherwise he never would have let himself indulge too much to begin with. Had anyone else asked him to, he probably would not have even accepted the first glass.

Yoshimitsu knew how to have fun. It was apparent in everything he did, but it became even more obvious when he had a drink in his hand. He was a merry drinker, and that night's mask actually did give him the room to drink without removing it, much to Link's frustration. The thief was the first to suggest a drinking game, and he was the first to begin what would become a movement of some of the most sadly sung songs the group would ever utter, accompanied by Link and his wonderful Ocarina. Yoshimitsu liked a happy atmosphere and he believed everyone deserved one. He encouraged a good time. He knew it might not come again, but that was part of the thrill. That tonight could be the last time you celebrated anything made tasting its sweet nectar that much more satisfying. There was also an amused curiosity as to what would happen when Sophitia discovered the group had been drinking. He was even more curious as to what she would do when she realized he was the one who supplied the alcohol.

Siegfried knew what his limits were. His father had been the one to teach him how to drink. The older Schtauffen had shown his son how to drink alcohol without letting it become an addiction or compulsion. He taught the younger how to slow down so that the drink would not burn his throat as it made its round throughout his body. He taught his son how to recognize when he was feeling the effects of what was in his glass, so that no regretful mistakes could be made because of his less than alert mind. Most importantly, Frederick taught his son when to know when he had enough. Siegfried had taken those lessons to heart, and now the knight could deduce, depending on the drink, just how many he could have before he called it a night. He liked having that kind of control. When he was around strangers he liked to keep that control as strict and as proper as it had always been. When he was surrounded by friends, however, there was no harm in drinking a few more glasses than what he was used to. The extra drinks made him loosen up and become more open to the fun endeavors he would have never partaken in under normal circumstances. When Link was around, Siegfried liked to keep the limit to just that extra drink or two. It showed the elf that he could loosen up and have a good time just like the rest of their friends, yet still keep himself sober enough to keep an eye on the younger if he needed to.

Link had no more than five glasses the entire night. He was not a big fan of alcohol. No matter how fine it was, it was usually always bitter and it took a lot to keep it from burning him. He was also naïve about its consumption. He never drank in his world, peasants like him never got the chance, and doing so purely for social enjoyment was a new concept to him, as was just about everything else in this world. Siegfried had taught him how to drink, and though he did not like it very much, he did like to show the German that he had taken in the lessons. It was also nice to feel the small buzz he acquired after a few of the drinks had made their way into his system. He never allowed himself to get too out of hand, as he was scared of finding out what he would do when he could not control himself, but he did like to be social, and this crowd was one he admired and trusted very much. He would not mind following their lead.

It was only when they were on their fourth rendition of some old folk song, either from Germany or from France, they had a hard time remembering after a while, when the innkeeper screamed at them to stop shattering the glass with all their screeching, did the group finally laugh out a consensus to call it a night and head on over to bed.

Yoshimitsu and Mitsurugi stayed behind to clean up whatever mess the group had left. They were men, not pigs, after all, and they knew how to pick up after themselves. Besides that, it would be a lot less harder to pin any bad behavior on the group of men if there was no evidence to back up the claims. Raphael decided to sweet talk the staff into letting it slide that there had been alcohol present that night. It would be so much better for everyone involved if the women thought their evening to be uneventful. Kilik was still far too drunk to move himself anywhere. Siegfried and Maxi, out of the kindness of their hearts, now armed with the means with which to tease for years to come, decided to help him to his room. Link and Yunseong went on ahead to bed.

Siegfried found it beyond amusing to see his usually completely composed friend consumed by alcohol. Their particular choice had not even been all that heavy of a dosage to start with. Had Kilik taken it a bit easier with the drinking, he probably would have had no problems about keeping himself under control. Instead, now he had absolutely no idea what was going on in the world around him. He had called Maxi mother about eight times and had attempted to confess something of dire importance to Siegfried who he thought was Xianghua. It took about an hour before Siegfried was able to leave for the room he shared with Link, just barely keeping his laughs down to a reasonable volume.

The knight tried to be as quiet as he could when entering the room. Link liked to sleep as thoroughly as he could whenever he got the chance. When the young man's rest was interrupted he usually did not fall back asleep very easily. If he did manage to fall back into some kind of semblance of slumber, it was nowhere near as deep and comfortable as it had originally been. Siegfried found, however, that he had not needed to be so careful. Link was still awake when he slipped in, sitting up on his bed and staring down at the sheets as though he were in deep thought.

"I thought you'd already be in bed." Siegfried said closing the door behind him. "Can't sleep?"

Link looked up at him and shrugged.

Siegfried responded in kind.

He chuckled when Link sent him a pouting glare. The boy did not like being teased, especially when he was not prepared to retort with something. Siegfried merely ruffled the younger's hair as he went about preparing for bed. He felt extremely tired, and his greatest desire at that moment was to simply get a good night's sleep.

Drinking had never had that affect on him, had never made him drowsy or exhausted in any way, but he usually never enjoyed his drinking endeavors much either. Drinking had always been a purely social and expected requirement he took to without complaint. He never knew you could actually have some fun while acting like a fool in front of all of your comrades under the influence of a simple bottle's contents. The added enjoyment must have taken up a good amount of his energy, causing him to tire out faster than he normally would have. It was a new experience for him, but one he found he would not mind repeating in the future. Being tired after having fun actually sounded very nice.

Siegfried had been pleasantly distracted when he began redressing himself for a night's rest. He had not paid any more attention to Link until the elf had asked, rather boldly,

"Is it wrong to say I love you to another man?"

Siegfried dropped the shirt in his hand before abruptly turning to face Link. His expression was a cross between utter confusion and pure disbelief. "What did you say?"

Link just looked back at him in fierce determination. He wanted Siegfried to answer him one way or another. The knight would not get away with an 'I don't know', not even to a slightly intoxicated naïve young boy. "Is it wrong to say I love you to another man? I thought it was alright to say that to anyone you cared for."

The knight was not quite sure how to respond to that. The fact that he was shirtless and was now expected to answer a question about love, in a room alone with his tipsy best friend, who had also decided to forgo wearing a shirt that night, sitting innocently on a bed, did not help matters at all. "Uh," Just what was he supposed to say? "Why do you ask?"

Link furrowed his brow and looked back down to the sheets on his bed. "Yunseong and I were walking to our rooms and we passed by a group checking in. I think they must have been a passing platoon of some kind of army. Anyway, one of the older guys, they called him a commander, had his arm around the shoulders of this younger boy. The commander kept whispering things to him, smiling kind of oddly, until finally the younger one pulled out his wallet and paid for the troops stay. Then the commander patted the younger on the back and said he loved him." It was then that Link looked back up to Siegfried. "Yunseong said it was wrong to say that. He said people like that shouldn't say I love you. He said that he could not say it to that boy. He said it was wrong."

That did not sound like Yunseong at all. Not even drunk Yunseong would say something like that. "How old was this kid?"

"My age."

"And the commander?"

"Older than Mitsurugi I think."

Siegfried raised an eyebrow. "And were there other people around when this commander said this little declaration of love?"

Link shook his head. "The other platoon members left after the younger took out his wallet. And Yunseong only knew what this guy said because I told him. I think I was the only one to hear it."

"How did he say it?"

Link scratched at his head. Siegfried could see the small doses of alcohol the younger had consumed were starting to affect his way of thinking. "He sounded happy about it, but,"

"But?"

"It sort of sounded how Yunseong sounds when he's playing around."

Siegfried sighed and shook his head. It made sense to him now. What was going on, and why Yunseong had felt the need to add in his two cents. "Yunseong didn't mean it was wrong for the guy to say he loved his subordinate because of his gender. In general that kind of thing doesn't matter."

That was probably the biggest lie the German had ever told Link. Things like that did matter in this world, more so than Siegfried cared to admit. People were persecuted for it, taken advantage of because of it, and in some cases they were executed for such actions. However, Siegfried was not so sure how it worked in Link's world. He would rather not sink the Hylian's opinion of this world any further if he could help it. No one else would tell him, and Link would never need to know if it was true or not. Besides, the group they were traveling with did not think about aspects like those very often. Fighters, surprisingly, did not take that into much consideration in their daily lives. They had much better things to do than worry about someone else's personal life. What Link didn't know wouldn't hurt him.

"It was wrong in this case because he probably didn't mean it."Siegfried explained further.

Link tilted his head in confusion. He was far too innocent for his own good sometimes. Of course he would not understand the situation. He was slightly tipsy and even at the worst of times thought the best of people. He could not fathom someone not meaning the love they preached. This would take a lot more than a few sentences to explain.

Siegfried motioned for the younger to scoot over and proceeded to sit beside him on the bed. Link kept his eyes solely on the knight, as though he had all the answers in the world.

"Link, that commander had an entire platoon to pay for. It's expensive, especially for a soldier's wages. That subordinate must have had more money to spare. So the commander coaxed and charmed the kid into paying. He sugar coated the deal with a false declaration of love because he was glad he wasn't paying. He might have also thought it would get the kid to do things like that more often."

Link frowned. "But that boy looked really happy when he heard his superior say that. He was even glowing with pride."

Siegfried sighed. He did not much care for this kind of conversation. He was sure it would only lessen the respect Link had for humanity. "That was probably why this commander thought he could get away with saying it. Admiration can get someone to do a lot of things, including being fooled by pretty little lies. The kid heard what he wanted to hear, and he believed it because he respected his higher officer. Yunseong saw that, and he knew that was not the right way to use love. It's not a tool to abuse as you see fit."

Link did not seem to fully wrap his head around the situation. "That's so cruel."

Siegfried regretfully nodded. "I've seen it happen before. It's a bit too common actually."It was sad. Higher officers were supposed to be a standard, a pillar that their subordinates could look to for guidance and support. That power was not meant to be abused for selfish gain.

Link took hold of a clump of his hair in his hand. "So, how else can you abuse love?" He shook his head. "I mean, when else are you not supposed to say it? Is it wrong to say it all the time?"With each new question the hair was tugged, frustration causing Link's pitch to higher slightly.

Siegfried took hold of the hand Link was using to pull his hair and held it in one of his own. He used the other to gently ruffle the younger's hair, soothing the areas Link had just assaulted seconds before. "There's really only one time you're not supposed to say it, and that's when you don't mean it. Otherwise it'll just end up hurting the person you've said it to."

Link leaned into the touch, glad for its comfort, but he was frowning yet again. "Well, how do you know you mean it?"

Good question. "You just feel it in your gut I guess."

Link did not seem to like that answer. "But you said it could hurt someone if you don't mean it. How do you know if it's truly a gut feeling or just a desire for it to be?"

Siegfried was no expert on the subject. He had never been in love with anyone before, at least not to his knowledge. He knew how strong love could be though, and part of the reason why he knew how such love felt was because of the boy sitting beside him. He owed it to Link to at least try and explain that kind of love.

"Love, true love, is not something you do for yourself. Human's are selfish by nature, but love, it's the most selfless things we've got."

Link's eyes were starting to glimmer a bit. He looked to be hanging on Siegfried's every word as though it were the golden law of legend. To him it probably was.

"Love is what makes a person think less of themselves and more about the person they care for. For that person they would move heaven and earth, give up everything they own, suffer torments they had never before imagined, all for the sake of that one special person."

It was like how Siegfried did everything he could to see that Link always had what he needed. The little things, like the kind of foods he liked or a special trinket he thought was pretty, and the big things, like new clothes and small tune ups for his weapons. Link's well being was at the forefront of the knight's mind every single day. So much so that his own well being was put to the back of his mind, for at least a few days at a time.

"Love is what has you smiling despite your mood because the one you love is happy. Love is what has you happily going out of your way to help the person you love."

Link had that kind of effect on Siegfried. Those eyes, that smile, that soft and kind face. Everything about Link just spoke of joy and devoted happiness. Siegfried found himself smiling even when he was so upset about the world around him that he was ready to jump off a bridge. It was a rare gift, that ability to make those around you happy despite it all, and Link had learned to mold it into a weapon to fight off such horrid feelings. Siegfried was thankful for it. He wanted to protect it. He wanted to protect Link. Nothing was too large a request, and nothing was too much of a burden to complete. As long as he got that smile as a reward, Siegfried was happy to do just about anything. Even if it meant stopping the sun from rising.

"Love is when people are completely selfless to the point that their life is no longer their own, and they're okay with that."Like how Siegfried Schtauffen was no longer the German's identity, but was now only his name. His life was Link's now, and he could not have been any happier with that.

"What if it's not so strong?"

"Then it isn't love. Anything less is either obsession or mere infatuation."

Not that he would know from personal experience. This was one of those rare moments when he had to supply Link with an answer he had never gotten the opportunity to test out in real life. He usually held off on doing so, he never wanted to give Link improper information, but explaining something like this to the elf, giving him nothing more than what the knight felt to be so… it felt truer than anything he had ever uttered before.

"But you should know that when you do mean what you say, those three words can be said to your most important people." Siegfried was quick to add. "Family, friends, lovers. Just mean it and you can say it."

Link took a moment to let the knight's words sink in before he smiled brightly. It was an expression much better suited for him than the frowns he had been sporting. "Thanks Siegfried. I think I get it now."

"Good." Siegfried got up and straightened himself out with a stretch. Talks like that usually left his body much tenser than any actual battle.

He reminded himself, as he walked over to where his forgotten shirt lay, to have a little chat with Yunseong in the morning. If the redhead was going to carelessly open his mouth and confuse Link, he could at least have the decency to provide the Hylian with some sort of information on the subject. It would certainly save the knight a bit of the initial embarrassment he had felt that night.

For a moment he pondered on whether or not he wanted to wear the shirt he had in his hand. It was rather warm tonight, and perhaps he was just a bit too lazy to bother with putting it on. He could do without it for one night, surely. Not like he would get sick or anything, and Link was the only other person sharing this room. There was no fear of being indecent. That in mind, he was just about to toss the article of clothing to the nearest corner when he heard Link call out to him.

He turned to face the boy once more. "Anything else?"

Link smiled brightly. "I love you Siegfried!"

The knight stood immobile for a second. Link continued to stare at him with pure honest blue eyes, and a smile that coaxed the knight into believing what he already knew to be true. Siegfried found himself smiling too, and then surprised himself, and his friend, by throwing his shirt at Link's head. The elf was so surprised he fell backwards on his bed when the article of clothing hit him square in the face.

Siegfried simply laughed. "Put that on. It'll get chilly soon, and the last thing I need is for you to get a cold."

After that, the knight happily walked over to his bed. Link sputtered and tried to complain as Siegfried tucked himself in. He would get an earful for that tomorrow. Barely drunk or not, Link would not let such a blatant insult to his masculinity go. No, a challenge would be brewing in the morning. Yet, Siegfried was oddly okay with that. He was happy, and a soft fluttering feeling was forming in his stomach. He rather liked it. Whatever it was, alcohol or simple joy from Link's words, he liked it very much.

A moment later he felt a soft weight collide with his back. He turned around to face a slightly red Hylian with his arm outstretched, the pillow he had thrown now on the floor. But, the knight noted with a smile, he was wearing the shirt Siegfried had tossed to him.

"You didn't answer me." He said.

"Answer what?" The knight smirked.

Link blushed, and adorably glared at his friend. "I said I love you."

Siegfried beckoned the elf over with a wag of his finger. Link tilted his head, but rose and took a few steps towards Siegfried. The knight beckoned him closer, and Link obliged yet again. It was not until the two were face to face, mere inches apart, that Siegfried leaned up and whispered in the elf's ear,

"I love you too Link."

He was warm. This time when he rose to consciousness, he was warm. It was as if his body had been frozen to the core and was just now basking in a glow long forgotten, allowing its heat to slowly seep into him. He knew of only two things that would bask him with unbiased light, and only one of them was now within his reach. The sun.

"It's still daylight?" He found himself whispering, unsure if anyone was there to hear him or not.

A soft laugh and a gentle caress on his face was his reward. "It's good to have you awake, my little one."

Clarity was coming to him much more quickly than the last time. So was the recognition. Siegfried knew that voice. He knew that nickname. There was only one person who had ever called him that, and he had only ever allowed one person, besides his mother, to speak to him in such an endearing way.

"Sophitia?"

The hand on his face came to rest on the top of his head. "You'll never know if you don't open your eyes."

Warily, just in case he was still trapped in a land of fond memories, Siegfried opened his eyes. He was quick to realize that he was laying down on something, a bed if he was not mistaken, that was much more comfortable than what Raphael had put him on the day before. His vision soon cleared completely, and once it did he was able to see the familiar furnishings of an Athenian household.

"It's real."

A smiling face, one he had adored two years prior, obstructed his line of sight. Sophitia's eyes danced in glee. "Did you think you were still dreaming?"

The knight nodded. "I've been having really realistic dreams lately. It's kind of hard to tell which ones are just figments of my imagination." It was also hard to determine if he even wanted to wake up from those dreams anymore. The world his mind conjured up was much more fulfilling than his current reality. Sleeping for an unsolicited amount of time could be beautiful.

"Uncle Siegfried!" Two little voices shouted.

The knight instantly sat up, and Sophitia straightened immediately. Siegfried wanted to question whose voices sounded so familiar. Sophitia looked liked she wanted to explain. Before either got the chance to open their mouths, a young boy and girl burst into the room with their distressed aunt following close behind. Siegfried barely had the chance to properly recognize them before they climbed onto the bed and tackled him further into the sheets. How he managed to remain sitting was a mystery.

The girl latched on to his neck while the boy took hold of one of his arms. Instantly they began speaking a thousand miles a minute in what Siegfried assumed was some kind of a human language, but could only be perceived as speeded buzzing. Still, he knew these two small monkey like creatures to be a friendly pair. He remembered how that blonde haired, blue eyed boy had sometimes been mistaken for his son on casual outings to the market place, much to Siegfried's embarrassment. He recalled how that little brown haired, green eyed girl had mischievously sent Link on wild goose chases whenever he believed her to be in trouble. He also found himself reminiscing on how he and Link would often partake in games with the two young children when other adults were too busy.

He also recalled how strong a grip each of them had once the air flow and blood circulation in his body was lessened considerably.

"Pyrrha, Patroklos, Uncle Siegfried needs to breathe!" The knight managed to wheeze out after roughly five minutes of being lovingly strangled.

The children pouted, but eventually decided to give the man a break and let go of their beloved uncle. However, neither of them wanted to leave his side just yet. So they decided to simply sit beside him on the bed for the moment until he caught his breath.

They were glowing. Just looking at him, smiles alight in unfiltered happiness, seemed like enough to make them content for dozens of years to come. Having him within their reach, being able to actually reach out and touch him, looked to over joy them far more than any other childlike joy could have ever managed to. It occurred to the knight, as he rubbed his bruising neck, that they must have missed him something fierce. Children grew attached to individuals fairly quickly, and Siegfried had been something of a constant in their lives two years prior. Disappearing without warning for x amount of years must have hurt them.

He could have at least visited them. They were innocents in the fight Soul Edge had brought to the people around them. They were mere children. They had done nothing wrong. Yet they had lost both Link and Siegfried in what appeared to be one final swoop. The pain that brought to their little hearts could not be measured, but surely it was enough to shatter whatever world they had composed for themselves at the time. Being without the two blondes before that final battle could not have helped much. Link could not be blamed for that. He had an excuse for not being there for the two small children. Siegfried did not.

He tried to smile through the guilt, hoping they could see how sorry he was in that pathetic little gesture. "Hi guys. Long time no see."

They smiled back at him. Neither of them said anything.

"Have you guys been good since I last saw you?"

They nodded.

"Uh, have you given your parents any trouble?"

They shook their heads.

He was quickly becoming uncomfortable with their staring. Had he said something weird? Did he have something on his face? "Uh-"

"You were gone a long time." Patroklos said.

"And you didn't even write us a letter." His sister added with a pout.

The guilt was magnified tenfold. Not only had he chosen to never visit, but he had also never even considered sending a letter during the holidays or their birthdays. "Sorry about that. I wish I…I was busy."

"Were you traveling?" The little boy asked, eyes wide and full of wonder.

Siegfried was going to have to lie to ensure those eyes remained tear free. "Yes I was. I went to all sorts of places." He ruffled the boy's hair. "Places much too dangerous for little boys to venture off to."

Patroklos pouted. "Well, where are they then?"

Siegfried blinked in confusion. "Where are what?"

Pyrrha scoffed. "Come on uncle Siegfried, you know."

No he most certainly did not know. And where had she learned to scoff like that? She looked a bit too much like Cassandra when she did. "Enlighten me."

The young brunette blinked. "What's that mean?"

Cassandra piped up from behind Sophitia, who was watching the exchange with an amused smile. "It means talk to him as if he were dumb. You know Siegfried has never been all that bright to begin with."

Siegfried did not feel even the slightest bit of guilt when the pillow he threw hit her square in the face. His only regret was that he had not taken hold of something stronger. He had forgotten how irritating Cassandra could be at times.

"So," He started casually, conveniently ignoring the fuming blonde girl. "Tell me what it is you two want again."

They both took in a deep breath. "Presents! Presents! Presents!"

It took a moment for Siegfried to fully comprehend what it was he had just heard. When he finally did manage to understand, he smiled. It just figured. A trip away from home meant that gifts would be presented upon the traveling party's return. They thought Siegfried had brought them back something from his little trip abroad and that was why he was there.

"You guys want gifts?"

They nodded eagerly.

"I think I can do a little something." He cupped a hand over his mouth. "Oh Raphael!"

A moment later, Amy appeared in the doorway with Navi floating above her shoulder. "Papa is busy talking to Mitsurugi. Can I take a message?"

Siegfried motioned to the two kids beside him. "These two want gifts. There must be something in that mountain your father brought with him that would appeal to the two of them, right?"

Patroklos tugged at Siegfried's arm. "What does that mean?"

The knight smiled fondly and ruffled the boy's hair again. Patroklos was almost as curious as Link was. It was nice to be reminded of the elf in a pleasant light. "I'm asking her if there's anything you two would like."

"I can check." Amy said quickly, eager to offer up some kind of assistance. "We can all check together if you want."

The children bounded over to the redhead promising them presents. Once they had reached her side they were immediately pulling and tugging her out of the room. Amy looked to Siegfried when he did not get out of bed to join them. After a few more minutes of managing to keep her arms attached to their sockets, despite the children's apparent desire to rip them off, she wondered why he was not even attempting to stand up.

Navi noticed the girl's question, and asked, "You're not coming with us?"

The knight shook his head. "I'm actually a little tired. I want to get a bit more rest before I try to get out of bed. You guys go on ahead."

The children took his excuse at face value and ran off for the room that held their promised treasures. The Alexandra sisters remained.

Cassandra was the first to speak, frowning at the blonde's relaxed form. "You're tired? Still?" The frown deepened at the nod she received. "You've been asleep all day."

"All day?" He could have sworn…he had only…"But the sun's still up."

"Beginning to set I'm afraid." Sophitia added gently. "Mitsurugi and Raphael had to drag you in here earlier on this morning."

"This morning?" He yawned. If he had slept for so long, then why was he still so sleepy? "But I could have sworn that I only closed my eyes for a few seconds. A few hours at the most."

Sophitia looked at Siegfried intently. Something was troubling her, and the look in her eyes told the knight that she was not all that comfortable with what it was. Siegfried tried to see something more, something to identify what it was she was so concerned about, but she turned to Cassandra a moment later. "Go see to the princess."

Cassandra blinked. "What?"

"The poor girl's been sitting outside our kitchen for hours, and she looked just about as tired as Siegfried did. Be a good hostess and show her to a guest room."

Her sister looked as though she wanted to argue. One of Cassandra's most annoying qualities was the constant desire to have knowledge that she should have no right to. It was an inner curiosity that had not faded out since her childhood. Unfortunately for her it was not one of the more polite kinds of curiosity like Link had. Hers came in the form of an overbearing presence and crude to the point questions. Everyone received the same kind of treatment if they had information she desired. Siegfried was no exception, even in his current state. She would want answers from him. Answers he did not know, or remember, at the moment.

"Now Cassandra."

But no one disobeyed Sophitia. Not when she spoke in such a firm tone of voice. Cassandra, even after a lifetime of living side by side with her big sister, was not immune to it. Siegfried supposed it was some kind of divine intervention. Having one sibling to interrogate unjustly, and another to force their sibling to stand down. Cassandra walked out of the room without another word, though she did glance back a couple of times, before she turned into the hallway to do as she had been told.

Sophitia lay Siegfried down on the bed not a second later. The knight, meanwhile, rubbed at his eyes and tried to stop the yawns that were beginning to occur every fifteen seconds.

"Perhaps waking you up was not one of my better ideas," She said while tucking him into bed. "If your history with such situations is anything to go by."

Siegfried settled himself further into the sheets. "I wouldn't have hit you." He said through a yawn. "Or the kids." He said as an afterthought.

"And Cassandra?"

"I make no promises."

She giggled and gave him a pat on the head. "Get some sleep. I'll wake you up when dinner's ready."

"Dinner?"

"Yes, dinner. A meal in which a family comes together to speak about their day regardless of whether or not they want to because mother says they have to."

Siegfried chuckled a bit through his tired daze. He had missed this woman. He had not realized how much until this moment, but he had missed her nurturing and selfless gentleness. How long had it been since he was cooed and coddled over? "Will you need help with the food?"

"Don't worry about it. I'll drag Mitsurugi and Raphael into the kitchen. They do need to explain the situation to me."

Siegfried made motions to sit up. "I could tell you." He must have been mindlessly exhausted if he was offering to tell this tale. He did not so much as want to think about it during normal circumstances.

"You've exhausted yourself enough," Sophitia told him as she laid him back down. "They're big boys. They can let me know what's going on." She placed a small peck on his forehead, and just like that the matter was settled.

"I don't envy them," He found himself thinking as he saw Sophitia walk out the door. "That story is not easy to tell. Especially not to a woman."

Sophitia wordlessly placed a hand over her heart. She wanted to know that it was still beating. She half expected it not to move. It was somewhat of a surprise to feel its familiar thump within her chest. Was the heart not supposed to stop when news such as this became known?

"I see." She smiled sadly at Mitsurugi and Raphael. "I suppose it was too much to ask for this visit to be a pleasant one. I did have some suspicion. I had just hoped I would be wrong."

The men before her shifted uncomfortably. They had no way of knowing how to handle this particular reaction. What they expected was anger, tears, hysterics, something volatile and out of control. Those they could handle somewhat well. Those they understood perfectly. This, this soft form of depressing acceptance, this was not something they knew how to deal with.

"How long ago did this occur?"

Mitsurugi scratched the back of his head. "Siegfried started this journey about a week ago. The girl has yet to tell us how long before that she began her trek to find him."

Sophitia shook her head. The men in the room got the feeling that she had not really wanted to know how long any of this had been going on. She had asked out of mere obligation, since she would need to know that information to fully comprehend the situation. She probably did not care how long ago any of this had taken place. No answer would have been able to console her. Any lengthy amount of time would have been too much in her book. Even a day would have been too long for Link to suffer through such imprisonment.

"And what exactly is the course of action?"

"First thing's first. We need to gather everyone who had battled against Soul Edge before." The samurai explained. "We must come together to fight against it once more. This time we need to destroy it. Putting it away a second time will do us no good."

"That is easier said than done." Sophitia replied sadly. "We had not been able to destroy it the first time, and simply sealing it had been difficult enough. Siegfried had been able to wield Soul Calibur, and Link had been on our side back then. Ever since that day, the legendary healing blade has yet to appear, and the method of sealing we had originally used left when Link returned to his world."

That was one of the sour details the group had yet to talk about in length. It had been nagging at Mitsurugi since Siegfried had informed him of his very vague plan. The German had yet to elaborate on just what he intended to do once his old group came together again. Did he intend to look for the holy blade? Did they have the time to look for it? Without it, would they even have a chance this time around? Could they find a way to seal Soul Edge away, for good this time, if they were not powerful enough to destroy it all together? Was that even possible? The method they had used that first time had been thought up on the spot. It had been a result of quick thinking and panicked adrenaline. Mitsurugi hardly doubted they could replicate something remotely like it on demand.

"Siegfried has yet to inform me on his next course of action. He's taking this whole mess on one step at a time."

"It's better than our course of action." Raphael admitted. "Had it been up to us, we would have killed the girl long ago without thinking about our actions."

The samurai scoffed. "Speak for yourself."

"How is she, by the way?" Sophitia gently interrupted. "Zelda, I believe her name is?"

The two men looked at each other, and shifted somewhat uncomfortably yet again. "Uh,"

She raised an eyebrow. "I take it not very well? You have been treating her at least somewhat decently haven't you?"

"Yes,"

"Maybe."

"We tried."

"We may have failed?"

Sophitia shook her head. "What I am I going to do with you two?"

Mitsurugi felt his face heat up. "Things were fine for a while. Up until this morning she was treated as politely as could be expected." It was not nearly as polite as they could have been, but the samurai would leave that out for the moment.

"What happened this morning?"

Raphael coughed into his hand. "She may or may not have insinuated that she intended to bring Link back to Hyrule when we found him."

"And how did you incredibly mature men handle that situation?"

Mitsurugi repeated the blonde's action. "Somewhat immaturely I suppose."

"You suppose?" Sophitia asked with a raised brow. "Or you know?"

The two men refused to meet her ever critical eye. In essence they felt like two children who had just disobeyed their parents and had opted to pick on a little girl half their size. That look she was giving them certainly made it seem as though that were the case at hand.

Raphael could never stand the different kinds of looks Sophitia gave him. She had dozens of paths to venture down in order to make the Frenchman feel as though he had been incredibly dumb in any given situation, and they all had a look that could be associated with them. None of them were very fun to look at, doing nothing less than reminding him of the time when he was a child who could be humiliated by his mother's scolding.

"Would it make it any better if I said we were sorry?" He tried meekly, even though the answer was in his mind before Sophitia could verbally let it loose herself.

"What do you think?"

"That it was worth a try?"

Mitsurugi sighed and attempted to think up something to respond with. He could not give the woman in front of him a reason for the way he acted. There was none, and even if there had been, it would not have been the reason for her mistreatment anyway. That was due to his own biased and dislike of the princess' character. The older Alexandra would no doubt realize that. She was not stupid after all.

Sophitia shook her head in disbelief. "I pray that the two of you never get married. I pity the poor women who would have to put up with you."

The two could do nothing to rebuke that statement. Again, if they could, it would do them absolutely no good. You did not win in a situation where you had been wrong to begin with, no matter what the arguments you set forth.

"Do I have to fix this?"

Mitsurugi knew there was a reason why he liked this woman. She was intuitive, and even before he had time to ask she would always know his train of thought. She knew his plan of action before he had time to process the thought. "I'm not saying it's necessary, but it would be a problem if she grew too distant from us. We at least need her to remember that our acquaintanceship is mutually beneficial."

She shook her head again, but this time there was a fond little smile spreading across her face. The two men were already forgiven, and she would no doubt do her part to aid them. "Leave it to me."

The two men let out matching sighs of relief. "We appreciate it."

"Prove it." She stood up. "Help Rothion finish up dinner, and prepare to help Cassandra and I pack for the journey ahead. I should warn you ahead of time. We take the act of packing very seriously, and do not appreciate being told what to bring, and what to leave behind. You have an interesting fight ahead of you."

Mitsurugi nearly bashed his head against the table.

"This'll be your room, I guess."

Zelda gave a dainty little bow in response. She entered the room slowly, eyes scanning over every aspect of the space she would be staying in. Her gaze held an almost inquisitive grace that truly spoke of her royal lineage. She had an eye for detail, one that was exact and precise in what she wanted in a living space. She would no doubt be able to find flaws within her room in mere seconds, and she would surely make mention of them in no time.

Cassandra stayed near the doorway for that very reason. She knew the room was nothing grand. There was a bed, a couple of windows, and a small bedside table in there for a guest's use. The home she and Sophitia stayed in was nothing compared to the grand estate their parents and younger brother came home to every night. The Alexander sisters, while appreciative of their childhood, had never seen fit to replicate that large house and magnificent garden they had lived in when they were little girls. They liked simple. Simple suited them just fine.

Simple might not have been very suitable for royalty though. Zelda was probably not impressed with her new lodgings. A princess was sure to have more furnishings and leg room in her closet. What the Alexandra family could offer would be nothing to a girl of Zelda's upbringing.

Zelda surprised her, however, by pleasantly smiling after she finished looking around. "It's lovely. Thank you."

Cassandra was quite unsure how to respond. "You're welcome…I guess."

Zelda took a seat on the bed and smoothed out the wrinkles on her dress. "I suppose I should apologize."

Cassandra raised an eyebrow. "How come?"

"Siegfried has, by now, told you all about me."

"Not really." The knight had not gotten the chance to say much of anything before he had fallen back asleep. "You didn't come up in conversation." Not that there had been much of a conversation to start with.

"I'm quite surprised. I was sure he would have read you a list of at least a few hundred reasons why I was public enemy number one."

"Siegfried?" The knight was not one to ramble on about other people's faults. He himself was no angel. He had been reminded almost daily of how much blood was residing on his hands. The last thing he ever planned on doing was damning people for their imperfections when he had yet to fix his own.

"I was a bit surprised as well." She smiled kindly. "Our hero had told me much about all of you. He did not mention anything about the knight being so openly hostile."

"Hero? Do you mean Link?"

Zelda nodded, and immediately Cassandra put her full attention on the princess sitting in her guest room. She had not heard of that sweet, blonde haired, blue eyed outsider in years. All she had to remember him by was the medallion he had given her sister. All she had been able to hold onto was the hug and light kiss on her forehead she received as a goodbye. To hear anything about that boy after so many years, even from a third party, was something she found she wanted more than anything.

"He spoke of all of you quite a great deal. I was told of a thief, a ninja, a young priestess,"

One by one Zelda named and described every single member of Link's past traveling companions. She would pause every few seconds for some kind of confirmation, or a small question, but other than that she merely retold Cassandra what she already knew about her old friends. It seemed Link had been very specific about the stories he told her, and from the sound of things he had spoken to her about them often. There was no other way she could have known all of this, no way she could have spoken so confidently if she were not sure of what she was saying.

"Were you close to Link?" Cassandra found herself asking. "You look a bit like him. Are you his sister or something?"

Zelda giggled. "No, we are not related, though his family has served mine in the past. So I suppose you could say we're family friends."

Cassandra nodded. That made sense. Families who had similar positions in life tended to be friendly with one another, and no doubt would introduce their children to each other if they were around the same age. Knowing Link, his family must have been as strong and loyal as he had been. No doubt they would have been favored by the royal family.

"You've known him for a long time, haven't you?"

Zelda nodded. "Several lifetimes tend to make two people very well acquainted with each other."

Something uncomfortable settled into the pit of Cassandra's stomach. In her experience, when a woman was well acquainted with a man, it meant that the two shared a fairly intimate kind of relationship. Link had never spoken about having a girlfriend, but he never talked too much about his personal life with anyone other than Siegfried. Could the Hylian have had a lover and simply neglected to mention it to Cassandra? Had he even wanted to?

"Are you his girlfriend?"

Zelda's eyes widened slightly, only to narrow in confusion a second later. "I beg your pardon?"

Cassandra found herself lightly scratching her cheek. It was a nervous habit she had been a servant to since she was small. "His girlfriend. His lover, his betrothed, his-"

Zelda held up a hand to stop any more suggestions. "Forgive me, but what on earth gave you that impression?"

"Well, I mean, I just assumed,"

Zelda placed her hand down on her lap. She smiled kindly at the Athenian and simply shook her head. "I'm afraid I gave you the wrong impression. Our hero and I are nothing more than friends."

"Really?" The hope in her voice could not be stopped. She barely had time to realize it was even there. Cassandra could only hope the princess had not heard it and thought her too pathetic.

Zelda merely giggled. "If anything I see him as a brother. We know each other a bit too well for anything more."

Cassandra's face became a bright red. "Oh."

The thought of bidding a chaste goodbye and running far away from the fair Hylian seemed like such a tempting option at the moment. Yet, Cassandra could not bring herself to move. She had before her a rare opportunity. Someone close to Link, someone who had known him longer than anyone else in his world, was but a few inches in front of her. Zelda had answers to the questions Cassandra had never managed to ask. Questions the girl was never sure she would get responses to. Now was her chance.

"You knew him well, right?"

"Yes I did."

"Would you mind telling me about him?"

Zelda moved aside on the bed, patting the spot beside her in an invitation for Cassandra to join her. The blonde hesitated slightly, and then decided to forgo any nervousness and take her up on the invitation.

"What is it you would like to know?"

Cassandra thought for a moment. "What's his last name?"

"He has not had a last name in years, but he does have a middle name that seemed to follow him throughout the years."

"What is it?"

Zelda made a show of looking around the room. When she was certain there was no one else there, she whispered a name into Cassandra's ear.

"Rinku?"

Hours began passing between the two. It was an odd sight indeed to anyone who knew of their histories to see them so close, laughing and exchanging stories as though they were old friends. In the back of Cassandra's mind she knew it was somewhat taboo for her to feel so joyful around the princess. She may have been a guest, but she was also the one who had supposedly destroyed Links life over and over again. She just could not help herself.

The more questions she asked, the more responses she received, the more her mind began to change. What if they had all been wrong about Zelda? What if they had misunderstood the villains in the Hylian's story? Zelda seemed so regal and sweet hearted. What Cassandra had originally thought about her could not have been true. If she was so terrible, if she was so cruel, would she have humored the Athenian for so long? Would she have answered all her queries with a smile and a desire to help? She was indeed answering everything. Anything from favorite food, favorite past times, favorite people…

"Our hero mentioned your name quite a few times."

Cassandra felt the nearly painful pang that rang throughout her chest. "He did?"

Zelda nodded. "I cannot remember the precise way he worded your presence, but I believe he described it as being akin to the feeling of water on a scorched throat."

Cue the overbearing blush, and fade into the abrupt violent turning of the head. "He was too kind."

She heard the other giggle. "Oh? I don't know. I think he may have been unable to do you enough justice."

Cassandra spent the next few minutes trying to rub the red from her face. Zelda, meanwhile, tried to apologize for her abrupt assumptions through a fit of giggles.

When the room quieted down seconds later, the princess finally saw fit to speak again. "He spoke quite a bit about Siegfried as well."

Cassandra sighed in relief. This was a topic she could talk through without becoming embarrassed about. "I'm not surprised. They were best friends. Link could probably write Siegfried's memoirs himself."

"I don't doubt it, although,"

Cassandra could not help but frown at the hesitant tone. Now that she took a moment to look closely at her, the princess seemed so restless. When her eyes were not focused on the girl beside her, her gaze remained on the floor or on her hands in her lap. Coincidentally, those hands were tightly closed and fisted within the creases of her dress. Her shoulders were tense and would shift nervously every few seconds with just the slightest provocation. It was obvious that she would try to force herself to remain steady whenever she noticed her nervous movements, but it was a futile effort.

"What's the matter?" Cassandra could not imagine doing anything to make the Hylian uncomfortable. They had been getting along well moments before. Something else had to be causing this unease.

Zelda jolted a bit at her host's voice, which only fueled to confuse Cassandra even more. The princess quickly tried to cover up her surprise by laughing. There was no emotion in it. The sound was so empty that it was almost painful. "Oh it's nothing. I was just thinking."

"Thinking about what?"

"Oh, nothing in particular."

Cassandra had never been too good at reading people on demand. Human beings were too cunning, and could at times be as cold as the stone models of temple deities. Cassandra was often one of the more easily fooled when those around her were being untruthful. However this time it was blatantly obvious. The way the girl spoke, the way she moved, the way her eyes darted from side to side, she was obviously tense about something. There was something that was just not right.

"Tell me. Please?"

Zelda looked torn. For a moment it seemed as though the Athenian would be denied her request, but at last the princess decided to speak. "Siegfried, do you consider him to be a good soul?"

Cassandra blinked. Siegfried was her friend. He had been for a good few years. He may not have been perfect, but he was a good man. "Yeah, I mean, he's not bad or anything. Link liked him a lot."

"It would appear that way, at least it did to me, but as time goes on I have to wonder."

"Wonder?" Cassandra frowned. "About what?"

"It's just that…he's been so hostile towards me. So cruel and nasty…I just don't understand."

"Siegfried?" There was nothing short of complete surprise. "He can be a bit mean sometimes, but never cruel."

Zelda shifted her gaze around the room. Her eyes spent a few seconds longer than necessary staring at the door. "Our hero used to sing the knight's praises so sweetly. I was sure that when I requested his assistance, I would be met with a soul as loving as our hero's ready to help in any way he could. That was not the case."

"What do you mean?"

Zelda looked around nervously once more. Again, she spent a few more moments looking at the door than she needed to. "I'm afraid I must beg for your secrecy on what I'm about to tell you."

"Secrecy from who?"

"Siegfried."

Cassandra could feel a lump overtaking the area around her windpipe. There was emotion welling up inside of her, but for the life of her she could not name what emotion it was. Nervousness? Anxiousness? Reluctance? She did not want to keep a secret from Siegfried. She could not even understand why she would need to. What would the princess tell her that would need to be kept strictly between the two of them?

She agreed nonetheless.

The agreement only relaxed Zelda slightly. Whatever she was worried about made it impossible to fully let loose all the nerves accumulating in her body. "When I began this journey I was given a set of names to search for. Siegfried was one, and he was the first one I found upon entering this world, but there were others who I was told would be good for the leadership of this unfortunate quest. A Mitsurugi, a Sophitia, and Ivy were among the top five. Yours was mentioned as well."

Cassandra knew she should have stopped the blush from appearing on her face. It was just that the thought of her name slipping from Link's lips was too much.

"However, when I made mention of letting the rest of you in on the plan of rescue, he suddenly became very angry. He told me he wanted charge of this mission and that no one would take our hero's attention from him. He told me he would be the hero this time."

Cassandra suddenly found it very hard to breathe. "He said that?"

"Indeed." Zelda said solemnly. "I could not understand his reasoning. He was not being all too clear when he was screaming at me, and I became quite frightened. When I tried to ask him to calm down, he…"

Cassandra placed her hands on Zelda's shoulders. "What did he do?"

Zelda clamped her eyes shut and rolled up one of the sleeves on her dress. Circling the entire area of her wrist was a dark blue and slightly purple bruise. It looked painful, and to Cassandra's horror, it looked fresh.

"He warned me of what would happen if I defied him. Yet I did not see fit to listen. I again asked him to reconsider his position on the subject. I even asked, if he was so against another male being in charge of this endeavor, to enlist the help of one of the female companions our hero had suggested. I believe I suggested your name though I did not know you at the time. I was merely repeating a name I had heard most often. He did not take it so well."

Cassandra felt a dark feeling swelling up in the pit of her stomach. "Did he do anything else?"

"He only ever marked me one other time. This one is on my back, though I do not wish to reveal it if it is alright with you."

Cassandra honestly did not want to see further proof of her friend's surprising violence. "On your back? That's a type of mark you can't just hide. Hasn't Mitsurugi seen it? Hasn't Raphael?"

"They did inquire about it once," Zelda sighed tiredly. "He told them I received it from falling off of Epona. They believed him without further discussion."

"Just like that? Why didn't you tell them the truth?"

"Honestly?" Cassandra nodded. "I began to think it was my fault. After the second assault, he attempted no more abuse of the physical kind. He resorted to verbal and emotional instead. He likes to hit below the belt, as I soon discovered, and did not pull any metaphorical punches with me. He has very strong, hurtful opinions on the way I had lived in my past lives. Anything he could say to bring me pain, he did. Needless to say, after a fairly short while I stopped trying to have him desist."

Cassandra was shaking now. A growing rage was quickly filling the spaces between her veins.

"I'm sorry to have to reveal this to you. Perhaps I shouldn't have done so, but I felt almost compelled to do so."

"Why?" Cassandra's voice was oddly calm. It belied the intense feeling she was developing for the knight sleeping somewhere else in the house.

"If his rage hinders this journey in any way, I honestly believe you can be someone to force it back to action. Our hero always believed in you, and perhaps that is why Siegfried was so upset when I mentioned your name."

Cassandra did not answer. For ten minutes she did not so much as utter a sound. The workings of her mid were slowly being twisted and bent by the words of the girl sitting in front of her. At one point she was forced to take her hands from the princess' shoulders, lest the fists they turned into cause the Hylian to suffer anymore than she already had.

More than she had suffered from Siegfried's hands. On Link's name. After he had specifically asked for Cassandra.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a semi soft knocking at her door. It was Zelda who ushered the knocker inside. Her companion was in no state to do so. In walked Patroklos, smile large and eyes bright. Blonde hair and blue eyes. Just like Link's.

"Auntie, Miss Guest, mama said dinner is ready."

Zelda smiled kindly. "Oh is it? Are we terribly late then?"

The boy shook his head. "Everyone's there already, but we're still getting the table set. Oh! Auntie, mama said it's your turn to get the water."

"We'll be there shortly." The princess assured the boy. "You go on ahead of us."

Patroklos nodded and bounded off, calling his sister's name and asking what he was supposed to do next. Cassandra had yet to move.

Zelda gently shook her shoulder. "Cassandra? Are you alright?"

The girl was finally shaken enough to come out of her own inner world. "Yeah, I'm fine." She turned to Zelda, a half hearted smile playing on her lips. "Why don't you go on ahead to dinner? I'll be there soon."

"Are you certain?"

"Yeah, I'm sure."

Zelda nodded. With a smile and a small bow she made her way outside the room. Cassandra stood not long after. Her body went through the motions of completing the task she had been given. She considered it a blessing, as her mind was far to occupied with rampant and angry thoughts to be bothered by such a thing.

As her feet touched the ground outside, she was reminded of how Link always completed this specific chore when he was in Athens. Rothion never gave him anything harder to complete because he saw the boy as a frail little thing that needed to be handled delicately. It was a gross misunderstanding. It would have bothered Cassandra to be so terribly underestimated. The Hylian never minded, or if he did, he never let that irritation show. He simply smiled and did all he could to help.

"You were like that with everybody." She whispered to herself as she began pumping water into the wooden bucket that was kept beside it. "Especially with Siegfried."

Now that she thought about it, the knight had always taken up a good chunk of Link's life here in her world. The Hylian always found himself paired with the knight in fights, was the others first pick when a partner was needed to gather information, and was never cruel enough to refuse passing up any free time he may have had for Siegfried if he asked him to. Where there was one, there was always the other.

But had that been a mutual agreement? Or had that been merely nothing more than an enforced suggestion on Siegfried's part? Cassandra had never thought him to be a violent person, but that bruise, the serious way the princess had talked about her injuries. Everything about the knight's character was suddenly coming into question.

Her feet moved of their own accord. Cassandra had barely even realized that the bucket had become full. She had most likely subconsciously counted down the seconds it usually took for her to fill the wooden tool to the rim, and then quickly went about bringing it to its destination. She could care less right then if it really was or was not filled to her older sister's expectations. Again, her mind had more pressing matters to see too.

Was Siegfried the type of person to harm a lady? To hurt someone who could not obviously fight back?

Could he have done the same thing to Link?

Her breath completely left her at that point. Her mind released a set of thoughts so horrific, so inhumane, the lack of oxygen she received when mentally viewing them could have sent her to the floor. Link had worn clothing that could cover any scar. He was good at the perfection of false smiles, and it took nearly a lifetime to unravel them. Could he have been under constant abuse as well?

Her eyes only returned to their normal working order right before she entered the doorway to the kitchen. Numbly, she took in the picture in front of her. Sophitia and Rothion had either food or wine ready to be served to their guests. Mitsurugi and Zelda sat on one side of the kitchen table. Amy was over by the doorway opposite of the room, Navi flying over her shoulder, saying something about finding the other children. Her father, Raphael, sat opposite of Mitsurugi at the table, laughing at something next to…him.

Siegfried, apparently woken up from his slumber to join the rest of them for dinner, was sitting down at the table. He too was laughing. Laughing, when the girl he abused was but a few feet away from him. Laughing, even though the people around him were slowly fooled into believing that he had become a victim in this entire mess. Link was chained up in Hyrule, suffering, helplessly holding out for any kind of rescue that would hopefully come for him in time. And through all of that deception and pain Siegfried was sitting there. Laughing.

Cassandra could not stop herself from what she did next. She violently turned the bucket of water over and let every frigid drop land on Siegfried's head.

Siegfried felt an annoyed sense of nostalgia wash over him as water was suddenly dropped directly over his head. If Zelda had not been sitting directly opposite of him, he would have believed her to be the culprit. Confused, and a bit aggravated, he leaned back a bit to see Cassandra hovering over him with an empty wooden bucket in her hands. She looked absolutely livid.

"Is this some kind of hint that I need to take a bath?"

She responded by trying to slam the object down on his head. Siegfried's instincts kicked in at the last second, having the bucket narrowly miss the base of his head by a mere centimeter. Everyone else in the room stared on in shock as the wood splintered completely against the stone floor. Hell had no fury like a woman scorned.

Siegfried just looked annoyed. "What the hell was that for?"

"As if you don't know!"

Siegfried rolled his eyes. "Listen, I'm in no mood to play games with you."

"You were more than happy enough to play them with Link."

Those who were not silent before, had certainly lost any ability to speak at that moment.

"What did you just say?"

"You heard me."

Siegfried pushed himself up from his seat, hand gripping the top of his chair so tightly it was almost ready to crack. "Do you have something you want to discuss with me?" His tone was low, dangerous in a sense that it gave memory to the days where his calm rage could overtake him in an instant.

She narrowed her eyes at him. She was not afraid. She knew that whatever threat was present in his voice was empty. He would not dare hurt her. She hoped. "As a matter of fact I do."

"You've got a big enough mouth." He said lowly, moving closer to her. He knew the girl's bark was worse than her bite. She would back off soon enough. "Use it."

She pushed at him. The purpose was to put some distance between the two of them, to try and deepen the rift she wanted to maintain throughout her argument. It did her no good, Siegfried was much stronger than she was, and did not appear to be a means by which to separate the two. What it looked like was a sign that she was raring and ready to come to blows. The knight could very well take it that way and react accordingly. Whatever move he made would be intentionally threatening.

Still, she stood proudly and looked him dead in the eye. She was certain in her gaze with no qualms about what she was starting. Her confidence, or arrogance depending on how the situation was looked at, was her strongest weapon.

"I should congratulate you. You're a wonderful actor. Playing the role of an angel when you're really a demon in disguise."

He raised an eyebrow. "Angels and demons? Shouldn't you be focusing on Gods and Goddesses? Nymphs and deities and all that?"

She turned a furious bright red. "Shut up!"

He rolled his eyes. Cassandra was no good in logical arguments. She was fine as long as her opponent had no idea about what she was talking about. If they were smarter than the average farm animal, however, she was about as skilled in tongue as a newborn was in ancient Latin.

"Is there a point to all this? Like I said, I'm in no mood for games."

"You were more than in the mood for them when Link was here."

Siegfried narrowed his eyes. Why did she keep bringing Link into the conversation? Whatever was happening here had nothing to do with Link. "Just what the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"You know exactly what I mean. Wasn't that your plan all along? Force the rest of us to the background so you could play the hero? Isn't that why you were so adamant about talking charge?"

"Did you hit your head on something? You're more of an airhead than usual."

"Better than a space case of violent thoughts for one of the kindest of beings."

The two of them had, at this point, gotten right into the others face. Neither of them cared to back down. Not when they could see the anger and pure rage flashing through green and blue eyes, feeding their own foul emotions.

"You accusing me of something?" He wanted her to say it. She would take the blame for starting this. He would not take the fall for her. He was in mood to deal with her. Not today of all days.

"Took you long enough to figure it out."

"Your explanations are like your subtleties. They never make a damn word of sense and are about as full of it as the girl they come out of!"

"Oh yeah! Well-"

A small cough was enough to bring the blondes attention away from the argument at hand. They soon realized that they had a small audience surrounding them. Mitsurugi, Raphael, and Zelda were still sitting at the table, eyes slightly widened and unsure of how to react to the fight before them. Sophitia stood frozen by the table beside Rothion. Amy blinked repeatedly by the doorway where she and Navi had been about to exit from. None of them made a sound.

Siegfried and Cassandra turned to the other, and then turned to the people watching them. They each held up a hand in a 'wait here' gesture, before running off to another room and slamming the door behind them.

Siegfried made sure no one had followed them before turning his attention back to Cassandra. "Just what did you think you were doing out there?"

"Making sure you understood how bad it felt."

"How bad what felt?" He would never understand women. They very rarely, if ever, said exactly what was on their minds. They beat around the bush, spoke in vague responses, and then got mad when men could not decipher their puzzle of a complaint. Honestly, they could drive a man of sound mind to insanity with all of their none-too-slightly confusing mind games. It was a wonder man and woman could get together in marriage to begin with. He would remember to congratulate Rothion and Sophitia with extra vigor when their anniversary came around that year.

"Alright, since you obviously cannot get this yourself, I'll tell you. You, sir, are a liar."

He could not stop himself from gaping. "Were you dropped on your head as a child? You make less and less sense as time goes on."

She ignored him. "She told me everything. She told me about your first encounter with her and how you selfishly took charge of this rescue mission for your own sake. It sounded kind of pathetic to me at first, as you never seemed like the manipulative kind to me, but then it started to make sense."

That was more than he could say for the flow of this conversation.

"You really wanted him to see you. You wanted all of his attention on you at all times. You wanted to be his hero."

He had a sneaking suspicion of who Cassandra was referring to.

"But with the rest of us here, you couldn't be. You were second place. So now this time around, you decided to push everyone off to the side and take the glory for yourself. You rescue him and all of his affection will be for you."

He did not like the way this conversation was going. Something about her accusations was putting him on edge. They sounded too much like Zelda's. "What are you talking about? That's not what I'm doing at all."

"Oh aren't you? Why not let Mitsurugi take charge? Or Sophitia?"

No. He did not want them taking charge. Link had asked for him. "Because it's not their responsibility." None of them could have been nearly as invested in this as he was anyway. They could not have been nearly as heartbroken as he was. Right?

"What makes it yours? Tell me Siegfried, what on earth makes this rescue mission rest on your shoulders alone?"

"Link asked for me." Didn't he? He was certain the elf had. That was why Zelda came to him in the first place. That was what she told him. Wasn't it?

"Just for you?"

He had not really asked Zelda about that. He could have sworn at the time that his had been the only name called. "Yes." He hated how unsure he sounded. Cassandra would catch onto his doubt quickly, and she would certainly use it to her advantage.

"You sure about that?" She asked, eyebrow raised and a challenge in her voice.

"What does that matter to you?" He was losing his edge, he realized somewhat bitterly, and if he did not think of a clever argument quickly enough, Cassandra would get an advantage. And it would be a cold day in hell before he let her win a verbal fight against him. "Whether or not I was the only one called, he at least asked for me. That's more than I can say for you."

Perhaps that may have been a low blow, if the way her eyes shook was anything to go by. Her gaze alone told him that his comment would, on any other day, give her more than enough reason to cry. Cassandra hated being second place in anything. Being anything less than number one was a disgrace for her and she no doubt hated the thought of being a mere second best in someone else's heart, especially Link's. He had been, or so Siegfried had been informed, the first man she had ever become smitten with.

"You really do hit below the belt." Cassandra said at last. "She wasn't lying."

Siegfried knew something was about to come back and bite him. "Who wasn't lying?"

"Zelda. She said that you didn't particularly like to play fair. She was right." The blonde crossed her arms over her chest. "Meaning that she was right about everything else."

Oh of course. That would explain everything. He knew letting that girl get too comfortable in his world would come back to haunt him eventually. Now that she felt somewhat safe around Siegfried she thought she could start moving in on his territory. Zelda now knew the knight would not touch her. Even though she knew she could not lay a hand on him in return, there were others ways of damaging him in retaliation for his actions towards her.

She knew that he had distanced himself from his old team. She knew that that would cause some to stop and wonder if he had changed over the years. Change into a different Siegfried than the one they already knew. He had told her himself that some of the old group members had held Link in secret spaces inside of their hearts, meaning that they were more likely to respond to her if she made herself seem to be his beloved ally. He had also involuntarily told her which member would be the easiest to fool if the circumstances mentioned above were taken into consideration and molded into a weapon to deceive.

Again, she could not touch Siegfried, but the other members of his old team were not out of the question.

From there it was simple child's play. A few mishandled truths mixed in with some very small boosts of the wrong kind of motivation, and one very manipulative princess could have her least favorite German in some very painful situations. The damn brat.

"You can't be serious Cassandra. You cannot be standing in front of me defending the person solely responsible for Link's predicament. Even you can't be this dumb."

Cassandra seemed to be getting surer of herself as the seconds flew by. That was unusual. She was in the wrong here. She was the one who had no clue what she was saying. Yet she was the one standing confidently before him. There was something immensely wrong with that picture. "You blame her when you have yet to get all the facts. You only heard what you wanted to when she tried to explain things to you, didn't you?"

It was then that Siegfried heard the pitter patter of tiny feet beyond the doorway. There were two people who had become curious about the noises coming from closed doors and had decided to investigate. Amy would not have thought about following them after what she had witnessed in the kitchen. No normal person would. But there were two small nosey little tykes who had not seen the initial confrontation between the two blondes, and they alone would be curious enough about the noise to try and seek out what was going on.

"End of argument." Siegfried said firmly, turning to the door. "We'll finish this later."

He was pulled back by Cassandra's surprisingly strong grasp on his wrist. "We finish this now."

Siegfried nearly felt frantic when he heard the doorknob turn. This was not something he wanted Patroklos and Pyrrha to bear witness to. "Take your pride down a notch and let go. We've got company."

"I don't mind an audience."

Siegfried did. Especially when said audience included a seven and eight year old pair of siblings. His words had already brought one little girl to tears. He did not want two more sets of eyes to water by his actions. "I'm warning you, let me go. Now."

"You can't scare me like you did her. I can see right through you."

Siegfried had a very bad feeling about the look in Cassandra's eyes. It was accusing him, marking him as a target. In that instance she was a predator eyeing a piece of prey that should logically be beyond her reach. Just what was going on here?

"You just could not stand sharing him could you?"

Siegfried's heart nearly combusted when the door was finally opened. As he suspected, Pyrrha and Patroklos had come looking for them.

"Let go." He whispered harshly, but the words had been spoken one too many times already. They had no affect on Cassandra. She would not relinquish her hold.

"No."

Siegfried felt a tug on the back of his shirt. He did his best to look calm and collected when he turned to see which child had done it. Patroklos was standing beside his sister, his hand fisted in the cloth of Siegfried's shirt.

"Uncle Siegfried, mama said it was time for dinner."

The knight could have cursed up a storm right then. The children had been sent to retrieve everyone for dinner. Siegfried had already gotten up on his own, and followed his nose to the kitchen before they had gotten a chance to reach his room. They must have started searching for him the moment they noticed his bed was empty. They were probably still looking when they heard him yelling. The volume of his voice had to have been what led them there. He should have just stayed in bed.

Siegfried tried to smile, tried to hide the panic he was feeling, but the gesture came out as nothing more than a grimace. "Uh, I know. I was just getting Cassandra."

The boy took notice of his uncle's wrist locked inside of his aunt's hand. The frown deepened. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing!" Siegfried was loathe to admit that the word had come out much more forcibly than he had intended it to. As a result, the little boy flinched and took a step back.

His sister, however, took a step forward. "Are you two fighting?"

Siegfried shook his head, praying to whatever celestial being was listening, that it did not look half as frantic as it seemed. "No, we're not fighting. We're just…having an intense conversation."

Cassandra chose then, of all times, to open her mouth again. "You just can't seem to tell anybody the truth, can you? You would even lie to children!"

Siegfried harshly shushed her.

Pyrrha saw right through the act. "You are fighting!"

Patroklos regained his courage and ran right up to his aunt's side. He took hold of the hand tightly squeezing onto Siegfried's wrist and tried to dislodge it. "Auntie, let him go."

Pyrrha meanwhile grabbed hold of Siegfried's arm. She tried, with all the strength her young body could muster, to pull him away from Cassandra. "That's enough."

It broke Siegfried's heart. "Cassandra, stop it." He tried to pull his arm away again, and was frustrated to see that Cassandra was somehow still stronger than him at this point. She was even pulling him in her direction.

"You aren't getting away from this Siegfried."

Patroklos started to whine. "I'm telling mama!" A child's favorite threat and a tool used to stop a situation from going too far. The knight truly wished it would help in this case.

Alas, Cassandra just kept tugging and glaring. Siegfried and Pyrrha kept being dragged further towards the Athenian, and poor Patroklos kept trying to tug everybody apart. His whines grew louder, soon joined by his sisters, and tears began falling from his eyes. He pleaded with Cassandra to tell him what was going on, but she just ignored him.

After two minutes of listening to him cry, she raised her hand to push him away. Siegfried, for two frightening seconds, thought she was going to hit him.

"Don't!"

He made a reach for Patroklos, hoping to pull the child over to his side of the room, but Cassandra reached the boy before he did and shoved him beside her. She kept him there with the hand not currently trapping Siegfried.

"What, you going to hurt him too?"

Panic flashed through the knight's eyes. Did the two children in the room believe that? Cassandra obviously did. "I would never do anything to hurt them. You know that!"

"I thought I knew you too, but now I'm not so sure. You hurt her. What makes the kids any different?"

Hurt her? "Hurt who?"

"Zelda. I saw that mark on her wrist."

Siegfried gulped. He knew acting on his rage was going to get him into trouble eventually, especially when the princess was involved. "You saw that?"

Cassandra narrowed her eyes. "How could I not see it? It was as big as her wrist, Siegfried! How could you do such a thing?"

"It was an accident!" He tried to defend himself. "I didn't mean to hold on that hard."

"She's a toothpick compared to you Siegfried! You should have known what a 'small grip' from you would do!"

"I didn't mean to!"

"And what about the mark on her back?"

"Mark on her-what?"

"There is apparently a large bruise on her back from when you attacked her out of misplaced rage. You tell everyone she got it from falling off Epona."

That little! "She did fall off Epona! Or rather, Epona bucked her off."

"Oh really? That horse has always been well behaved. You expect me to believe she would buck off a princess of her own land?"

"She's obviously a good judge of character."

Cassandra yanked Siegfried towards her one more time. Siegfried nearly fell forward onto his face. Pyrrha, who had been holding onto the knight's arm, unfortunately did happen to fall to the ground. She landed on the floor, made of nothing more than concrete, with a loud thump right on her knee. The pain was severe enough to make her cry.

Siegfried tried to reach for her. Cassandra finally let go of her nephew and used her free hand to latch onto the knight's chin. She forced his head to remain steady.

"She was confused as to why you were acting so harsh. You were so good to Link that she couldn't imagine you being so terrible. There didn't seem to be a reason to her. But I know why."

Siegfried could not fathom why his strength was suddenly so far away from him. He was stronger than Cassandra. He should have been able to throw her off of him. Any other time he would have been able to toss her aside with no problem or question as to whether or not he could. He had no idea why that strength was failing him now. He had a nagging feeling it had something to do with the way his heart and mind, instead of using common sense to get him out of the situation at hand, were instead panicking beyond a reasonable, controllable, level.

"You were jealous of her."

Siegfried tried to scoff. He was almost certain the gesture did not come off as he wanted. "Why would I be jealous of that miserable excuse of a princess?"

"You were in love with him."

Siegfried was now desperately trying to get away. He suddenly wanted to leave the room immediately. The moment the word 'love' was brought forth from her mouth, cold, calm and composed, he felt something ring throughout his chest.

It must have been similar, if not exactly as the same, as the ring Nightmare had heard when Siegfried regained his consciousness. The sound of a heart awakening to feelings buried deep within it, and bursting with the withheld emotions. Siegfried's heart had awoken once to freedom, but he dared not think about what this second awakening would mean.

"You have a human heart, I'm sure of it."

"You were in love with him and she was threatening that. We were all threatening that."

"I trust you."

"And you couldn't have that could you? You didn't want to take the risk."

"I love you Siegfried!"

Siegfried tried to turn his face. Tried to shake his head to rid it of the voice taking it over. That noise was sweet torture, and he did not need to hear it right at that moment.

Cassandra forced his head to turn to the opposite direction. Blue eyes gazed upon a mirror, what she must have been trying to lead him to all along. The room was starting to spin. Patroklos was whining, Pyrrha was still crying on the floor, footsteps were now rushing towards the room, and Siegfried was suddenly feeling sick of his own reflection. The more he continued to stare, the sicker he became.

"Look at yourself. Do you honestly think he could ever return that love?" She asked coldly. "Forget the fact that you're another man, which is disturbing enough as it is, but you're a violent person."

Siegfried was beginning to see a very frightening image in that mirror. Link was there, but he was frowning, as though he were disappointed in him. And suddenly, a whole new set of voices was barking out at him from the far regions of his mind.

"Creature!"

"Beast!"

"Vermin!"

"You've made people suffer because you couldn't keep your temper in check."

Link was shivering in that mirror now. He was afraid. Afraid of Siegfried.

"This is all your fault!"

"You aren't human!"

"Murderer!"

"You didn't have the nerve to ask him to stay the last time because you knew he wouldn't listen to you."

That was not true. He would have stayed. Right? "Shut up."

"He wanted to get away from you. He wanted to go home."

"You deserve to die!"

"May you burn for all the sins you've committed."

"Shut up."

"He didn't want to be anywhere near you. None of us ever wanted to come within five feet of you. And I guarantee that once this gets out no one ever will again. And do you know why?"

That image was starting to change. The glass no longer held blonde hair and blue eyes cowering away from Siegfried's gaze. No, what was in there was much, much worse.

"Vile."

"Disgrace."

"Heretic."

It was Nightmare, laughing at him from the glass.

"It's because you're a monster!"

"Monster!"

"I told you to shut up!"

His strength finally saw fit to return to him, masked in the gear of intense rage. He yanked forward the hand Cassandra had been holding onto and slammed it against the mirror. Hers had been the one to take the brunt of the impact, and as such dozens of little shard had wedged themselves into her hand, bypassing the cloth of her gloves. Others had scattered amongst the ground, too small and damaged to be repaired. The image Siegfried had seen was gone.

But so, in turn, was the delusion that Siegfried had been fighting something within that mirror, and not, instead, someone who was made of flesh and blood.

It was the wailing that brought him back to his senses. Both Patroklos and Pyrrha had started sobbing as soon as their aunt's fist hit the glass. Cassandra had let go of him in favor of clutching the hand imbedded with glass shards to her chest. She was crying now too.

He had done this. He had singlehandedly caused all of this.

"No! Wait," His head whipped back and forth between children and adult. "I-I didn't mean to—I-"

The door slammed open moments later. Mitsurugi was the first to enter, followed closely behind by Sophitia. He went straight for Cassandra and Siegfried. She took one look at her children and was by their side in mere milliseconds. Raphael and Rothion stood still by the door. The room was far too tense, and the fathers did not have the courage to venture off any further. Not when they saw the small scene that lay within it.

"What the hell is going on here?" The samurai was quick to take notice of Cassandra's injury. "What happened to you?"

Siegfried looked down to the ground. He could still hear the children crying from the floor, even though Sophitia did her best to soothe them. He had done it again. He had caused innocent children to suffer, and this time he had actually gone and hurt someone.

"I'm sorry." Was as he could manage to force out of his mouth before he turned and bolted out of the room. No one could make a move to grab him.

Sophitia shushed and cooed at her children. They refused to be consoled. "What happened, Cassandra? Why are you hurt?"

Cassandra grumbled under her breath through the sting of the glass. "It was his fault."

Mitsurugi raised his eyebrows. "What? His fault for what?"

"Ask Zelda."

Sophitia frowned. "Zelda? What do you mean?"

The samurai mirrored the blonde's expression. "Zelda? What does she have to do with this?"

Cassandra tried to pick out a piece of glass from her hands. "She told me everything, and when I confronted Siegfried about it he blew up."

Now the samurai's eyes narrowed. "Cassandra, tell me you didn't start a fight with Siegfried because of something Zelda said." She did not answer him. "Answer me."

"He started it!"

The man let out a frustrated sigh. "This is just great. What did you say?"

"None of your business."

Sophitia rose from the floor at once. "If I know her it wasn't anything pretty. He needs someone to talk to and fast." The mother ran out into the hallway, looking towards the direction where she had seen the knight run off to. "He would stay inside. He wouldn't leave the grounds, not until he's sure my children are alright. He'll most likely be on the other side of the house."

Mitsurugi nodded. "Should I go after to him?"

She shook her head. "It would be better if I were to speak with him. Can you take care of Cassandra?"

He nodded.

"Raphael, please make sure Amy's alright, she most likely has questions, and do not touch the princess. Rothion, please explain the situation to Pyrrha and Pat and then quickly put them to bed. They'll need their rest. After that, guard Zelda's room. Is that clear?" She waited for the two men to nod in confirmation before she bounded off.

"Sophitia."

She turned around and gave an impatient hum in response.

Mitsurugi rubbed at his forehead. "After you calm him down, can you make me a drink so I can forget this night ever existed?"

Sophitia nodded before running off once more.

It did not take her that long to find him. She had been right in assuming that he would run all the way to the other side of the, though not very grand, large estate. She had searched quickly, opened every door with a speed unknown to mankind, and had listened with a hearing nearly as good as a Hylian's. She was going to find him one way or another, and he should have known it would have happened sooner rather than later. When she finally did find him, he had slumped down against a wall of a dead end hallway.

He must have looked so pathetic at that moment. Sitting on a dirty floor, curled up in a small ball, not saying a single word, and looking absolutely anywhere but straight at Sophitia. His father must have been so proud of what his only son had become.

"I don't want to talk about it." He whispered, more for his benefit than for hers.

Truth be told, he really did feel the need to talk. His head was spinning with unconfirmed suspicions and denials of realized truths. It hurt. It hurt so much that even the pain in his heart was pushed to the side in his attempts to sort out the focus of his mind. He was confused. He was uncertain. He needed some kind of understanding. He needed someone to tell him what it all meant, someone like Sophitia.

She was a mother. She had two little kids in her life who were imperfect, but they were two little souls she loved more than anything else in the world. She did not judge them. She did not condemn them. She simply loved and accepted them for who they were. A true mother indeed who protected her children from their worst enemy. Themselves. Siegfried's mother had been like that too. She had been warm and kind, like the gentle breeze on a spring morning.

Her presence was what he remembered now more than anything. He was certain that if her memory were to ever begin to fade, what she looked like or what her voice used to sound like, that presence was what he would never forget. The way her arms used to hold him tight, how he knew it was her embracing him though he had not had the time to check. The way that simply listening to her heartbeat was reassurance enough that he was alright in whatever he was doing. He had told that woman everything. Crushes he used to have, confusions that used to arise in him, lost faith that he did not want to obtain again, she knew everything about him. Even secrets that Siegfried's father had not been allowed to realize about his son were tucked away in his mother's heart. She, more than anyone, made her child feel as though nothing would harm him. Not as long as she was there to protect him.

Sophitia had that kind of presence too. It almost made Siegfried want to blurt out everything that was bothering him. Almost. The only thing stopping him from doing so was his own stubbornness and the cold hard fact that the woman before him was not his mother.

"I don't want to talk about it." He repeated, like he wanted to emphasize the point by saying it a second time.

She smiled softly before plopping down next to him. She said nothing for a moment, causing him to look at her questioningly. She continued to smile. "That's alright. We don't have to talk about anything you don't want to."

"The floors dirty." He told her. It was a rather pathetic way to tell her to go away. His voice was not even firm. "You'll ruin that outfit." Girl's cared about that kind of thing, right?

She just laughed a little. "I've got others like it. You learn to keep a wide stock of clothing when you have two children."

Speaking of which, "How are they? My fight with Cassandra really upset them."

"They're just a bit confused right now. They'll be alright once the situation is explained to them."

"I didn't mean to make them cry."

"I know that." She assured him. "You would never hurt anyone intentionally."

She thought too highly of him. He was nowhere near that just. Cassandra had pointed that out all too well. "I hurt 'her' intentionally."

"Who? Zelda?"

He nodded. "It felt pretty damn good at the time too."

"And how does it feel now?"

He tightened the hold on his legs. "Like a hollow victory." More like a sour taste in his mouth. Cassandra sure knew how to dig those kinds of emotions out of him. "Honestly, it felt like being scolded by my father after hitting a girl."

Sophitia ruffled his hair. Siegfried usually did not take kindly to the action. He was not a vain person by any means, but he did take some pride in his appearance. Most of which was his hair. He, for some reason, did not appreciate people touching it at any time. Even if they meant well, most people would just make a mess of it until the knight was left looking like a greasy mess of a man who did not know the concept of proper hygiene.

Link was the only person ever allowed to touch Siegfried's hair without question because he did not abuse the privilege. He only took advantage of it on two occasions. The first of which was to fix and adjust it in case Siegfried had failed to do so properly on his own. The second was when the elf was nervous about something and needed a distraction to keep himself busy.

The first instance did not bother the knight in the slightest. His short hair had taken some getting used to. It was an entirely different experience than managing his previous style and he had been clueless about how to go about dealing with it the first time. Link was used to shorter hair. He knew how to fix and play around with it until it looked decent enough. He knew better than Siegfried, at least, so it was a blessing when the elf took it upon himself to fix it for his oblivious German friend. Siegfried could not even begin to count the many embarrassing days Link had saved him from.

The second instance was something he had allowed for Link's sake more than his own. The younger blonde, despite how courageous he was, could get very nervous when situations got too tense or uneasy. His hands would often get jittery, sweaty, and disgusting if he did not quickly find a way to occupy them. The first time he turned to Siegfried's hair for a distraction was also the day he had seen his first bar fight.

The two of them had been traveling with Seong Mina, Yunseong, and Talim during what had to have been the second month of their journey to find Soul Edge. During their second week together, the group had dropped in at a local bar to try and gather information. While inside, Yunseong partook in multiple games of cards in an effort to earn a bit of pocket cash that he could use for himself. The longer the games dragged on, and the more money he won, the quicker an enraged drunk was able to accuse him of cheating. After a few more games the man refused to pay what he had lost. Yunseong would have none of that, and neither would Seong Mina who was egging him on from the sidelines.

Siegfried saw it coming before anyone else had. The tension in the room was soon fueled by other less than sober customers. It thickened, becoming more and more volatile by the second. At its peak, Siegfried decided to pull Link and Talim out of the bar. The other two could handle themselves. The teenagers he latched onto would be unable to take a bar house brawl.

The first strike was thrown just as the three of them had walked out the door. Not long after that, the noises had become increasingly louder in volume and more intense in execution. Siegfried thought nothing of the growing chaos. Back when he was a young knight, his old comrades used to drag him off to bars all the time. Once there, they would quickly immerse themselves in the ancient art of binge drinking and bar brawling. None of them had ever known how to drink correctly, or understood when they were well past their limits. Siegfried had learned by the third outing when to spot those breaking points and the subsequent fights that came from them. By the fourth outing he knew the perfect time to leave so as to not get involved. By the fifth outing he had ceased to feel guilty about leaving his platoon to fend for themselves, and simply relaxed while waiting for the fights to come to an end.

That night he had lain comfortably on his back atop a circular fountain located near the entrance of the bar. Talim stood a few feet away from him, though still directly within his eyesight per his demand, flinching every so often when she heard Yunseong's voice or when a glass could be heard shattering. Link sat beside him, looking on just as nervously.

Siegfried, soon bored with how long the fight was taking, had been about to fall asleep. That was when he felt them. Nimble fingers threading themselves through his hair. Startled, he looked up and saw that it was Link. The elf's blue eyes were still glued to the building his friends were fighting in, and his hand had decided to busy itself in his anxiousness.

Link had no idea what he was doing, he was more focused on whether or not the two redhead's in the bar would come out alright, and probably would have continued on in perfect obliviousness had he not noticed Siegfried's gaze. Once the two did meet each other's eye, Link quickly turned a fetching shade of red before immediately taking back his hand.

Siegfried had suddenly grown cold at the loss of contact. Link looked guilty, like he had done something to seriously offend Siegfried. The knight had not minded. Really, he had just been a bit surprised was all, and all the blonde had done was mess with his hair. Again, no major sin committed. Link did not have to look so ashamed about it. He did nothing wrong.

Not quite sure how to make the other feel better, the knight let his instinct take over. HHhoihHe pushed himself closer towards the elf and placed his head in the teenagers lap. He then gently placed the gloved hand back to his hair and closed his eyes. Link did not move at first. He was too shocked by Siegfried's bold move to do anything other than just sit there. However, after a short minute in which he turned every possible shade of red imaginable, he continued to run his hand through the knight's hair.

It soon became routine. Link would get nervous. Siegfried would offer himself to be at the elf's disposal. The boy would be comforted, and all would be well in moments. In time the action became a gesture used to calm both of them down, and offer a small amount of comfort when times were uncertain. The two of them, dare he say it, even looked forward to the occasion when they could bond in such an innocent way.

This, admittedly, was not either of the two instances where Siegfried enjoyed having his hair touched, and Sophitia was not Link, but…

"I'm doing it again." Siegfried groaned out miserably.

"Doing what again?"

Going against all thoughts of modern day creation? Committing a form of blasphemy? Possibly tainting the most holy being in his world with simple thought? Questioning everything he once thought was innocent affection thanks to Cassandra's big mouth? "Thinking of Link."

"What's wrong with that? He's your friend, and he's not in the best of circumstances right now. Why wouldn't you think of him?"

He nearly cringed. If only his thoughts were as harmless as she believed. "Lately these thoughts…have not exactly been… "friendship" oriented."

"Come again?"

He realized a moment too late how terrible that must have sounded. He quickly tried to amend what he had said. "What I mean is-what I was really trying to say was-" He wished she would stop looking at him like that. Her questioning gaze, though fueled by concern, was just making him nervous. "They're more…not about friendship?"

He hated himself. He sincerely hated himself. The world would have done him an absolute favor by opening up and swallowing him whole. Then he would not have to worry about his ridiculous tendency to overstate the obvious which was only managing to make him look like an idiot.

Sophitia tilted her head. "They're not about friendship? So Link isn't your friend?"

"That's not what I mean."

He was starting to get frustrated. He had never been any good at this sort of thing, explaining what was bothering him in any given situation. As a knight he had not needed to. Nobody would honestly care, and it was considered whining if you spoke too loosely about emotions other than anger and rage. He had never done too much of it when Link was around either. The elf never really asked him to. Link just seemed to know what his friend was thinking. He would always be the one to pull some decent sense from the jumbled mass of thoughts and– dammit he was doing it again!

Siegfried nearly yanked out his hair. His own mind was rebelling against him. He no longer needed to be asleep for it to happen. It now knew how to slip through the cracks of his most private thoughts and into his conscious frame of mind. He did not appreciate it.

Sophitia gently took his hands within her own. She held onto both with a very firm grip, letting Siegfried know he would not be putting them to use until the two of them understood what was going on. She either thought he actually would pull his hair out, or just give in to his frustration and punch a wall.

"Why don't you take a nice deep breath?"

Siegfried complied with the order. He was surprised at how relaxing it really was.

"Good. Now, do you want to tell me what's going on?"

He wanted to. He really did. Everybody else around him got to throw in their two cents about the struggle they were recently going up against. He, however, had never gotten the chance to express his opinion on the personal little version of hell he was currently living in. It was his turn now.

Yet, the words to express his torture were not going to be able to come out. He knew that already. It had nothing to do with trust, or with understanding. He was just afraid. Saying everything made it all real. If he kept quiet he could almost pretend that none of it was happening. Just as not listening to suffering made it easier to pretend that it did not exist.

Sophitia became uneasy when he refused to answer. "How about I guess? If I answer correctly you nod or say yes, and if I'm wrong you shake your head or just say no. That way you won't have to say anything more than what's absolutely needed. Alright?"

He nodded slowly. She made it sound so easy. He wondered if something like this could really be so simple. Then again, simplicity had always worked for Link. Simple solutions from him could make miracles occur. Could Sophitia be the same way?

"When you said these thoughts of yours had nothing to do with friendship, you meant the relationship had become something stronger didn't you?"

He nodded.

"As in, you're not friends, you're more like brothers?"

He wished that were the case. Then these feelings might not be so horrifying to him. Then again, if he felt nearly as strongly about his own brother as he did for Link, then he would have much bigger issues to see to. "Not exactly."

She raised an eyebrow. "Do you think of him as a son?"

"No!" Dear God no! That would just be sick. This woman was going to give him a heart attack.

"Then what?"

He had to turn away from her. Looking her in the eye, now, when he was almost certain of his own desires, seemed wrong. Instead he found his eyes landing on the floor. The cold, dirty floor.

"Siegfried, tell me."

Did she honestly expect him to say it? He had just figured it out himself, and not in the most comforting of ways. How was he supposed to utter words that were still burning his heart?

"Siegfried," She said a moment later. "These thoughts you have about Link, they bring out certain feelings right?"

He nodded.

"These feelings are not platonic are they?"

He shook his head.

"They're not family oriented either, are they?"

He shook his head again.

"They're more like the feelings between my husband and I." It was not a question. She knew the answer already. She had no need to ask.

He had no choice but to answer in the affirmative.

"You're in love with Link."

The words nearly suffocated him. He, of course, knew she would eventually come to that conclusion. She was not stupid, and apparently his feelings were obvious to everyone else but him. She would have figured it out sooner or later. Still, a part of him was shocked. She knew, and yet she could say it out loud without any problem. He was surprised that her voice did not quiver or show signs of the disgust Siegfried felt within himself. She was braver than he was.

"Siegfried?"

He shook his head. As he did so he felt something prick at the sides of his eyes. Still, he kept shaking his head, denying himself even the smallest of droplets to form. He would not let them be shed. He would not let them fall. He would not.

"Siegfried," Sophitia's voice sounded almost surprised. "You're shaking."

Was he really? He could barely notice. His mind was merely focused on not letting his eyes be moistened. He appeared to have missed the fact that his body, too, had a way of crying. It was worse than actual tears. Those he could hide. Convulsions of his body were a great deal harder to keep to himself.

"Tell me what's wrong."

What wasn't wrong with his life at that moment? His best friend turned love interest in the mere blink of an eye was millions of miles away from him, a girl who he had nearly considered a sister had just betrayed him by siding with his apparent new romantic rival, and he had just scared the living daylights out of two beloved little kids so much that they probably never wanted to see him again. The better question would be if there was actually anything working in his favor at the moment.

"What are you so afraid of?"

"Everything." He could not have been anymore disgusted with himself if he tried. How low had he fallen? Shaking, tearing up, voice about as loud as a pin drop. He was pathetic. So completely and utterly pathetic that he just wished he could disappear.

Sophitia quickly took him into her arms. He might have been mistaken, but he could have sworn she was shaking too. Now that he thought about it, he was almost certain that he felt little droplets falling onto his shoulder. Was she crying? Did he make her cry?

"I'm sorry." He managed to croak out. Good God, was he going to start bawling? That was just what he needed right now.

"Talk to me." Sophitia pleaded with him. "I can't fix it if I don't know what's wrong."

Of all the things for her to say. She had to pick that phrase of all things? He had said that same thing to Link. Link had responded to that phrase. Did she really have to say that?

"I don't want him to hate me." He whispered desperately. Did he really have to be that quiet? Link was not going to suddenly come running around the corner in time to hear every single word he was saying. "I don't want to lose him."

"You won't lose him." She tried to reassure him. No doubt she was using every motherly instinct in her body just to make him stop crying. Just to stop him from destroying himself with all of the toxic thoughts going in and out of his mind. "He would never hate you."

"I couldn't stand it if he did." How funny. Moments ago not one syllable wanted to escape from his mouth. Now he could not stop the barrage of words from flowing. "He meant everything to me. I," He had to say it now. If he kept it in any longer he would self destruct. "I love him. I'm in love with him."

Sophitia shushed and cooed out his name. "That's fine. That's alright. You don't have to cry about that."

Really? Then why had Cassandra made it seem so bad? Why had Cassandra made it seem like he deserved to be in this kind of turmoil? Had he not deserved it? "You're not mad at me? Not disgusted?"

"Absolutely not." She answered instantly. "Why should I be? You're still the Siegfried I have known and loved for years. Nothing will ever change that."

"But I love him."

"What's wrong with that? When has there ever been anything wrong with loving somebody?"

"We're both guys."

"That doesn't mean a thing." She said confidently, almost like she believed in what she was saying. Siegfried wished he could say the same. "Love is love, regardless of gender."

He wanted to laugh. The prospect was so funny he could honestly, sincerely laugh. How pretty those words of hers sounded. How ugly the reality of the world really was. "When has something like this ever been anything but an abomination? These feelings of mine are marked as a taboo."

"In certain parts of the world that may be true, but that's only because they don't truly understand you and the bond you have with Link."

This time he did laugh. "I'm a freak Sophitia. I deserve to burn for all eternity."

He felt her entire body tense up. Not a single muscle moved. Not even her breath was filtering in at this point. He thought for a moment that he had finally gotten his point across. Maybe she had figured out the harsh reality Cassandra had done her best to shove down his throat. It was not all that hard to comprehend; really, he understood it all fairly well. Sophitia was just too kind sometimes. She did not like to see the ugliness of the world. It was understandable that she would take so long to see where he was coming from.

"Siegfried Schtauffen," That was not a good sign. Sophitia never used full names unless she was highly upset at whoever she was speaking to.

"Yes?"

When she pulled away, Siegfried saw that she was absolutely livid, just about as much as Cassandra had been when she confronted him at the dinner table. Sophitia, he found himself admitting, was a lot scarier than Cassandra. Whereas the younger Alexander showed her rage through the loudest methods she could find, her sister took advantage of the fear that silent, brewing anger could instill.

"What I have I told you about using that word?"

Siegfried was not all too sure which word she meant. Mothers had a tendency to not like a lot of words that did not seem like a big deal to the ones who had spoken it. If he had to take a guess, though, he would put money on his use of the word freak. If that was the case, she could only have one opinion on it. "You don't like it?"

"I despise it." She said coldly. "I find it atrocious, ridiculous, and cannot fathom why such a terrible word would even exist. Not one person is my acquaintance is a freak, and that includes you. Do you understand?"

He could not help but flinch. He almost preferred Cassandra's constant screaming to this kind of solemn scolding. "I'm sorry."

"No you're not." And there was that all too familiar motherly rage. The kind of anger that stemmed from being lied to, however unintentional the fib was. Siegfried had almost forgotten about it. He had not been in contact with that special brand of spine tingling fear for quite some time. "You're not sorry because you have no idea what you've done wrong, do you?"

He shook his head. There was nothing else he could think to do. This woman scared him about as much as his own mother had when he was a child, and she was just about the only one who could scare him into silence. Had it been anyone else speaking to him like this, he would have had his defenses set and ready to go. He would have been snapping back and denying for all he was worth, even if it was all futile in the end. With Sophitia, that was all but impossible for him to accomplish.

"Siegfried, you ought to be ashamed of yourself. Link would be absolutely heartbroken if he were to hear even half of what you've just told me."

He could not stop the sudden increase of his heartbeat at the name. He could not help it. Suddenly everything about Link made Siegfried feel different in a way that was not at all unpleasant. It was like he was now hyper sensitive to everything about the elf's presence, even memories that were once the only part of Link he had left.

"What do you mean?" Was all he could think to say. He was curious as to what she meant, what the truth of her words amounted to.

"Siegfried," Her voice soon reverted back to the soft and gentle tone the German was used to.

Sophitia brought him into her arms again. This time he allowed himself to simply relax into the grip, accepting the affection and comfort that came with it. His head dropped to her shoulder without question, and his arms wrapped around her like a child desperate for a love he had been deprived of for far too long. He needed comfort. Hugs had always been the best means to achieve it. It had been true when he was young, when Link had come into his life, and remained true even now when he was at his lowest.

Sophitia was warm and protective. She was accepting of him in a way he had not been expecting. She would not shove him away. She would not reject him now of all times. No, Sophitia would never be so cruel. Not even to her most despised enemy. How could he have allowed himself to believe she ever would, even for just a second?

"You know, you were his everything too." She gently ran a hand up and down his back. Meanwhile her other hand ran through his hair in soft stokes. Her ministrations were nothing short of soothing.

"I was?" He asked timidly. He was reluctant to believe those words. She had him hoping though.

"You were. Not a day went by when Link did not speak of what you had done for him. 'Siegfried taught me this' 'Siegfried is so incredible, he can do that' Honestly, I think I learned more about you from him than I did from you."

Siegfried never did like talking about himself. There was a fine line between speaking about yourself, and giving out your life's story to anyone that asked. There was also a fine line between giving out enough information in order to be considered polite, and withholding everything important in your life to a point where you were constantly being compared to a rock. People either found you to be too cocky or a complete waste of space. There was a method and a ritual that had to be set forth so that the right impression could be made.

Siegfried did not have the time to master the technique. He simply gave out important medical information to his comrades, so they knew what to do in case of an emergency, and left it at that. Anything else could be figured out by simple observation, or answered with a simple question. Again, Siegfried was not his own favorite topic, and did not think himself to be particularly interesting.

Link apparently seemed to have a different opinion.

"Did you know he used to talk about taking you with him?" She waited for the inevitable surprised shake of the head. "I didn't think you would. As far as I know, Mitsurugi and I were the only ones he felt safe enough to divulge that information to."

Mitsurugi knew about something like that? Why had he never mentioned it to Siegfried? It certainly would have helped him emotionally if someone would have had the courtesy to relay that little bit of information to him.

"He had sworn us to secrecy." Sophitia went on to explain. "Link, at the time, still had no way of knowing if such a thing was possible. He didn't want you getting your hopes up if something didn't work out the way he wanted it to."

It still would have been nice to know. It could have saved him from the turmoil he was suffering from now.

"For a good while he thought he had everything planned out. All it would really take was one more passenger on the trip back to his world. He could have you live with him, show you everything about his homeland, and the two of you could have lived out your days with someone who actually cared."

"Then why didn't he?" Had Siegfried done something wrong? Link had apparently been so determined that the two of them should wind up in the same world. What made him change his mind?

"He had a dream one night. In it his three goddesses told him that they knew of his plan. In no uncertain terms they warned him of what that action would entail."

"What did they say?"

She took a moment to respond. Siegfried could just picture her eyes wavering slightly, a recollection of a bad memory coming to the forefront of her mind. "Three years is all they would give him. Three years in his world, and through some circumstance or another, you would die."

Could the eternal beings of Link's world really be so terrible? The German knew they could be unfair, but could they honestly be as cruel as what he had just heard? "That dream, was it real?"

"Link seemed to think it was. That night he ran into my room crying. He was so upset it had taken both Mitsurugi and me settling him down enough for him to get back to sleep, and he only promised to go back to bed if he could sleep next to you."

Siegfried vaguely remembered that night. He had been half asleep at when Mitsurugi had suddenly shaken him awake. When the knight had finally gotten into some decent form of consciousness, he had asked, irritably, what was going on. Link appeared by the bed a second later, shaking and unable to form a coherent sentence. Siegfried had no idea what had made him understand what the boy wanted, but he had known somehow. He had lifted the blankets without a second thought, urging the boy to climb in next to him. Link had refused to remove his head from the knight's chest at any point during the night. Though he thought it odd, Siegfried had quickly forgotten all about such things and fell back asleep once Link's breathing evened out. Now that he thought about it, had Link been listening to his heartbeat?

"He didn't talk about taking you with him after that."

"I still would have gone." Siegfried found himself saying. "Even if that dream had been a real threat, I still would have gone with him if he asked me to."

She chuckled a bit. "I'm sure you would have. And that is precisely why Link never told you about it. He was terrified. He could be reborn again. You only had one life to live. Even though it killed him inside he would rather you live on in this world than cut your life short just to quench his loneliness."

Link really was that selfless. He would break any law of time and space just to ensure the comfort of those he cared about. Even if it meant he was in eternal torment, he would do everything to have those he loved living in happiness forever.

The hallway was silent after that. Siegfried, oddly enough, was no longer bothered by it. The monsters in his mind were no longer plaguing him. Sophitia's own kind words, dripping with a love laced secret, had kept them at bay.

Link would not hate him. Link had cared about him, still cared about him. Link had loved him, still loved him, even if it was not in the same way that Siegfried did. The knight would not be tossed away, and Sophitia would no doubt see to it that no one else gave him a hard time about his feelings. He was safe for the time being.

"Are you okay now?" He heard her ask. "Do you feel any better?"

"Much better." He liked the certainty of his own voice. He was happy to have it back. "Thanks."

The two stood up a second later, and Sophitia escorted the knight back to his room. With each step he felt a bit more of his self esteem returning to him. It had been gravely injured, almost in critical condition after Cassandra's rapid fire sharp tongue. Sophitia had been a saint, soothing and consoling until it was back to what it had been before. It was amazing how one sister could crush his heart so badly, while the other could mend it until it was back to its former glory.

Again he had to wonder, was that done on purpose?

"Will Patroklos and Pyrrha be alright?" He asked before he retired to bed for the second time that day. "I think I really scared them."

Sophitia shook her head. "They'll be fine. I had Rothion explain things to them. He may not know everything about the situation at hand, but he knows enough about his own children. The two of them will be their usual cheerful selves by morning."

Siegfried let loose a relieved sigh. He would never be able to forgive himself if the brother and sister were to be permanently scarred because of what he had done. Those children had never been anything but good to him. They had loved and accepted him as one of their own, called him by a family name without any kind of effort on the knight's part. They were precious to Siegfried. He did not want them to be afraid of him.

"Do you think they'll act differently around me?"

Sophitia shook her head. "You underestimate their ability to understand. They've been angry before, and they've broken quite a bit during those times. They'll have no trouble understanding you."

"That's good." A yawn escaped his mouth, and he was aware for the first time in hours just how tired he was.

The blonde beside him gently pushed him inside. "Off to bed with you. You'll need the energy for tomorrow."

Siegfried nodded tiredly. "Are you going to bed too?"

"In a little while. If I'm not mistaken, a certain aggravated Samurai will need a drink to get him through the rest of the night."

Siegfried chuckled. "You're not going to give him any alcohol are you?"

"Unless that's what they're calling tea these days, then no."

The knight bid his hostess a goodnight before finally closing his door. He then proceeded to prepare himself for a decent night's sleep. The day ahead would bring a lot of stagnant issues to his attention. He would need to discuss and divulge his own feelings, as least to an extent, to the other members in his group while keeping a suitable amount of dignity around his person. He would also need to patch things up with Cassandra the best he could, and make sure to threaten an understanding into the princess' head. There would not be a repeat of the night's events ever again if he had anything to say about it.

Right now, he just needed to sleep.

"I don't ask for much." He thought desperately as he tucked himself into bed. "But, tonight, I want to dream of him. And for the love of God," He slowly closed his eyes. "Can it please be a nice one?"

Mitsurugi was not normally a gentle man. It was not in his nature to baby the idiots of the world and humor them by telling them that situations were not their fault. The world was a cruel being, and he happened to be of the opinion that he was a great deal fairer than it was.

His only exceptions were when dealing with the deathly ill, Link, or small infants who could not know any better.

Cassandra normally did not fit into any of the three categories, and he normally would have demanded an explanation for her actions regardless of how much she was 'hurting'. But that would do him no good with this girl. She was a complicated creature, more so than any other female he had ever encountered. If he met her with demands while she still had something to whine about, she would clam up and refuse to speak to him for the rest of the evening.

He needed her to explain a few things, fill in a few blanks, and she could not do that if she were silent. Her wound would have to be treated. Then the samurai could lure her into a small false sense of security and coax out answers from her. Those answers would likely come in the form of intense shrills and banshee like screeches, but they would be answers nonetheless.

The injury was not serious. Her hand was bleeding, but if the wrist was held on tightly enough the flow would lessen. She was lucky no shard had been unfortunate enough to slice through the more delicate parts of her upper arm. That would have been a much more serious wound, and might have needed more medical attention than those in the house were going to be able to give. As it was, she simply needed some simple first aid.

The bathroom was lit by a few candles and a generous amount of moonlight. All the samurai had to help him aid the girl next to him was a basin of water, some bandages, and a whole lot of patience. He needed a drink, something strong preferably.

"Your glove captured most of the smaller shards, and only the big ones managed to get through. Those were far fewer and did a lot less damage collectively. Consider yourself lucky."

She winced when he dislodged a very wedged in piece of glass. "You call this being lucky? It hurts!"

"It could have hurt a lot worse. Now hold still."

She fidgeted. "You're hurting me."

"The glass is hurting you, and I wouldn't be if you would just stay quiet and hold still."

She winced again when he yanked out another shard. However, she remained steady and refused to move. "Sophy would have been gentler."

"Sophy is busy looking after Siegfried. A man you just so happened to enrage to the point of injury." His eyes met hers then. His stare was cold, accusing, and just this side of demanding. "You really should be ashamed of yourself."

She stared back at him in the picture of perfect defiance. "He got what he deserved."

"And what exactly did he deserve?"

"Being told the truth."

"Which was?" Honestly, his patience only went so far.

"That he was a monster."

And that was when the line was drawn and the swords were unsheathed. "You did what?" He could not believe what he was hearing. That word had been taboo since day one of working with Siegfried. Link had ensured, painfully, that it was never uttered within a hundred feet of the knight's ears. And she had just blurted it out to him at such a time? When he really did not need to hear it? "What the hell is the matter with you? Didn't your parents raise you better than that?"

She turned away from him. Why is it that people thought turning away from him meant that he would suddenly become oblivious to what they were thinking? It was starting to get aggravating. "He started it."

Mitsurugi rolled his eyes. He should have expected that kind of answer from her. Why he was secretly hoping for an adult's response was beyond him. Cassandra was still the same girl she had been two years ago. She was still far more childish than her young niece and nephew, and she could still give him a headache in ten words or less.

"This is the argument you're going to present to me? That's honestly the best you can do?" He now knew this conversation would not end well. It was likely better to start the fireworks early on. "Let me tell you something. The only thing that will get you is a whack on the head for stupidity."

"You wouldn't."

He dunked her hand a bit too harshly into the basin of water. "Try me."

She would not dare. Cassandra was bold, stupidly stubborn at times, but she knew better than to push her luck with him. Normally she would not even test her luck with Siegfried. There was a sort of silent agreement between the two of them. It kept her mouth shut when it needed to be when around him, and kept his temper in check when dealing with her constant mood swings.

In a sense, the two of them were like siblings, a pair involuntarily put together with no choice but to have a common foreground of respect. They both knew how to push the others buttons, but they also knew when to stop pushing for fear of severe repercussions. Cassandra knew all too well what could happen if she were to ignore the signals telling her to stop.

Siegfried could hit hard too, both physically and verbally. Even if he chose not to hit Cassandra out of sheer force of will, he could still cut deep with a few choice words. His were always much more carefully selected than hers were. The German had a sharp tongue once you got him going, and he could seriously hurt a person if he managed to hit the jugular. Most of the time, he hit the mark he was aiming for. Cassandra was not up to par with him in that respect. As a result she usually did not invite such situations as the one that had occurred that night to happen often. She knew she would end up losing in the end. Tonight had been something new.

"Are you going to tell me exactly what started all this? You don't usually try to decapitate your dinner guests with buckets."

She took back her hand. No doubt it was stinging from the treatment it had received. "It's none of your business."

He had to be careful now. She would cut him off completely if he did not bait her well enough. Whether or not she wanted to give them, he would still receive his answers come hell or high water. "Try again. Siegfried ran out of that room in quiet shame and Pat and Pyrrha were just ushered out in tears,"

"They're none of your business."

He rolled his eyes again. He wondered how on earth she thought repeating the same argument over and over again would help her win anything. "If you really cared about the two of them, you would have stopped fighting with him when you saw that they had entered the room." He narrowed his eyes. "You're running out of pathetic excuses. Come up with some more or I'll have to end this conversation."

"Why am I the one in trouble? Why don't you go yell at him?"

"Why should I?"

"Because it's his fault!"

Yet she still refused to tell him why. He would have to try a different approach. "For what? Gathering us all together like this? At least having a plan to get us through this mess? For getting us around quicker than we normally would have? Please enlighten me?"

She glared at him. "Tell, me Mitsurugi, who's in charge of this rescue mission?"

"Siegfried is."

"Why?"

"Because Link asked for him specifically."

"Is that what he told you?"

He raised an eyebrow. "Yes, that was the way the story was told to me."

"So Zelda didn't tell you directly?"

"No." Alright, so this was where the problems began. "I take it she told you her version?"

"She told me the truth."

Or at least her version of it. Royalty always had such a creative way of spinning any story. "And what did she say was the truth?"

"Link told her to find several people in order to help her save him. Siegfried never wanted to mention it to anyone because he wanted to be the one responsible for saving Link."

Mitsurugi let out a frustrated breath. "Let me tell you two very big problems with that story. One, I highly doubt Link had the time to give her any lengthy list of names while he was being viciously attacked by Soul Edge. At most he maybe had time for two, and he could not possibly have had the time to say which one he preferred and why. Two, even if we suppose that he had been able to do all the above, Siegfried is in no position to 'play' hero. He needs help, and the fact that he willingly went around asking for it, making himself look weaker in the process, seems to dismiss any theory saying he wanted sole glory for this act."

"Then why not give anyone the opportunity to lead? It's not like he has the experience for this kind of thing anyway."

"Who else would you rather have lead us then, Cassandra?" He expected her to point him out, or perhaps suggest her sister. Even Ivy was a possibility.

What she said instead surprised him. "What about Zelda?"

"Oh yes, let's let the damsel in distress lead us to the hero she got locked up. How very wise of you. In the meantime, why don't I walk out of here in a dress and parade around the city singing a variety of old folk songs in Latin?"

Her face turned red in humiliation. "I'm being serious!"

"Could have fooled me. Why on earth are you taking her word over Siegfried's anyway?" That princess was the Athenian's competition, not her friend. It made no sense for her to suddenly start believing in everything the other girl was saying.

"Don't tell me you haven't noticed them."

"Noticed what? Stop beating around the bush and get specific."

"Her bruises. The marks she got because of Siegfried."

"What marks?"He had not seen any, but the girl must have had them hidden somewhere on her body, and she had found the perfect opportunity to use them to her benefit.

"There's one on her lower arm that he admits to causing."

"From when he took hold of her wrist the night they met. Yes I knew about that one." Or at least he assumed that was the one she was speaking of. He had never seen the knight grab hold of her anywhere else but her wrist since he met up with the two of them, and even then he was hesitant to touch her.

"What about the one on her back?"

"She has one on her back?" Siegfried could not have possibly done that. There were very few ways to scar a person from behind messily enough to leave a mark, yet carefully enough to make it so that the one injured can still move. Siegfried had no idea how to do that. He was either going in for the kill or holding back to teach a lesson. Never was there a combination of the two.

"Yeah, she said he did that to her. She also said that he keeps telling people she fell off the horse."

"It wouldn't surprise me." Epona did not like Zelda. It had initially surprised the samurai to see the creature act so hostile towards the princess. Epona was normally so well behaved, having been trained well from Link's special brand of upbringing. Apparently, she knew a bad seed when she saw one, and she could obviously hold a grudge.

"Epona would never misbehave like that."

"Not normally, no. But when people hurt her master, she can be quite the vengeful being."

Cassandra frowned. "Zelda would never hurt Link."

Oh, Mitsurugi knew that much. The girl would never hurt the boy of her own accord. However, her actions could cause more than enough damage. "Why not?"

"They were friends."

He could not help it. His self control was shot from the long day of constant arguing, and he just could not hold it in any longer. He burst out laughing.

Cassandra did not find it so amusing. "I'm serious."

That was what made it funny. "Friend's. That's a good one."

"She wasn't lying. She said the two of them were close."

"Of course they're somewhat close. They share a forced destiny. That doesn't mean they were friends."

"She knew about him. She knew everything about who he was. Things we didn't even know."

"He was under her rule and they have known each other for, possibly, centuries. Whether they wanted to or not, they would have had to learn about each other to survive."

And the only one who ever really knew Link was Siegfried. He never made an attempt to fully open his heart and soul to anyone else. Not even to the rest of his traveling team. It was not as if the Hylian did not trust them. He loved his old team, cared for them, and held them in the highest esteem. Again, it was not about who they were to him.

What it came down to was who they were not. They were not Siegfried. They were not the knight who had been with the boy since day one. So they were not the ones who were privy to all those secrets and intimate kind of knowledge.

"That's not what she said."

"Then, she was lying to you."

Something flashed in Cassandra's eyes. Something akin to horror and disbelief mixed together in one flurried broth. Mitsurugi was getting through to her, just a little bit, even though she did not want to listen to him. "She said they were close."

"He never wanted to be anywhere near her. She may have wanted that to be the case, but he did not reciprocate her feelings."

"She said that he was like a brother to her."

At that he felt the need to scoff. "Yeah, a brother she would love to commit incest with." He honestly wished he had been present for the girl's conversation. The things he would have loved to dispute, the points he would have loved to tear down. The comments he would have loved to laugh at. If only he had been aware that such a conversation was taking place.

"You're lying."

"Oh I'm lying?" He was tired of playing this game, and his headache had grown considerably worse within the last few minutes. "Tell me Cassandra, how long have you known this girl?"

"…One day."

"More like a few hours."

"So? What does that-"

Mitsurugi tugged on a good clump of her hair. "I'm talking." She shut her mouth immediately, but he did not let go of her hair. It was best to have insurance in these kinds of instances. "And in those short few hours has the girl done anything worthy of your trust?"

"I guess not, not really."

"You guess? Not really? It is a yes or no question. Answer as such."

"…no."

"Despite the fact that she is indeed not worthy of your trust, as we have both established, why on earth would you listen to a word she said?"

"What she said was true!" That much Cassandra was certain of. She had lost quite a bit of her confidence during the course of the conversation, but this she had absolutely no qualms about feeling sure about. "When she talked about us, she just seemed to know everything. The way we were, the things we liked, our general attitudes. How could she have not known about us if Link didn't tell her?"

"I'm sure she could have found a way. In fact, I'm almost certain I know how she did it. Tell me, during her little story, did she fidget a lot?"

"Yeah, she was nervous about Siegfried walking in."

"Even though he was fast asleep and was so exhausted he could hardly remind himself to breath?" She did not answer him. "So she was fidgeting and she was nervous. Did she look around a lot? Seem hesitant to speak at times?"

Cassandra frowned and tried to look the other way. It was rather hard to do so when he still had a grip on her hair. "Yes and yes."

"I just have one last question. Did she barely manage to look you in the eye?"

The rage returned. He could see the fire beginning to spring to life in her eyes. It would have transferred to mouth had he not yanked her hair again to remind her who was in charge of this conversation.

"Let me tell you what smart, calm, rational people make of all of that. She was lying. She was lying and she was scared that you would not believe her. So to turn matters a bit more towards her favor she began feeding you information you already knew. Information Siegfried gave her when he met her so she would know who was likely to kill her and who would only scowl. However, in doing so, he also gave her a method to prove that someone had told her all about us. You mistakenly thought that person was Link."

"So what she said about her and Link being close?"

"All a fantasy she would love to see come to fruit. You were fooled Cassandra, and you took your stupidity out on Siegfried."

She narrowed her eyes. "If I told you I didn't believe you?"

"Then you're a lot dumber than I thought and a lot less likely to listen to reason."

"Oh shut up! You barely ever even talked to Link kindly, and I never once heard you praise him! Maybe you're just jealous that I mean so much to him."

"That you mean so much to him? A bit cocky, aren't you? I don't recall him ever saying anything like that."

She realized her mistake, but she was not backing down. "What do you know?"

"I know that your sister would never have been foolish enough to make such a horrible mistake." That was a low blow, even for him. It seemed he had been hitting below the belt a lot lately. He would feel guilty about it sometime later. Right now, he needed to make a point. "You're so desperate to be number one in someone's heart that you forget you have a brain that needs to be listened to every once in a while. Maybe you should start wondering why Siegfried was so much more important to Link than anyone else instead of blaming him for the boy's emotions, since I have a feeling that was why you were so easily fooled."

Her face was flushed. He let go of the hair he still had enslaved and she quickly looked away from him. Her hand was still being coddled. Now it was shaking slightly, and she had to turn it into a fist to keep it steady. She was humiliated, she was forcibly humbled, and she was ashamed. And all of that had brought her to silence.

"You need to stop being so selfish. Don't persecute Siegfried because he was special to the boy. It makes you too much like the princess. And when you're like her, you get desperate enough to trick people."

Mitsurugi was not a gentle man. He had to be harsh in this world, and the life of a samurai had demanded a hard countenance from day one. He would speak out on what he believed to be true. He would bluntly let you know his opinions on matters if you got him involved. He would not pull punches, or take it easy on anyone. That was the way he treated everybody in life, minus the sick, the young, and Link.

But when he stopped in the doorway on his way out of the bathroom, he turned to look back at Cassandra. She was crying silently, doubled over and shaking with suppressed sobs. She was suffering because of him.

He walked out of the room without another word. But for a minute, he truly wished that he could afford to make her an exception to his rule.

Mitsurugi could hardly understand how Sophitia did it every day. How she could soothe and understand the fragile young hearts of her own children, then take time to comfort the members of her old traveling group as though they were her own, and still manage to calmly brew him a batch of tea for his shaken nerves without complaint, was beyond him. Mitsurugi had only been handling the overly emotional rollercoaster for one day, and he already felt like crawling into an early grave and nailing his own coffin shut.

"I don't think we've ever fully appreciated you." He said once she sat down with him at the table. "I don't even think I've ever fully comprehended what it is you do."

She smiled at him.

The samurai could understand how Siegfried had allowed himself to open up to her so freely. It had nothing to do with how holy she was, or how much of an authority she possessed in the group, as he had originally thought. Sophitia simply knew how to make you feel safe. She knew how to ease your guard down without making you feel afraid or desperate enough to withdraw from her. Just seeing her smile at you, no judgment in the way she looked at you, was enough to have you sharing all the secrets within your soul.

"Drink." She urged as she placed the cup of tea in his hands. "It'll help you some."

He took a long sip. He detected a hint of lavender, an herb that helped with sleep as well as calming fragile nerves. She used to make this particular brew for Link, as he had an affinity for the plant. She must have also added in some honey to sweeten the blend. Mitsurugi had always preferred it to sugar in any tea he drank, and he could always taste when it was present. It figured. She always was the type to remember just what was needed to comfort people.

"I had no idea what I was doing." He admitted. "I went to talk to Cassandra, and all she did was argue with me. I was blunt, I was crude, and I didn't even take a moment to realize what I was saying to her until she was silent. And then I just left her there to think about what she'd done." He massaged the area around his temple, hoping to stop the headache he felt coming on again. "I did the same thing with Raphael. I was unfair to them both."

She smiled lightly. "I know it might seem that way, but that is unfortunately how you deal with someone of Cassandra's nature. You have to be blunt with her, otherwise she tends to ignore you or not take you seriously enough. It's the same with Raphael." She took a sip of her own drink, finding strength in the warmth it had.

"It's not like that with Siegfried." The samurai said sadly.

She shook her head. "I'm afraid not. Strong though Siegfried may be, he is not the type to benefit from that kind of confrontation. That was why the argument with Cassy hurt him so much. Hard headed arguments only work for the hard head." A saddened look passed through her eyes. "Too many people rely on that kind of argument for every single situation."

"I take it you disapprove of that method?"

She nodded. "Being harsh relies on breaking down someone's defenses to make them see your point. Siegfried has a personality that dwells on the fights he's had, and he tends to over think too much about his own contributions to the blame. That kind of personality is often riddled guilt after any argument, and in the end they destroy their defenses themselves. Being harsh with somebody who had already broken down their own walls is only going to destroy them further."

"Meaning, take a fragile heart that hurts itself, break it even further, and all you end up doing is shattering it altogether?"

She nodded again. "Cassandra added salt to a wound that had just been opened by Siegfried himself. She hadn't even given him time to heal before she rushed in, adding her input into a situation that was none of her business. Siegfried could have really been broken."

"It was because of you that he wasn't."

She tucked a stray hair behind her ear, turning so that he could not see the flash of red cross her face. Mitsurugi realized that this had probably been the first time the two of them had ever had this kind of conversation.

In the past, the two of them had accepted their paternal roles in the group, and simply acted out their responsibilities as surrogate parents. They did what was expected of them whenever the time called for it. However, they had never sat down with each other to consult on how to go about completing those roles to the fullest, or to tell each other how much of a good job they were doing. She was not used to hearing him praise her like this.

"Siegfried's personality needs a gentler nurturing," She added after a moment. "He needs someone to understand him in any argument, and to help him understand that he's not going to be hated for what transpired, even if it was his fault."

"Meaning, he does not need someone to blame him since he's already begun to blame himself." It made sense. That was the kind of person Siegfried was. It was who he had become after being a part of Nightmare for so long. He blamed himself for absolutely everything. "Fighting with Zelda beforehand probably didn't help matters either."

Sophitia shook her head. "The fight he had with her scarred him deeply. Cassandra damaged him further by taking her side when she had no need to. It was not her argument."

"She was hurt more than anything. I think she realized where she stood with Link after hearing where Zelda rested on the boy's spectrum. She could not have made Link stay in this world anymore than Zelda could have kept him in her castle. Siegfried could have, though."

"Jealousy is a nasty emotion I'm afraid. I was surprised, though, to see her take it out on Siegfried more than Zelda."

"The princess is no competition to her. Siegfried is."

Sophitia's eyes widened for a moment, before they relaxed in understanding. "You see it too, then?"

He nodded. "I've suspected it for a while, even back before Link left, I knew something was going on between the two of them. They were closer than anyone else I'd ever seen, had a bond stronger than any other batch of lovers I've known in my lifetime. I've even referred to them as soul mates when talking to Raphael."

That made her smile. "He thought we'd hate him for it."

He raised an eyebrow. "He what? Why would we, of all people, hate him for something like that?" Other people on the outside, the samurai could understand. But they were family. An incredibly odd family, but a family nonetheless. "What would make him think that?"

"Cassandra's reaction for one," She too began rubbing her head. It must have been painful for her to speak about her younger sister so truthfully. He felt honored that she would do so with him. "His own fear of rejection for another."

"Rejection from us?"

"From Link as well I imagine."

Mitsurugi felt like bashing his head against the table. "How could I not see how much he was torturing himself? How could I not see that he needed help?" Had he really gotten so clueless over those two short years?

"For what it's worth, it is a lot easier to notice these things with a female intuition."

He could not help but smile. "It doesn't help much, but thanks for trying."

She laughed, and the samurai was reminded of a day when they all had something to laugh about. Such days seemed so far away.

"This will get easier." She promised him. "Cassandra will see how wrong she was, and Siegfried will feel better in the morning. Friends who know each other as much as we do seldom ever stay mad for long."

"I wish I could believe that."

She raised an eyebrow. "Is that doubt I hear?"

"It's simply realistic expectations. I hardly think Cassandra will realize her mistake so soon."

"Sophy, Mitsurugi,"

The two at the table turned to see a fidgeting Cassandra standing at the doorway to the kitchen. She looked absolutely everywhere but directly at them, but they could see the look of shame she had written all over her face.

"I'm sorry."

Mitsurugi turned to look at Sophitia, who merely smiled back at him.

"I was acting like a brat. I shouldn't have put myself in the middle of something I had no place in."

Sophitia almost looked smug, while Mitsurugi could barely hold back astonishment.

"We're not the one's you should be apologizing to," He managed to say to the younger blonde.

She appeared to fidget even more. "I know, but Siegfried wouldn't open the door when I tried knocking."

Sophitia rose from her seat and went to pat her little sister on the head. "He probably just fell asleep. You can try again in the morning."

Cassandra nodded and looked up to Sophitia, a small question in her eyes.

Sophitia turned to Mitsurugi with a smile. "She wants to be tucked in."

"Sophitia!"

"Will you be alright by yourself?"

Mitsurugi waved her off with an amused flick of the wrist. "Go make sure little Cassandra is tucked in safe and sound. Wouldn't want the monsters getting to her, now would we?"

Cassandra, face red in embarrassment, stomped her foot on the ground. She then ran out of the room with an aggravated, "You guys are such idiots!" echoing behind her.

Those left in the room could not help but laugh.

Sophitia was about to follow her sister, with a somewhat half hearted apology at the ready, when she heard the samurai call her name. Confused, she turned to see one of the most sincere smiles she had ever seen grace Mitsurugi's features.

"Thanks Sophitia. I don't think I'll ever be able to say that enough to you."

She smiled too. "It was nothing. Please don't feel like you owe me anything."

"Trust me. What you do is not 'nothing'."

She turned red slightly, but the grin on her face could not have been any prouder. "You speak too highly of me. I'm nothing so grand as to deserve it."

He laughed. "I disagree. After all, amongst other things, you are the mother of my children."

The laughter that rang through the house after that was enough to put everyone at ease.

MistressOfTime1218: Hope you guys enjoyed it!

StormBlitz: …so…long…

DarkMist: This was hell to edit.

K-Chan: WAAA!

FangOfDoubt25: You girls are such drama queens.

MistressOfTime1218: By the way, if this was too depressing for any of you, I have some good news. I've decided to put up a drabble series related to the events in To Aid A Hero. For the most part they will be much more light hearted than this. It goes by the name of Heart of the Hero, and will be updated either daily or every other day. At the very least, once a week. They'll be a lot shorter, but you won't have to wait as long for a LinkXSiegfried moment. You guys should go check it out.

K-Chan: Please?

MistressOfTime1218: Fang will be helping me edit those, and will be the only one speaking with me on all of the author notes there.

StormBlitz: Come again?

DarkMist: Why not us?

K-Chan: Cheater!

MistressOfTime1218: You guys have your moments in every other story. This one's for Fang.

FangOfDoubt25: (Blows Raspberry.)

StormBlitz: That's not cool.

DarkMist: I feel so betrayed.

K-Chan: You'll be hearing from my attorney!

MistressOfTime1218: Don't forget to tell me what you guys think. It's important. I love you all and really hope you're all happy today. See you soon!