Link dashed through the Castle Town streets, slamming his feet down as hard as he could to get more of a boost as he ran. He could hear the frantic screaming of hundreds of Castle Town's people in the distance, noting that it was slowly getting closer, this part of Castle Town was nearly abandoned, they saw the invading army before anyone else did due to their elevation and evacuated. Link was making good time, having the streets all to himself, save for the occasional dog or cat. Link ducked under an awning as an Argorok Dragon swooped over head, scanning inner Castle Town for stragglers, once it was gone Link began sprinting through the streets again, hiding took up valuable time, but attempting to fight a dragon took even more, especially a dragon of the strong, heavily armored Argorok breed.

Link took a sharp turn into a nearby alleyway, navigating through the maze of walkways until he found the small forgotten passages that lead close to the Castle Wall. As soon as he got to the wall he took out his hookshot, pointing it at the fencing atop the wall, he pulled the trigger, then with a shift of his arm, brought the point of the hookshot down between two of the fence post's points, releasing the trigger, he was pulled up on top of the wall, he yanked the Hookshot's point loose, and jumped down from the wall, sprinting across the Castle Courtyard, "If only they hadn't shut the gates." he thought.

"Mr. Link!" a voice called.

Link looked over to see Sir Yotin, Captain of the Hyrule Castle Guard.

"Mr. Link, please aid us...the invading army, we sealed the gates, but that won't keep them out, we need your help!" the man pleaded, he knew all about Link's combat abilities, and the ability he had to imbue himself and any weapon he chose with the power of his Triforce of Courage, hoping this would drive the enemy force off.

Link slowly came to a halt opposite the man, who's rather massive level of distress was quite clear. "I'm sorry, Captain..." Link said, trailing off at the end.

"What do you-?" The Captain managed to speak before he was cut off, seeing Link running full force towards the Castle door. "Mr. Link, please!" Captain Yotin called as Link moved on, ignoring him.

It pained Link deeply to do this to one of his people, especially a friend like Yotin, but he had to get into the Castle, he soon came upon the door to the Great Hall, with a large contingent of guards blocking it. "I need to get in this moment!" Link exclaimed, nearly out of breath.

"What for?" the lead guard asked, Link could see his eyebrows shift in confusion under his helmet.

"I am the Princess's personal guard for the Goddesses sake!" Link shouted at the guard's leader.

"Than why were you away from her?" the guard snapped, with Link suddenly recognizing him.

"Move aside, Jakob!" Link shouted. Jakob Lirien was an attempted suitor of Zelda's, he was a young Knight of good build and handsome features, but due to their past lives, Zelda rejected his every advance, waiting for Link, and when Link finally came, Jakob was all but forgotten.

"Why would I do that? How about you stand out here and fight with us?" he shot pointedly, his brow furrowing as anger took over his facial expression.

"Jakob, please, I need to get Zelda out of the city just in case the attacking force makes their way here." Link knew they definitely would, his Triforce mark burning, with the Triforce of Power now glowing too, meaning it was in close proximity, revealing Ganondorf's presence in the battle, this was his endgame, he was taking the city, and with his power at the stage it currently was, not even Link and Zelda, with the complete military force of Castle Town behind them could stop him.

Jakob took an aggressive step forward, grabbing Link's tunic with his left arm, pointing his sword at Link's throat, "She was going to be mine! She was so close to being in my arms I could almost feel her presence within them! But then you! You all of a sudden enter the court, your hair disheveled, simple clothes torn and stained, claiming to have slain a beast, and the Princess immediately falls in love with you! What makes you so special?! You low born, dirty, farm boy!" Jakob roared, "She was going to be mine, she and I King and Queen of Hyrule, for the rest of our lives!" he added, his anger growing into fury, as the other guards shifted uncomfortably, too afraid to say anything.

Link took up a calm position, crossed his arms and eyed the sword at his throat, "She was never even close to being yours, Sir Lirien, Zelda and I have always been meant for each other, you need to come to grips with the fact that even though you seem to think she was "close to being in your arms." you never stood a chance...oh...and as for the "why me?" part, it has something to do with this." Link removed his glove, thrusting his hand into the air he willed his Triforce mark to glow a bright, shining gold, the other guards recognized it as the mark of the Hero, and quickly vacated Link's path, with one soldier unlocking the door to the Great Hall. "Let me through, Jakob." Link said calmly.

Jakob Lirien threw off his helmet with his left hand, after releasing his grip on Link's tunic, but kept his sword a finger's length from Link's throat. "Why of all people, did the Goddesses choose a parentless whelp like you?" he said, despair evident in his voice. "Why not me? A brave, strong, high born son of the most important noble family in the land? It doesn't make sense! You don't deserve the title of Hero! I do! You don't deserve the Triforce of Courage! I do!...and you don't deserve Zelda either...I do..." he said, his breathing becoming heavy, with a sudden leap he brought his sword up, Link easily dodged the downward slash, he then ducked a horizontal slash, unsheathing his sword in the process.

"Trying to kill me won't solve anything!" Shouted Link as Jakob slashed madly at him, all of the finesse his movements usually containing being replaced by forceful slashes fueled by rage and jealousy. Link brought his blade up, the reason he had left the Princess's side was to retrieve the Master Sword, with it's power he was now much closer to defeating Ganondorf, but still not close enough. Even with an average sword, Link could best Jakob quickly, Link caught Jakob's blade with that of the Master Sword, a loud clang rang out as the two blades clashed, with Jakob's sword flying back and almost out of his hands. Jakob's sword was forged impressively, made from Goron steel and tailored to fit him perfectly, but the Master Sword was created by the Goddesses, and when coupled with the Triforce of Courage, was beyond powerful.

"I deserve her not you! I deserve all of it! NOT YOU!" Jakob shouted swinging and stabbing his sword quickly, with Link gently knocking aside all of his blows until finally he had enough.

Link purposely made it look as if he stumbled, opening his chest and stomach to attack, Jakob took advantage of this pulling his arm back as far as it would go, Link saw him tense up as he released a powerful stab toward Link, his entire body behind it. Link stepped aside, avoiding the stab, he then raised his arm in the air, holding the Master Sword high, he brought it down on top of Jakob's sword, shattering it like glass.

Jakob stumbled back, looking at what was left of his blade in complete disbelief, "How...how...HOW DARE YOU?!" he roared as he charged Link, preparing to stab him with the jagged, broken stump of what used to be his sword.

Link standing stalk still, caught Jakob's wrist, the broken blade almost brushing Link's chest, Jakob struggled against Link, but Link's superior strength kept him at bay, as Link eyed him, almost with pity, until he spoke, that is.

"The Princess, loves...you? I can't see why..." Jakob said through clenched teeth, still trying to force his broken blade through Link's chest. "You're not just a low born farm boy, you have no father, no mother...you're an unwanted bastard." he said, his anger forming his words for him.

Link was at his wit's end, he clenched his fist, raising it in the air and swiftly plowed it into Jakob's face with all the force he could muster. Jakob released his broken blade, falling to the ground, blood dripping from his nose. Link walked around his form, lying on the ground semiconscious. Link strode past the other guards, muttering "Thanks for all the help...", they opened the door to the Great Hall for Link, as he was about to enter Jakob staggered to his feet.

"...This isn't over! This is FAR FROM OVER!" he roared.

Link ignored him completely, continuing into the Castle, smirking with pleasure as the door closed and locked behind him.

He ran up to the nearest servant, looking her in the eye, "Where's the Princess?" he asked urgently, realizing just how much time he spent on Jakob, coming to the realization that Ganondorf's forces would be at the castle gates within minutes.

"She's in the Throne Room, Mr. Link." the servant said, the fear in her voice being clear.

"Thank you!" Link called to her as she ran for the nearest unlocked exit. He made his way up the stairs at as fast a pace as his legs could carry him, he ducked through the hallways, making his way to the throne room, skirting around panicking, screaming servants, guards, and other members of the Castle's Court. He finally found his way to the Throne room, it hadn't been sealed yet, they were counting on the gates and the Guardsmen keeping Ganondorf's forces out, "How foolish." Link thought.

He charged into the Throne room unopposed, his sword and shield both on his back, he saw the King, Queen, and Zelda in the center of the room, surrounded by other Nobles, and societal higher ups, praying for safety within the castle's walls.

Zelda looked up, and rushed to Link, wrapping her arms around him tightly, "I knew you'd come, I love you." she said as she tightened her embrace.

Link returned her embrace, savoring her loving touch as she held onto him, "I'm going to get you out of here, we're not powerful enough to face him yet." Link said, his forehead resting against the top of Zelda's head.

The King made his way over, looking at Link with a serious expression.

"My Lord, please understand, she's not safe here, Ganondorf will not hesitate to kill her when he finds her, with all of us soon to follow, if we're not dead already!" Link said, keeping his volume low so as not to frighten the others in the Throne Room.

The King glanced around, and closed his eyes, listening to the storm raging outside, part of Ganondorf's curse. "So he is here..." the King said, "Please Hero, take my daughter far away, where that madman can't find her, keep her safe..."

Link was stunned, usually the King opposed him at every move, calling Link a brash young man, and even voicing his dislike of his relationship with Zelda, it seemed he finally came to his senses. "Of course, my Lord, I will do everything within my power and more to keep her out of harm's way." Link replied, noting the King's look of despair, which also carried in his tone of voice.

"Father!" Zelda cried as she broke off from Link, hugging the King tightly, "Please be safe Father." The Queen rushed over, embracing her daughter too, with Zelda echoing the same sentiment. "Please, come with us." Zelda plead with her parents, but even with the sadness within them showing, they remained unmoved.

"We can't." the King said, "If we're all gone Ganondorf will come looking for us immediately, he won't stop until he finds us, if we stay he'll believe you to be hiding here, which will give you time to escape, and when he finds out you're gone, I'll hold him off, I have no intention of letting him find you." the King stated, the Queen nodding in agreement.

Zelda and her parents embraced, tears streaming down their faces, as they were together for what was quite possibly the last time.

A horn blared outside, with a Guardsmen yelling "The castle wall has been breached!" The Guards and soldiers ran from the room, with some Nobles even picking up anything they could use as a weapon and joining them, earning them respect in Link's eyes, with Link noting that this has been the only time in any one of his lives he ever felt even a small amount of respect for a Noble.

"You must go!" exclaimed the King, pushing Zelda toward Link, the King looked Link in the eyes and nodded, with Link nodding back.

As Link and Zelda ran from the room, they looked back to see the King cast a protection spell over the space, magically generated fire engulfing his hands as he prepared to battle Ganondorf himself. Link noted in his mind that the Protection spell would be undone immediately, and even with the King's immense magical strength, Ganondorf would easily strike him down.

Zelda ran along side Link, tears streaming down her face as they made their way to a servants entrance, which went underground, and emerged straight into Southern Hyrule Field.

"Zelda, I'm so sorry." he said as he looked at her, "But we have to stay strong, we need to be Hyrule's salvation." he added, stopping just as they entered the tunnel.

Zelda collapsed in Link's arms, attempting to hold back sobs. "Link, he's going to kill them all, I'll never see my mother and father again!"

Link embraced her tightly, silently acknowledging the truth behind her words, "Soon this will all be over, we'll have defeated Ganondorf, saved Hyrule and it's people, and restored it's beauty." Link said, attempting to offer Zelda a reassuring smile. He looked upon her, the sadness inside her easily pushing it's way to the surface. Link looked her in the eyes, "Remember that beach on Lake Hylia? The one which the sun sets behind? That should be it!" Link exclaimed.

"What are you talking about?" Zelda asked, baffled.

"The location in which our wedding should take place." Link responded.

For the first time since he made it to the Castle, Zelda's beautiful smile greeted his face, easily making it's way through her tears. "I'll hold you to that!" she replied. She leaned forward, kissing Link softly with Link pulling her in closer. They were soon jolted back to reality when they heard the sounds of Ganondorf's forces entering the innermost part of the Castle.

Link grabbed Zelda's hand as they ran down the passageway together, soon enough coming to the exit. Link unlocked the heavy iron door, and with all of his strength, pushed it open.

Lying before them was Southern Hyrule field, filled with Ganondorf's monsters. Behind him Zelda used her magic to merge the metal door with it's frame, successfully making it a dead end, thwarting Ganondorf's forces should they attempt to follow. Suddenly a Bulblin was upon him, Link unsheathed the Master Sword, quickly dealing a fatal blow to the Bulblin. Zelda joined Link at his side, her hands glowing with magical energy. Link activated his Triforce, sweeping through the hordes of monsters, the Master Sword easily dispatching them, while Zelda let loose torrents of flame, bolts of lighting, and when confronted with a Stalchild, Stalfos, or Redead Knight, a wave of light energy.

Link and Zelda ran to the edge of the forest, leaving a large amount of dead monsters in their wake. As soon as they made it to the forest's edge, Link noticed a glint and barely had enough time to bring up his shield before the axe of an Iron Knuckle collided with him, sending him through the air, and onto his back. Zelda leapt into the air, sending a lightning bolt at the Iron Knuckle, it's rain soaked metal armor serving as a conductive surface, the lightning bringing it to it's knees.

It staggered back to it's feet just in time to see Link charging it, Master Sword at the ready. the Iron Knuckle raised it's axe, bringing it down to strike Link, but before it could, Zelda caught it's weapon telekinetically, leaving the Iron Knuckle struggling to bring the weapon down from above it's head, but it was too late, Link let loose a quick series of slashes and stabs, weakening the armor further and further until the Master Sword broke through, making it's way straight through the Iron Knuckle's chest. It stumbled back, still retaining it's footing. Zelda released her telekinetic grip on it's weapon, with the blade of the heavy axe dropping straight down onto the Iron Knuckle's head, slicing straight through it.

With the Iron Knuckle dead at their feet, Link and Zelda glanced at each other, running beyond the forest's edge, continuing their trek, as the other monsters in the field looked on, too afraid to follow after witnessing the Iron Knuckle's fate.

Link and Zelda made their way deeper into the forest, when suddenly Link's foot hit something, he fell forward, extending his hands to catch himself.

Link sprang awake, sitting up in bed, hands held straight out in front of him. He looked around the room, confused as could be. He slowly realized he was in Zelda's bed chamber, he surveyed the room, lowering his arms, placing his hands on the bed to support himself as he looked down at the blanket covering him, breathing fast. He soon felt Zelda's warm, naked body next to his, she shifted, feeling the absence of his arms around her. She soon turned around, opening her eyes slightly.

"Link? What is it? Is something wrong?" she asked, her tired state evident in the tone of her voice.

Link looked down at her, lowering his upper body back down to the bed, Zelda came closer, cuddling into him as he stared at the ceiling. "I dreamt about our escape from Castle Town...when Ganondorf attacked...during our last lifetime...it felt so...so...real." Link stammered, as Zelda placed her head upon his shoulder, "I really thought that it was actually happening, that we were going through that again..." he said.

Zelda picked up her head, kissing his cheek, don't fear the past my love, you're safe, here with me." she said sweetly, gazing at him lovingly.

Link relaxed, outstretching an arm so that Zelda could come closer, as soon as she did he draped the arm over her back, pulling her in. "I know." he said softly, kissing her gently as she drifted back to sleep. Link began to calm, the cold sweat he awoke in fading away as he began to feel warm, he waited so long to see Zelda again, and here they were, sharing a bed again for the first time in ages. Link relaxed, letting sleep take him, as he enjoyed Zelda's sleeping form cuddled into him. He flexed the arm he held her with, determined not to let her go. He drifted off, as he savored his closeness with his eternal companion and lover.

oOo

And Chapter Nine comes to a close! Finally decided to write about Link and Zelda's former life, I hope you enjoyed the flashback!

Ollympian: Thanks for being the first to follow my story, I really appreciate it! Trust me, in the future I'll bulk up the details quite a bit, and thank you very much, for your compliments and your review!

bobdasin1: You flatter me, truly! I'm glad my story engaged you so, and I'm also happy you're looking forward to Link crossing sword and spear with Volga again, I can't wait to write it myself! Sorry to keep you waiting with Link and Zelda, I had to build anticipation, haha! Thank you so much for your compliments, I'm truly grateful that you'd call my story amazing, it means so much that you'd say that! Thank you for reading, reviewing, following and adding me and my story to your favorites! I hope this Chapter didn't disappoint!

Lady Kiridia: You are welcome, you are welcome! The fluff was fun to write, I predict there will be much more in the future! The way you conducted Link and Zelda's relationship in your story was so gripping! It kept me on the edge of my seat at all times, all the while pulling on my heart strings, leaving me feeling for both Zelda and Link! You're welcome to sigh happily if you wish! ^^ My story is set in a time in which, the Hero and the Princess's existence and rebirth have become topics of study, with the legends detailing the imminent return of their memories and such, I'm glad you liked it, I was afraid it wouldn't be well received, with people being confused as to why everyone seemed to know how it worked. Thanks for being my most consistent reviewer, and a source of constant support, I wish you luck with your stories and can't wait for "Dead Inside" to be updated! =)

Thank you for the read!

Best of luck,

-Prometheus17