I'm not dead (probably)!

Insert the Zelda solve puzzle sound thing

Chapter 34: Half Truths

"You should get outside before autumn is upon us. I hear it's going to be much chillier this year."

"...What?" Zelda tilted her head at Impa.

"I said," Impa repeated, "you should get out and look at the pretty flowers before they're all dead."

"What? It's not even the middle of summer, yet!" Zelda exclaimed.

"That was when Sir Link was charged as your appointed knight," Impa pointed out. "It has been quite a while since then."

Zelda hadn't realized how little she had been keeping track of time. She had just returned from Zora's Domain… perhaps a week before. But then she tracked back the weeks she'd spent traveling, and at the castle, and yes, it had been months since Link became her personal knight.

"Hmm…" Zelda hummed thoughtfully. "Well, I guess that means I should visit the Ancient Lab soon…"

"If you'd like," Impa began, "I could escort you tomorrow. Purah has enlightened me on a new project of hers, and I fear for the current condition of the lab."

"That would be wonderful," Zelda said with a smile. "When do you want to leave?"

"Let's say…" Impa looked out the window. "Early tomorrow morning. That way we could get there, stay a few hours, and be back by dusk.

"That sounds perfectly fine with me," Zelda said. "I will have to contact Link to ensure that he is free tomorrow."

"Princess, his job is to follow you around. He's probably bored out of his mind..." Impa paused thoughtfully. "Or he's in the kitchens."

"...That's a fair point, Impa," Zelda said after a moment, chuckling inwardly. "I'll go get him."

"And I'll arrange things with the king," Impa said with a curt nod.

Zelda went to the kitchens, but Link was nowhere to be found. If Zelda was being honest, she had no idea where else he could be.

So, the next place to go was Liari's office. She would most likely have at least some sort of idea… and if not, she could track him by aura.

It didn't take long to reach, though that wasn't surprising. Zelda knew the whole castle like the back of her hand, including the shortest routes and seldom known passage ways.

Zelda knocked on the door.

Seconds later, she leapt back with a yelp as it was thrown open hurriedly. "I know, Impa, I'm comin- Oh, it's you, Princess."

Liari straightened. "Is there something you need?" The half Sheikah tilted her head.

"I'm trying to find Link," Zelda explained. "Impa offered to escort me to the Ancient Lab tomorrow, but he still has to come with me."

"She did?" Liari asked, more to herself than to Zelda. "That's strange. I thought she was only planning to keep Purah from blowing something up, though Impa probably wanted to keep you busy, as well."

"So… Link?" Zelda asked again.

"Oh, right." Liari waved her hand, beckoning Zelda to enter. "I think he's arguing with his sword - again."

Zelda frowned, confused. "What?"

"Oh, you didn't know?" Liari asked. "Well, the Master Sword has been bringing up a topic that Link either doesn't agree with, or doesn't want to talk about."

"And what makes you say that?" Zelda asked.

Liari gestured towards the window behind her with her thumb. "Just a hunch."

Zelda walked over to the window and looked down to see an abandoned courtyard, in which a certain blue clad knight was combing a hand through his hair in what seemed to be extreme irritation. She saw him glare at the sword he had stuck in the ground, which glowed back at him.

"Just a hunch," Zelda repeated. "I see. Well, thank you, Liari." Zelda dipped her head slightly, before making her way to the courtyard.

"...I suppose I'm going insane, then?" She heard around the corner.

She turned and found herself in the courtyard she had seen. It was quite wild and overgrown, full of wild flowers and overgrown grass. The plants where Link was had been cut down in a small circle.

"Link?" Zelda said quietly, so as to not startle the knight.

He turned around, his eyes momentarily wide before his expression went blank. "Princess," He greeted.

"I thought we agreed that you aren't to call me that when we're alone," Zelda said.

"And I thought that we've been over this many times," Link replied.

Zelda rolled her eyes. "So…" Zelda continued, glancing from the sword to Link. "Is there something going on here?"

"No," Was Link's immediate reply.

The sword glowed in response with a chime. Link was completely blank faced… except for one of his hands, which was clenched into a tight fist.

Zelda sighed. "Obviously that's a lie." Zelda looked to the sword. "I know you can… hear it. Liari confirmed that for me. So what is it that it's saying that's bothering you?"

Link lowered his head, as if in defeat. He then looked up at her suddenly with fierce eyes. "You can't tell anyone - especially not Purah, or Liari, or... absolutely anyone - what I'm about to tell you."

Zelda nodded, surprised by Link's seriousness. "And what would that be?"

"I've been having... the strangest dreams as of late…" He winced slightly at those words, for reasons Zelda couldn't fathom.

He then turned to look at the sword. He was silent for a moment, as if trying to figure out how to phrase his words.

"Fi - the sword - thinks that the dreams are because I am some sort of reincarnation of the previous heroes… that they're all the same person. I doubt it, but now she's putting up even more valid points…"

Zelda waited for Link to continue, but he didn't. "...So you aren't sure what to believe anymore?" Zelda didn't think it was possible, either, but it was the Master Sword that said so…

Link nodded as the sword chimed.

Link sighed. "Don't drag the princess into this, too."

The sword chimed again.

"It's a figure of speech," Link explained.

Zelda walked towards the sword. "I'll have to research to see if what the sword says is true. As royalty, I do have access to the diaries and journals of previous royals, as well as some of the heroes'. I'm sure it would be written about somewhere…"

"I doubt it, Princess," Link said quietly. "Though-" His sentence ended abruptly.

"Link?" Zelda walked over to her knight, waving her hand in front of his eyes. His stare was suddenly blank, his eyes hazy, as if his mind had suddenly been warped somewhere far away.

Zelda waved her hand hesitantly in front of Link's face. "Are you alright?"

Link blinked. His eyes were normal, now. Some emotion made its way onto his face, but it quickly vanished before Zelda could determine what it was. He looked at her with the slightest confusion.

"Are you alright?" Zelda repeated.

"No. Someone has to be playing mind tricks on me," Link muttered.

"What just happened, then?" Zelda asked.

Link opened his mouth to speak, before closing it and shaking his head. "It… it isn't important, Princess. Was there anything else you were wanting?"

That's when Zelda finally remembered. "Impa has suggested to go to the Ancient Lab tomorrow, before it gets too cold. It would also be nice to see and study some of the remaining plants and such before they wilt."

"And Impa is planning on going to prevent Purah from blowing something up," Link stated plainly, nodding.

Zelda looked at him for a moment, before laughing. "Most likely. She did mention fearing for the condition of the lab. However did you know?"

"Impa and Purah practically raised me." Link pointed out. "I know what they are like, thank you."

"That is a fair point, Link." Zelda smiled.

Edit (One day after I wrote this here Author's Note): Merry Christmas/Christmas Eve/Hanaka/Whatever holiday you celebrate/day if you don't celebrate holidays! I may have written the rest of this note a day ago, but that isn't important. I wish I could give you all a thousand dollars for Christmas, but I certainly am not that rich, so I guess words will have to do. I hope you all have a good holiday/day! CONTINUE TO THE WEIRD(ER) STUFF!

I don't know when this is getting published. I might just do it today because I'm bored, but I don't know. Maybe when I finish the next chapter?

I have no idea how this is possible, but someone managed to set the rocky part of my lawn on fire. By rocky, I mean that it is literally - nah, that word is overused. It's legit nothing but rocks. What IS this witchcraft?

So... Have I been writing as much as I have wanted to so far? No. I got addicted to the new "Let's Go Pikachu/Eevee" Pokemon game. And I've been playing Smash Bros Ultimate. And I've been replaying BoTW. What can I say? I have a minor obsession. But I will never be more obsessed with anything than I am with writing. So DON'T WORRY!

What else was I going to say? Huh. I legit don't remember. But that's okay. It's legit, man.

Rrreeepppllliiieeezzz (Secretreviewphrase = Legit (Because I felt like it))

poplasia: Hey, it keeps it nice and warm in the cold winter months! Scorched out of existence? GOOD! No one likes lawns, anyway! NO. ONE. Breaks? Nah. ARI WAITS FOR NO ONE! NOT EVEN ARI! ...WHY AM I SPEAKING IN THIRD PERSON?! Fi is great. Love Fi. She's a very good doggo! Hahahaaaa... get it? Yeah, I don't get it, either. More detail? Well, if I plan on rewriting this story (I might), then I will certainly do so. If I keep the chapters even close to the same. But that's not important. Yup, Twilight Doggo. Haha, get it? Cuz Twilight Link is a wolf? ...I'm being really stupid again, aren't I? I'm so glad you liked it! Thank you for the wonderful motivation juice!

MeaninglessMayhem: It says that you reviewed on chapter 35... but I haven't PUBLISHED chapter 35 yet... ... ... what? ANYWAY... yeah. I might not be the biggest Mipha x Link shipper, but I love her personality. She's fierce, like the cat clawing my legs, but only when she needs to be. Then she's kind and understanding, and it's just... yeah. I wish she hadn't died (;-;). ONTO HAPPIER THINGS! Haha! YES, Fi is simply PRICELESS. Love her. I feel like people missed a good opportunity in their pre-BoTW fictions.

MeaninglessMayhem (Smash Ultimate announcer: "2.0!"): Haha... yeah... I changed it. I made him left handed, because it doesn't make SENSE. All the other Links are lefties! Well, excluding Skyward Sword, but he was right handed because of the Wii remote stuff. Sooooo... yup. I've confused a lot of people with my strange logic. XD

Catseye: No I'm not. I am very much dead. Here, I'll prove it! *Stabs leg* See? No blood! Oh wait... hah, this is one of those plastic trick knives... Hah. Hah. Whatever. Please don't spare my yard. It needs to be set on fire. I moved on from Zora's Domain, but I have some "maybe plans" for Mipha appearances. I did not plan this story very much (XD), so I'm just sort of writing as I go. I might have to rewrite it when it's finished. THAT WAS COMPLETELY ON PURPOSE! I WAS TESTING YOU! OBVIOUSLY! Hah, Link is such a liar. I think he's just doing it to mess with Zelda (XD). But hey, whatever floats your boat. Maybe that does have something to do with it. I hope I didn't change his character too much. But if you liked it, then GOOD. OBVIOUSLY I did it PERFECTLY. Maybe. Probably. That's kind of contradictory, but whatever! Ah, my cat. She is a wonderful Kitten Cat. Most of the time. Most of the time being when she isn't clawing up my legs or sleeping on my face. I hope you enjoy your Christmas, as well!

So, to those of you that celebrate Christmas, MERRY CHRISTMAS! AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR, TOO! I HOPE YOU HAVE LOTS OF EXPLOSIONS!

Thanks for reading!

Most sincerely,

Ari