Rosalina strutted down the hallway in front of Ike, him oblivious to the sway of her hips as he stole glances at the princess in his arms. Her head kept leaning on his chest and he knew she would fall asleep before they even made it to her room. As they moved, Ike felt Zelda finally go limp, and a grin curled up the corner of his lips as he was led to a winding stone staircase, a deep red carpet cushioning his steps as he moved up.

"Did she fall asleep?" he almost jumped as Sheik appeared beside him.

"Just did," he said softly, looking to the blonde woman curiously. "What are you? You're not Hylian."

"I'm a Sheikah, we have always served the royal family from the shadows," she said and Ike nodded slowly.

"That's not foreboding," he said and Sheik put a gentle hand on his arm.

"As long as you behave, I won't have to hurt you."

"I'm innocent," Ike said and Sheik snorted.

"I think half of Hyrule would disagree with that."

"Why? What the hell is wrong with being Crimean around here?" They stopped walking and Ike almost bumped into Rosalina as she turned to them.

"This is her room," she opened the door and Ike stepped in, once again impressed and a bit taken aback by the sight. A massive bed, neatly covered in dark purple sheets, a vanity fit for a princess, and a dark wooden dresser were impressive, as was the view of the garden from the balcony.

"Holy shit," Ike said and Sheik smirked. He strolled forward and gently laid Zelda on the bed, feeling the guard's eyes on him as he stared at her for a moment. "Say what's on your mind," he said as he looked up at the red eyes focused on him.

"I want to know what's going on in your head," she said and he gave her a curious look. "You're the father of the princess's baby, you two aren't in a relationship, what the hell are you going to do?"

"I..." Ike looked at the sleeping princess, his eyes lingering on her stomach, "I don't know. If she wasn't a princess of a country that despises me for no fucking reason I..." he trailed off. What would he do?

"You would...?" Sheik tried to prompt him and he shrugged. "My advice? Try to make it work between you two."

"Make what work?" he asked and Sheik nodded to the door. He followed her out and she shut the door silently.

"Make it work," she said and Ike held out his arms.

"What? We fucked, it's not like we had a..." he trailed off as Sheik held the photo strip in front of his face.

"The look in both of your eyes in that last photo, the smile on her face when she's laughing... I have never seen her look like that," Ike stared at the photos, a grin coming to his lips. "You made her do that, nothing and no one else." Ike smiled and took his photos back from the guard, looking to the red eyes and shaking his head.

"She was gone in the morning when I woke up," he said sadly, "she couldn't have seen that we had too much." Sheik slapped his arm, pulling him along the hallway.

"And what would you have done in her shoes? A princess caught in a stranger's bed?"

"Sheik," Link stepped up to them, blue eyes glaring at Ike, "he and I need to have a nice chat." Link looked to Ike who shrugged.

"Lead the way," Ike said and Link nodded, both of them moving into what Ike immediately realized had to be Link's room. The massive bed was the same, except for the dark green sheets tossed around, looking to rebel against anything neat and orderly, as did the rest of the room. Clothes lay scattered about, and an odd incense filled the air. Link sat on the bed, tucking his legs up, watching as Ike stood there awkwardly.

"How did you manage to seduce my sister?"

"I think I more or less caught her on the rebound," Ike said and Link snorted.

"Zelda was wallowing in self pity earlier that day, she wasn't exactly in the mood for a frolic with a stranger."

"What's the point of this?"

"You fucked my sister."

"You brought her to a bar to get fucked."

"Fucked, not pregnant."

"You don't think I'm upset by this?" Ike said with a cold laugh. "I am in no spot to have a child with anyone, least of all a princess!"

"She can't fall in love with you," Link growled, "I won't let her."

"Look," Ike said, voice threateningly low, "I don't even want to be here. I want my child, a right I have and one I will exercise if necessary. You idiotic people seem to forget that I have the upper hand here in every way possible. I am walking around, the best news story of the century, a gold mine waiting to be struck, and I'm keeping my mouth shut."

"And why's that?" Link sneered.

"Because," Ike crouched, putting himself eye level with Link, "I care more about the child in that volatile womb than any of you, and vicariously I care more about Zelda's wellbeing." Link opened his mouth and Ike grabbed him, his hands holding Link still. "I smell shit on you, what do you fucking use?"

"Nothing," Link practically spat at him. "I'm clean." Ike stared at him and slowly shook his head.

"Tell me."

"Fuck you."

"Heroine?" Ike watched a flicker of surprise light in Link's eyes. "That shit will kill you. You gotta stop."

"Why the fuck do you care?" He snapped and Ike leaned his face close to Link's.

"Because Zelda, your sister, the woman carrying my child, cares about you. If it weren't for her, I would just let a junkie fall into his own pathetic hole."

"I'm not a junkie," Link said and Ike pushed up the sleeve on his right arm. Link pulled his arm back, but the damage was done. Marks, ugly and discolored, littered the skin by the crook of his elbow.

"What's that shit on your arm then?" Ike asked and Link leapt to his feet, shoving Ike as hard as he could. Ike didn't budge, even as Link started slamming fists into his chest. After a moment, Ike grabbed the weakened prince's shoulders. Link shuddered and looked down at his feet. "I can help you if you let me."

"Help?" Link scoffed. "Don't you think they've done that a hundred times? I've been to the top rehab clinics in the nearest countries. They've tried everything."

"I don't think they've tried my idea," Ike said and Link looked up at him. "You need to stop before she notices a difference in you... Don't do it for yourself, you obviously don't care enough, do it for her." Link stared at Ike, uncertainty etched all over his face. "She's worth it, right?" Link swallowed the lump in his throat, Ike's eyes focused on him.

"Wh... What's your idea?"

XxX

Zelda woke up confused why she was in her room. She sat up, her stomach reminding her to do so slowly with a crippling wave of nausea. "Princess," Sheik sat in the corner on a stiff looking chair, and Zelda gave her a wince of a smile.

"Where's Ike?" She asked, worry creasing her brow.

"He's... Well look in the garden." Zelda gave her a confused look, slowly standing up and walking to her balcony. She glanced over the stone railing, eyes finding Ike standing there, Link sweating in a dark green tracksuit as Ike shoved him.

"Go!" she heard Ike shout faintly and to her surprise her brother, who never listened to anyone, took off out of sight. "C'mon!" he shouted, then glanced in her direction. He raised a hand, and she returned the wave with a curious smile.

"What are they up to?" she asked Sheik who joined her on the balcony.

"I have no idea," she responded, and for the first time in her life, Zelda doubted the words of her bodyguard.

XXX

Thanks for reading! And as always thank you concisponci for reviewing! I'll try to have the next chapter up today! Until then, much love, Leigh