A/N: I know I may be putting her through hell, but I know SK loves this story. Here hopes this can brighten her day.
From the Ashes
Silvia followed Zelda closely as she was making her way from her studies. Her dragon hovered above their heads. Silvia, while not facing Zelda, could sense the tears that kept dropping from Zelda's eyes. It had been just over a week and Zelda was still taking her break up with Vincent rather hard. And while she had calmed down a considerable amount since that first day, she still hadn't quite gotten over it. And that was a feat onto itself. Zelda simply had not taken Vincent leaving her well at all. She was completely distraught when Silvia found her in the princess' room. Buried under the pink silk pillows, crying her eyes out, her mascara running. It was still a debate whether Zelda really loved Vincent or not. That saying she loved him was easier than saying the truth about what she really felt for Vincent. And still, after just nine days, Zelda still had to fight back tears so she can prove to her father that she was fine. She had to build high walls on her eyes so she could get through her studies without shedding a tear. And even then, few escaped the dam and fell onto some of her parchments. But Silvia knew, late at night, that Zelda still buries herself under her pillows and cries her self to sleep.
"Princess," Silvia finally uttered, knowing that if the silence were to keep going, Zelda would most likely start feeling worse. She also had a sense of duty behind comforting Zelda. She had to protect her from any and all dangers and harm. That includes ones that may attack the heart. And it was by Silvia's – and to an extent, Link – that caused the destruction of Zelda's heart. But there seemed to be a bitter justice behind it. Zelda had after all easily cast Link aside for the more effeminately handsome Vincent. But it was still her duty to make sure Zelda was safe. "You cant kept dwelling on Vincent leaving you."
Zelda stopped walking and Silvia did the same. There was that silence again. And the tense air around Zelda that told you she was fighting back the tears, no matter how strong the current had became. She finally turned around to Silvia with a sort of goofy smile on her face. Her eyes were a distinct contrast, but both seemed very genuine. "I loved Vincent. I know not a lot of people believed that. And I know I used him like he was my personal toy. And yes, I could've gotten him into my bed if I wanted to. But I still loved him, and if he wasn't happy with me, then I didn't want him with me. So I'm glad that he left when he left. I didn't want him to waste his life with me if he didn't want to. But there's this other part that loves him. And I want him back with me. But your right, I can't afford to keep living with that. I'm the princess and I have a duty to my people to keep."
Silvia stared at Zelda for a moment. She sure had changed within the week she was apart from Vincent. But Silvia knew that Zelda was just saying those words. Silvia knew that Zelda hadn't believed anything she said and it was just another way for Zelda to feel better about herself. Drakeus landed on her head, "But princess, that's all well and good but can you really just stand there and tell me that you're fine?" Silvia didn't need her to answer; she just wanted to hear it.
"I'm fine," Zelda said, tears now flooding her dam and welling up in her eyes. She took a few more steps with Silvia following and turned to her bedroom door. She opened it and looked back to Silvia, "I'm going to take a quick nap, if you don't mind. You can do whatever you want… your excused from your duties for today."
"But, princess!" Silvia started before Zelda went into her room, shutting the door behind her. Silvia sighed, she could easily get inside the princess' room but then pillows would most likely pelt her. Zelda just wanted to be alone. Silvia could respect that. Sure, the princess hadn't done things that would make her seem respected, but she was trying to move on with her life. A few people she knew still lived in the past.
Silvia stared at the closed door for a while before she started to walk away, Drakeus now resuming his old hovering routine. Zelda may have said she was excused from duty, but that didn't mean she was going to completely stop guarding the princess. Sure, she was on her way down to the market –mainly in hopes of seeing Link again – but that didn't mean she didn't have a clue what was going on in the castle. She had been trained since birth as a Sheikah warrior. And her training made her very sensitive to the goings on within the castle.
That and again, her aunt was apparently inside the castle somewhere, so she herself could take care of anything that could endanger the princess. That is, if she wasn't busy with the King doing only they knew what. Impa was more than enough for most regular assassins or more of the sort. And she was still pretty far off in terms of abilities compared to Silvia. Silvia didn't even doubt that she had only seen just a fraction of what Impa could do. But then again, Impa still didn't know everything that Silvia could do. Secrecy was part of the Sheikah way after all. Keeping and maintaining them was their culture. And Silvia had her share of secrets that she didn't let anyone know. She confided in no one and that was how she liked it. But as of late, Link – while distant – seemed to help her through her time just as much as she had helped him. He was growing away from Zelda and was beginning to settle on Silvia. And she liked that.
Silvia went down the stone steps that lead from second floor down to the first one. She still had little luck in finding Impa without her aid but she didn't feel like finding her anyways, even if it was part of her training. Once Silvia stepped outside, things seemed to have changed. The sun now didn't glare down at Hyrule, but showered the land with its warm rays. The butterflies out in the meadow right outside the castle fluttered in total bliss around the flowers. Drakeus himself had temporarily left Silvia to go play with the butterflies, trying to catch them in his mouth. But after Silvia had walked quite a bit away, Drakeus immediately flew back to her. He had hugged his mother as best as he could with his dragon arms and flew above her. Silvia smiled a bit at Drakeus' show of affection and went down the hillside path that led to the marketplace. And she passed the guard that kept an eye where the market place ended and where the path to royalty started. She was working her way down to the people who didn't know what kind of ruler Zelda would make. How a princess that had lived some of her adolescent years having her own fun in her bedroom, in a dazed confusion of love and lust… The way she underhandedly took a fragile man and twisted him around her finger to have her way with him… Only the populace didn't know those facts. They knew of Vincent but they didn't what went on with him. They simply figured he was the one that would end up their next King, seeing as how he was Zelda's first public love.
And like pages from a novella, Vincent seemed to be standing not too far away from Silvia. Which began to wonder if he waits for her or not, but this time she figured that he was there by pure coincidence. She had only stepped through the gap between two shops that marked the end of the market when she had seen him from the corner of her eye. And she could tell something was different about him. He walked out of the archery range with his head held up high, that arrogant smirk of his carved onto his fair skin, hands in his pockets with some sort of wind billowing his jacket behind him. He walked a walk she hadn't seen him use in a while, one that was self assured and confident. His head turned all of a sudden and turned to Silvia's direction. One of his hands came from his jacket and waved at her.
She wondered how he was able to sense her presence there. Vincent would always be some sort of enigma to her. Half of him was easy to read but the other half seemed cloaked in a dark veil. He began to walk to her, his smirk not so much arrogant in the new light but more of what it was, a small symbol of happiness. "Hello, Vincent," Silvia said as he stepped up to her. "What brings you to the market today? Something you're looking to buy or anything?"
"Actually," Vincent said. He used his head to point over to the archery range, "I was trying to see if I could get any better at archery. I know, someone like me not good at something is astounding. I think you had to brace yourself for that…"
Conceited, as always.
But at least there wasn't any overruling depression in his voice. It was back to the arrogant, egotistical, narcissistic serenity. And Silvia took note of that. He had gotten over Zelda, completely. And there he was, taking the time to better himself in another form of combat. But Silvia knew that he was only busying himself. Around Vincent was an air of patience and wait, ready to remain for years to come around Hyrule.
"Vincent?" Silvia asked.
"Yes?" he answered back to her.
"Your so self-centered, I think your actually narcissistic," she said.
His smirk spread to a new form, an arrogant smile. He chuckled a bit and took a nice deep breath. "I'm more Vincentisstic than anything. My mother told me that long ago. Apparently I have developed a form of Vincentism over the years."
Silvia's eyes widened, "And no wonder, people have fed that enormous ego of yours to the point that I don't think anyone can knock any reality into your head." Vincent had to back up an inch for Silvia's getting in your face type attitude about his ego, "What's more, I don't think anyone has ever tried to deflate your head. I doubt that even if you were soundly beaten in battle, or in some other forms I'm not going to discuss, that you'd take the loss gracefully. You'd make sure that whoever beat you wont beat you again, probably by some not so honorable tactic!"
Vincent shrugged. He wasn't going to deny anything. He knew that was the truth. Sort of. He'd take a loss, sure. He'd most likely try to one up it too. And he's quite sure if he couldn't, then winning by other means didn't seem too farfetched. He put his hands on the back of his head and looked down at Silvia, "Maybe…" he said with a grin.
Silvia took a deep breath. She then looked up at Vincent. She had to break it to him. Like she was reading his thoughts, "She isn't going to come back."
Vincent's grin somewhat disappeared and he looked down to the ground. He took a deep breath and his hand fiddled with something in his pocket. Silvia could see a tear fall down from his eyes. He looked at Silvia and shrugged. "I love Malon. She was the first woman I had ever loved and the only one I have loved. And for that, I don't want to let go of her, not yet. After all, me – who could really fall in with me after what I've done in my past? Malon did, and I don't know why. I'm not just going to give up, I'm not just going to let her go, I just won't."
Silvia sighed. Vincent was hopeless.
"I don't think you shouldn't give up on anything just yet," Vincent said. He pointed to the hat on her head, "Seems like you've been bitten by the love bug as well. And didn't you use to think that Link would only be in love with the princess? Looks like he switched sides a bit."
"Ugh, Vincent!" Silvia said. There were those times when he could tell what she was thinking. Not to mention that she completely forgot that she wore Link's hat on top of her head since he had given it to her. Zelda hadn't said a thing because she had too much to deal with. She blushed for a moment, Vincent was able to get under her skin. But then she felt an arm slither around her. Her first thought, enough that made her arm twitch, was to grab the foreign arm and drop the person who had their arm on her. But she sensed that there was no danger at all and looked up, a bit tentatively with her cheeks almost as red as Vincent's hair, to see Link with his finely chiseled jaw in a smile. His hair fell into his eyes and some of the mysterious wind came and swept it a bit.
"Hey you two," he said in his voice, a bit deeper than usual.
"L-Link?" Silvia stuttered a bit. "Wh-What are you doing here?"
Vincent crossed his arms and smirked. He loved being right. "What do we owe the pleasure Link? We usually see you a bit later in the day."
"I just felt like coming out. Still working on your aim?" Link asked.
Silvia could sense the rivalry between them. She didn't need to be a Sheikah to feel it. The vast differences that led up to them being so alike. Vincent, coming from a wealthy family and grew up with everything. Link, left at birth by his dying mother who had little till he left the forest. Silvia figured that even with the years they had on each other, a sword fight between them would end in a draw, but Link was versatile. Maybe that was a reason why Vincent decided to take up archery. Both also seemed to have been at each other's throats about women for the longest. Silvia remembered that Link was essentially the most wanted man in this part of Hyrule. Link didn't let it go to his head though. And it was strange, Vincent wanted Malon but Malon was head over heels for Link. But as time went on, Malon fell in love with Vincent. Link always loved Zelda but she only really wanted Vincent. There was a time when Vincent had so shamelessly flirted with Silvia, and now they stood with Link's arm on her
"Working and getting better," Vincent said with his smirk. "Give me a few more days and your record is shattered. Then I can work on your Bombchu bowling score…"
"I wouldn't put any money on that," Link said. He turned to Silvia, "So how have you been Silvia? I see you like my hat. Yeah, that thing sure kept your head warm when you want it to. Vincent hasn't been giving you too much of a hard time, right?"
Silvia's face now surpassed Vincent's scarlet and went into the redhead's sometimes-darker moments of crimson. "Uh," and she nodded. The tip of the hat came down between her eyes.
Link laughed a bit.
Vincent scoffed, "I don't give her a hard time at all."
"Shut up, Vincent," Silvia said, snapping out of her infatuation and bashfulness. She turned back to Link, "I've been doing okay. I had to stay around Zelda a bit more than usual today." She saw him flinch at the sound of her name. "But she decided that I could go off and do something. She's not taking her break up with Vincent good at all."
Link was taken aback at the news of what Vincent had done. He turned his attention to Vincent, who was right there listening, and shrugged. "So you dropped Zelda? You figured out that she wasn't for you then. With or without our help?"
Silvia began to worry that now that Link knew that Zelda was free, that he would crawl back to her. But he kept his arm around her when he was speaking with Vincent about how Vincent let the princess go. She didn't listen to them speak, but let herself move closer to Link. Even as so far to lean on him while he casually talked to Vincent. Of course, it sometimes had escalated to the point where they would begin to bicker because of Vincent's ego and pride and how Link tried to bust him down. What she didn't expect was for Vincent to say he had to leave and left her alone with Link. She pushed herself away from Link and looked up into his eyes.
He sighed, "Silvia… look if your not busy later, would you mind coming over to my house so we can have dinner?"
Silvia stood there, a little shocked that Link had asked her out. She didn't know what to really say to that but she figured if she had the day off, might as well spend some of it with him. "Sure, that'd be nice," she answered. She smiled up at him, "What time should I stop by? And you know I have to bring Drakeus with me, right?"
"I know," he said. He shot one of his perfect smiles at her, enough to make her legs feel weak at the knees. "Come around sixish, okay? And bring a big appetite. Drakeus too."
Silvia nodded while Link took his leave. Her heart was beating awfully fast. She couldn't believe that Link had asked her to dinner. And like most of the women in Hyrule, that was like a dream come true. But she truly did like Link more than a piece of meat. He was kind and sweet to her, and kept on thinking of her even when they went their separate ways. He had to if he wanted her to come to dinner later. Silvia couldn't help but smile as she thought about her night with Link that was coming up…
With butterflies in her stomach Silvia walked up to Link's modest house in town. She had to keep calming herself down as she walked over. And yes, she took the time out to walk to Link's house instead of just teleporting in front of it. And she stood outside his house, not exactly sure if she could really knock on the door. She wasn't sure that Link had actually wanted her to come. She didn't understand why he would ask her to come over to dinner. But as she debated and argued on why Link had invited her for dinner, the door to his house opened. Silvia was drenched in the light from within and saw Link beaming at her, again with his perfect smile. He stood there, like the Hero chosen by the Goddesses he was, dressed in a much better tunic than he usually is seen wearing. It wasn't worn, frayed, or tattered. And it was an extremely dark green. And as Silvia stood there speechless, he spoke:
"I was wondering when you were coming. Should've known you were just going to stand outside. It's a good thing I noticed that someone was standing outside when I did," he said with a bit of laughter. He stepped aside and gestured for her to go inside.
Silvia swallowed hard and walked inside Link's house, Drakeus closely following. She had stepped inside and the most delicious aroma reached her nose and made her remember that she had barely eaten anything. Hoping that her stomach growls wouldn't reach Link's ears, she turned and watched Link close the door behind her. He kept his smile on her and asked her to sit down on the couch that was right in front of the fireplace. She did what he asked her to do and took note that while the windows were drawn closed, it didn't have the same feel as before as when she first walked into it. This time it was warm and comforting, while still dark. Just how she liked it. And then she felt him come down and sit down next to her.
He held out a glass of what was most likely wine. Red. He must've been following Vincent's example because Link never did like wine at all. Let alone red wine. Silvia took it gracefully. Drakeus on the other hand had settled right between the two, making sure that Link wouldn't pull anything on his mother. "Sorry, dinner ought to be ready in a few more minutes," Link said, an attempt to start up a conversation.
"Its fine," Silvia said. Her stomach growled again and she laughed a bit, "Well, I brought my appetite, like you said."
Link laughed with her. "It's going to be a great dinner. I've been working on my culinary skills and I figured I'm pretty good so I wanted to ask you if you could've come over and have dinner on me. Totally on me. Nothing fancy or made by some top chefs but it should still be good."
"Can't wait," Silvia said, sipping at her drink. She set it down on the coffee table before her, "So, do you think you made enough to feed me and Drakeus. We haven't had much to eat today."
"More than enough," Link answered. He positioned his self so that he could have all of his attention on Silvia. "You know Silvia, there was another reason why I invited you over to dinner. Its nothing as shallow as you helping me understand that I can cook. And you can use that against Vincent too, cause he can't cook for nothing." He sat there and waited for what she had to say.
But with all his attention on her, all could Silvia do was sit there and let her face become reddened again. Trying to calm herself down enough, she looked into his gorgeous blue eyes. "Um, so why else did you invite me here?"
Link took a deep breath and raised his ungloved hand to comb back some of her silvery hair. That didn't help Silvia's blushing at all. "Silvia… for most of my life I have been blind to everything that has gone around me. And I think you were my only light that helped me out of that dark tunnel. And when my life nearly fell apart because I gave my heart to some heartless little… well, you know, you were there to help me through that. I asked you to come over so we could talk. So we could get to know each other. And above all… its because I like you a lot Silvia."
Silvia's eyes widened and her face became that deep crimson again. She didn't know what to say. Like how Link used to be, she was absolutely speechless. She sat there in silence, long enough for Link had to go get up and check up on dinner. She liked Link too, even if like wasn't giving her feelings enough credit. But you had to like someone before you loved them. And even when you loved them you still liked them. She had replayed his words over and over in her head but she knew that he only liked her. He still didn't love her. But on the other hand, Link had no one else to grow affections for. Zelda was completely out of the picture for him. Even if she was a free agent and needed a shoulder to cry on, he wasn't going to be there for her. And that was how it was. Zelda has crushed his heart so that was her punishment, to have no one there for her when she needed it. Not like she wanted help in the first place. She definitely didn't want Silvia's. But knowing Zelda, she would've most likely loved Link to help her so she could do to him what she did to Vincent.
"Hey Silvia, dinner's ready!" Link said from behind the couch, his voice completely unfazed.
Silvia got up from the couch and made her way over the table, this time free from any maps or anything. Drakeus also had tagged along. Link came in with a plate in each hand, steam rising from the heat used to cook the food. He set down one plate in front of Silvia and set the other one, a smaller plate, in an empty side of the table. Most likely that was more for Drakeus. He left the table again and came back with his own plate. He sat down across from Silvia and smiled at her once again. "Well, go on and eat."
Silvia nodded and picked up her fork. But before she speared the piece of marinated cucco, she looked back up to Link. "Link?"
"Yes, Silvia?" Link asked, setting down his fork to listen to her. "Is something wrong? Don't tell me your allergic to cucco. I should've asked you before hand. Way to mess up again Link…"
"No, no, no," Silvia said, trying to reassure him that he didn't do anything wrong. "I just wanted to tell you before we ate… that I like you too."
Link's smile came back and the lit up the entire room. "That's a load of my chest. I'm glad to hear that Silvia, it makes my day to know that you like me too. How about we get started on dinner though? We wouldn't like it when it's cold."
Silvia nodded and lifted the fork up to her mouth. She bit and chewed. And it was good. Better than good in fact, it was great. Link never ceased to amaze her. Every time she thought she had seen all he could do he goes and comes back with something else that's he terrific at.
Dinner went on and both of them didn't say much. Drakeus finished his plate first and was watching his mother eat hers. She didn't want to speed through, she enjoyed savoring the taste of Link's cooking in her mouth. Silvia finally finished her plate and looked up see Link finishing up as well. She wiped her mouth with a napkin and looked over to Link, "That was a great meal Link. I'm stuffed."
"I'm glad you liked it," Link said. He got up from the table and stacked the three plates on top of each other. "Why don't you go relax by the fireplace and I'll come in with some hot cocoa, okay?"
Silvia nodded and got up from the table. She picked up Drakeus and went around to go sit on the couch. She heard Link scrubbing the dishes along with the rattle of a few mugs. He soon came out of nowhere and offered her cup of hot cocoa, his second offering of drink to her that night. He sat down next to her once again as she took the mug in both of her hands. She sipped at it and once again, Link had outdone himself. He had turned to her like he did last time, "So, did you enjoy yourself?"
Silvia nodded, "Best time I had in my life for a while now."
"That's good," Link said as he sipped his own hot cocoa. "Silvia, I know it might've taken me a while… but know that right now there isn't anyone else in the world I'd rather be with."
"Um, thank you Link," Silvia said, her face becoming red again. She should've known that once she sat back down on the couch that he would start being sweet with her again. And that meant that she was going to blush madly.
"Silvia," he said, his hand raised again to cup her face in it. He looked down to couch, not quite sure what to do anymore. He was bold, but even a few things could make his heart race. He had never really gotten so close to a woman like he was with Silvia. He knew that some people would make fun of for that. Or at least give him advice with a mocking undertone. Vincent would've been one of them. But he knew what he wanted to do, he just simply couldn't bring himself to do it. And while he argued with himself like how Silvia did before, someone decided to step up.
Drakeus popped from between them. He figured out that his mother was happy with Link and that Link was happy with her. "Just kiss her already…"
Silvia was about to scold Drakeus for making the situation even more awkward but then she felt Link's rough lips on her own. Totally in shock and heart racing a mile a minute, she felt safe as his arms wrapped around her. Her eyes softly closed and she let her guard down. She didn't need it when there was Link to protect her. And he would protect her. Always and forever. And in her own moment of forwardness, she wrapped her arms around Link's neck and returned his kiss. She didn't want to be with anyone else, just like he did.
