A/N: I just want SK happy.
Give and Take
Silvia looked over to Link who had his eyes set on Vincent as the arrogant redhead walked up to them both. She looked over to Vincent as he walked up, bow in hand with a notched arrow. With his smirk still plastered on his face he let one fly and struck another one of Link's shadows. She didn't know before but she just knew that Link's soul was slowly destroyed each time a shadow bit the dust. And it was annoying her that Vincent was taking the time out to go ahead and start destroying the materialized pieces of Link's soul like they were targets at an archery range. She narrowed her eyes and stepped up but Link's outstretched hand stopped her before she could go on and put a stop to Vincent.
"Give me a minute, Silvia," Link said, his head turned to look at her. He turned back to Vincent. "What do you think you're doing here Vincent? None of this concerns you so just turn around and go back home. Last thing I need is your overly emotional self here."
"Link, let me go," Silvia said, low enough so it won't carry over to Vincent. "You don't have to use your shadows or take him on yourself. I can handle it."
"Silvia, don't worry about it. Just let me handle it," Link said as looked back to her once again. "I'll be able to get rid of Vincent."
Silvia sighed and crossed her arms, irritated at how Link was treating her. But she decided to let him handle things for now. Sooner or later he will need her help whether he wanted to admit it or not. She looked over to Vincent who was still walking up to the throne where they were at. She also wasn't about to pass up what could be the one opportunity where she could get away with laying the smackdown on Vincent. He had it coming for so long, there had to be someone – Silvia wanted to be that someone – who would bring Vincent down from the clouds. It's not that she hated him; it's just that he pressed the wrong buttons. And right then, he was making a workout out of it.
"Link," Vincent said cheerily. "You burst into my ex's house and detain her and her family," he said as he motioned over to the captured royal family. "You really think I'm just going to sit by and let you do this? You know me better than that."
Link stifled a chuckled, "Like you care at all for any of them, including your little princess."
"She's a hell of a woman, that's for sure," Vincent said. "But I'm not in love with her. I have to thank Silvia for that, shouldn't I?" He stopped midway up to the throne and smiled up at Silvia. "She was the one who figured it all out. I mean, sure you had something to say about it but I doubt it was for me. But she was the one who knew I wasn't in love with Zelda. She knew my heart wasn't into that relationship. She knew that I was and still am in love with only one woman." He reached behind him and pulled out another arrow from his quiver. "So thank you Silvia, but I have to protect Hyrule from Link, he's just not good for it." He notched it in his bow, "So bring it Link, I'm the only thing standing in your way."
Silvia heard Link chuckle a bit before he quieted down. She wasn't sure what was so funny about what Vincent said but it did catch her off guard. He thanked her for helping him see the truth. That came along every blue moon with Vincent. But he had to ruin it by saying that he was still going after Link. That will never sit well with Silvia. She didn't bother to follow all of Link's requests. She was standing ready to jump into action. Link was treated the wrong girl like a princess, no matter how flattering he could be. But her hand was twitching, ready for action.
"Vincent, do you even hear yourself?" Link asked as he quieted himself down. "You're the only person who's going to stand in my way? Taking over Hyrule will be easier than I thought."
"Link, Vincent was able to shoot from one end of the throne room to the other," Silvia added. "He hit a moving target." It wasn't in her nature to give Vincent props but Link wasn't seeing the picture. She was a Sheikah and she had to make sure that she analyzed every little detail in the situation. She didn't know much about Vincent's fighting style with his swords but she at least knew that he was a crack shot. Silvia had little doubt it was all the practice Vincent put in to make sure he was at least good enough to buy his own bow. "I think its best not to underestimate him."
Link shook his head, "Vincent's always been just another man who wanted to become more than what he was. He has almost everything he ever wanted and yet he wants more. He doesn't realize the life he has was almost perfect. Sure, it wasn't until now that it has turned into something pretty hellish. But he's nothing more than a wannabe hero. Just trying to be something he's not."
"Oh is that all, Link?" Vincent asked as he started to walk up to the throne. "Just another wannabe hero? Trying to be something I'm not? Sure, label me those things Link but you shouldn't just cut them out off the bat. How about you take me on oh great Hero and prove that theory."
Link smiled devilishly, "I don't have to."
And of course Silvia jumped to the decision that Link meant that he didn't need to if he had her. Which was true, he didn't need to do the real dirty work since he has a trained Sheikah at his side. Silvia had to be more careful with her strikes and attacks than Link, offering more chances for a cleaner kill. She was silent and quick. She was efficient. She was one of the best Sheikah and there was very little that could stand in her way or do anything to her. She smiled with anticipation to hear the rest of what Link had to say.
"Neither does Silvia," Link added. He snapped his fingers and shadow Links emerged from the ground, blocking the rest of the way to the throne for Vincent. "They will. Let's see you get rid of them."
Vincent looked up the ceiling and sighed, he hated how this was playing out. He looked back down and stared at Link through the wall of shadows. He cocked an eyebrow and put away his bow. He wasn't going to stay back and shoot them when he could have a bit of fun. He pulled out his swords, each different in style and size that had corresponded to the way Vincent used them. He rushed forward and began to attack the shadows, doing his best to get through them so he could get to Link. He didn't want to waste any more time with talking or with the shadows. And it was in his eyes. He wanted to prove it to Link, to everyone else who was watching, and more than anything to himself that he could play the part that Link had decided to rebel against.
Silvia watched as Vincent was tearing his way through the shadows. From his way of fighting, she could tell he was reckless with little regard for his own well being. That meant that he was either too sure of himself or simply he hadn't enough training to make up for the gaps in his defense. None of that mattered. It meant that Vincent would be easier to take down. But as Silvia analyzed every move Vincent made, her hand and eye twitching each time he killed another shadow, something landed on her head.
Silvia looked up and noticed Drakeus looking down at her with his big eyes. He smiled his cute little smile and nestled on top of her head. She looked down at the fight and watched as Vincent finished off the last shadow in the lineup. He sheathed his swords and looked over to Link, the smirk on his face as arrogant as ever. Anything he did right would always feed his giant ego.
"Is he a bad man?" Drakeus asked innocently.
Silvia, a tad surprised at her dragon's question – as always when he even speaks, just as rare as Vincent apologizing or thanking someone - but she smiled and looked up. "He's trying to step up against Link. So right now he's bad."
"Yes, Drakeus," Link added. "I just want what's best for our country. I spent years of my life making sure that no evil would conquer it and I'm not about it to just let some little princess just ruin all of that because she doesn't know how to wait. I think I would be the most appropriate ruler for Hyrule. I spent enough time defending it to know what's best for it anyways. And Vincent, the bad man over there, wants to keep things the way they are. Talk about a someone with a little fear of change."
"I'm scared of change?" Vincent asked, taking steps up and meeting Link at the top. "I'm scared of change, oh my Goddess you couldn't be farther from the truth. I'm all for making sure that Hyrule is ruled by a benevolent ruler. I want to know that Hyrule is safe. But unlike you, I'm dead certain that Zelda can do it. Maybe you should get to know her better before you jump to the conclusion of what you see on the outside."
Link stared at Vincent, their eyes boring into the others. Neither blinked nor looked away. "You're just too blinded. I suggest you take off that blindfold Zelda might've put on you during one of your little, strange bed games. I have known her for so much longer than you have."
"You knew her as that little, carefree girl," Vincent said. "And then you took off only to come back to find her older. She isn't the same person that you left when you were ten. When you came back she wasn't the same. She grew up and maybe you should update that image of her you have in your mind. You may have known her before me, but you don't even know that she's a sweet gentle woman who, true, does enjoy a healthy adult relationship, still puts her country before herself. And Silvia can confirm that she was always focused on her studies."
One thing was for sure, the Kind would much rather be somewhere else than where he was. Last thing he needed was to hear that his daughter wasn't the little angel he liked to think she was.
"If anything, I remember that she had to get her studies done before we could go out and half some fun," Vincent added. "The point still remains that you don't know much about Zelda."
"I know enough," Link said.
"You do? Cause you really fooled me," Vincent said. He reached and grabbed Link by his shoulder, "Snap out of it."
And in that instant, Vincent's hand flew off of Link and was behind his back in a detaining hold. He cursed under his breath as he did his best to look behind him. Drakeus hovered above his head as he noticed that Silvia was the one who put him in the arm hold. She had her eyes narrowed and focused on the back of Vincent's skull. She probably couldn't overpower him but she knew she could take him on. Her eyes turned to the scarlet pair that was trying to get a look at her. But she didn't give him any breathing room.
"Lay another hand on Link and I'll break this one," Silvia muttered softly.
"Silvia," Vincent said in a mocked surprised tone. "I would have never have guessed. I thought we had something special. And this is how you treat me? How just."
"No one is joking around Vincent," Silvia said, applying a little bit of more pressure. She wasn't going to let Vincent just sweet talk himself out of any predicament. Like he could've done so with Silvia in the first place. But his silver tongue was going to be put on hold as long as she kept her demand up. It was simple; if she let Vincent keep his hand on Link's shoulder then he felt safe enough to do more to Link. And that was something she wasn't willing to let happen. And she wasn't playing like Vincent was. She was dead serious. "Lay another hand on Link and-"
"You'll break the one you got," Vincent finished. "Don't you think I got that already?"
She tightened the hold, "And you don't cut me off again."
Link smiled as Silvia was disciplining Vincent but he wanted to talk to him man to man. Link stepped up to Vincent and looked over his shoulder, "Silvia, its fine. I can take it from here. Just let him go and I'll see what he wants to say. I'm sure he'd love that. He loves hearing himself talk anyways."
Vincent laughed jokingly. "Nice one, Link."
Silvia thought about it for a moment but she decided to let go of Vincent. He took back his arm and stretched it to make it feel better. Silvia didn't know how much Vincent must've endured but he didn't show any sign of pain. What worried her a little was that Vincent seemed to even enjoy the position. She always knew that he was a strange one but that was on another lever. If Vincent turned out to be a masochistic freak, than Link and her might have more to worry about than before. But that would explain why he would fight like he did. If he took pleasure in the fight and the pain from it, then that meant it would be quite a while before he would go down. But Silvia decided to put those thoughts away as she stepped back. She watched as Vincent's wiggled his fingers, making an attempt to lighten the mood with his over dramatizing ways.
Link stared at Vincent, "What do you want me to snap out of?"
"This," Vincent simply said as he left his arm at his side, at peace. He took his other arm and pointed in every direction and then finally settled on the captured people, "All of this, that, them. I think it's a little too much. Don't you think? Maybe if you could've just brought it up to attention to the king himself or something like that, I don't know how our government works."
"Vincent," Link said, a little irritated. He rubbed the bridge of his nose and took a deep breath. Vincent was staring to give him a giant headache. He just wasn't getting it through that giant head of his that the royal family was wrong and that he had to take the actions he took for the good of Hyrule. It didn't look good on the outside but Link knew he was doing the right thing. Link exhaled a rich breath and looked over to Vincent, "It's simple that you're not ever going to get it. And I'm pretty sure you're not going to stand there and let me continue with what I'm doing either."
Vincent shook his head with a smirk on. "Nope, I think it's still bad."
"Right," Link said. He sighed and he quickly flared up his hand, covering it in a dark aura, and socked Vincent right in the gut. Silvia, and no doubt Vincent, was a little surprised at how Link dealt with Vincent. And what was more of a shock was just the sheer strength that Link packed into that punch. It sent Vincent flying back, crashing to the hard floor a few feet away from where Link and Silvia stood. Silvia had watched as Vincent flew through the air and then as he landed, hard. His body lay there, motionless but she could see that he was still breathing. She turned her attention back to Link who had turned around and began to walk away, his eyes focused on somewhere else.
"Link, what was that?" Silvia asked. "Where did you learn these new powers?"
She saw him stop, his back still turned to her. He looked down to the floor and then turned around. "Silvia," he said softly. "I was hoping you wouldn't ask that."
And what do we have here? The Hero of Time has a little secret he'd rather not tell the woman he loves. No one is perfect after all.
Silvia crossed her arms. She didn't know what to expect from Link. But she still wanted to hear the answer. Nothing should change if he told her the truth. The truth was always better than just keep hearing nothing but silence. And the shadows always told truths even when they were silent. So as she stared at him with her sapphire eyes that came from her Hylian mother, a trait that was usually dominated by the Sheikah blood, she didn't bother to ask the question to Link. Her stare was enough for him to break down and tell her what she wanted to hear.
"There are a few things I'm not sure of," Link started. "But then I managed to learn that I could control the shadows of my soul after I pulled out the Master Sword. And then I figured where would be the best place to strengthen this new power."
"The Shadow Temple!" Silvia said in realization.
"Yes, and I'm sorry I walked onto there without you knowing," Link said, looking down to the ground. Obviously he was trying to look as guilty as he could be.
Silvia looked at him and then sighed, "Its fine, I guess. You should've just told me Link. Who knows what else you can do."
Link looked up and smiled, "I'll keep that in mind." He looked passed Silvia and saw as Vincent began to stir. He noticed how Vincent was struggling to get to his feet and resume the fight for Hyrule. Link's eye twitched. He didn't need more of a hassle. Although the thought of sending in Silvia did ran through his mind, he quickly got rid of it. He didn't want anyone else to rub out Vincent. If it had to come to that, then he wanted to be the one that got that honor. His eyes turned back to Silvia, "If you don't mind me for a second, Silvia."
She raised an eyebrow at Link, watching him as he raised his hand to concentrate on Vincent's position. She turned back to watch as Vincent was on his feet, using his sword as a crutch so he can steady himself. He coughed, blood coming out of his mouth as he did. Vincent wiped away the red that escaped his lips. But that didn't help anything out when he coughed again, more blood splattering onto the marble floor. It was just his luck that he had been knocked to the floor and not the red carpet. Then again, what good would that have done with the punch Link gave him? It was certainly a step up from the slug that Link threw at him outside the tavern.
Link smiled as he conjured up another shadow that stood over Vincent. It didn't matter to it when Vincent looked up, one eye closed because of the pain. No one else knew or saw – except for Link – the attempt the shadow did at a wicked smile. It raised its sword, high and above Vincent's head.
But before it brought the blade down on him, someone dropped on it. While Vincent began to count himself very lucky that the Goddesses decided to cut him a break, Link was severely displeased. With fiery red hair flowing all over the place and her hands occupied with the curved blades known as scimitars - often used by the Gerudo – she quickly got rid of it. She stood straight, her mostly uncovered and sun kissed back to Vincent and her attention to Link. She stood, wearing the red version of the outfit that Gerudo loved to wear. Silky pants that ballooned out matched well with the similar top that she wore. But Gerudo didn't come to help random Hylians for no reason. And this one's hair wasn't the red that was a few shades lighter than Vincent's; it was the same head of hair, the same orange red hair that belonged to just one person that they could think of.
"Link, what do you think you're doing!" shouted Malon.
Vincent's ears perked up and he gave his full attention to the new Gerudo Malon that had just saved his head from being separated from his body. He couldn't get a good look at her. All he could do was just admire her backside. Or he would've if he had the strength and wasn't still nursing what could've been a couple of broken ribs. But he knew it was her. If her usually melodic voice wasn't enough, he knew that it just had to be Malon as the only Gerudo who would even bother to save him.
"I hope you weren't just thinking of killing my Vinnie! Because if you did, then you and I have to have a talk," she yelled out, adding more to before.
Link raised an eyebrow of confusion. He had never seen Malon like he was seeing her then. First off, the Malon he had known was a little self conscious and blushed whenever she missed a button on her blouse. The one that came from nowhere – that Gerudo trick always got to him, there was no one above him yet they dropped from the ceiling when they wanted to reveal themselves – she was fine showing off all that tanned skin. And she had swords in her hands… the gentle little ranch girl that didn't harm a fly had swords in her hands. It was just too out of place for Link. He rubbed his eyes, like anyone else would've. He looked back and she was still there, Malon as a Gerudo. That was just too much; Link could safely say that he had seen everything he could in his life. What else could there be? And Zelda as a Sheikah was hard to believe as is… Malon took the cake.
"Malon," Link started. He showed off that wonderful smile of his, "Let's not jump to any conclusion. Give me a minute to explain."
Malon put away her swords, letting them dangle from her waist and she crossed her arms, "I'm listening Link. What are you doing?"
"It's like this, Malon," he said. "Hyrule is a great country. And the only person that can take this fabled land and make it soar higher than it has ever done is me. And I can only do that if I'm the ruler around, and for that the first royal family had to go. And I wasn't about to kill Vincent. Not at all, I just had to show him whose boss around here. He wants nothing more than to just put a stop to all of it because he believes that what I'm doing is wrong."
"Because it is wrong, Link!" Malon shouted. "I can't believe you; this has got to be… I don't even know where to put it. And you so were going to try and kill Vincent. And if you weren't, then you beat him up pretty bad. I mean what else did you expect Link? You're not thinking straight."
"I'm sure I'm thinking straight," Link said as he sighed, shadows coming forth from beneath Malon and grabbing her so she wouldn't move. She tried to struggle free from them but they held her tight. "But apparently not everyone shares the same opinion I have. Guess it's too bad that I'm the one with the manpower to back it up and defend myself. Want to know a few things Malon before you jump to conclusions like you have been doing?" Link didn't bother for her to answer. "Zelda decided to break to everyone of us that she doesn't care much about anyone except herself. And because she was only thinking of herself, there were a few things she wanted out of life. You know what one of them was? I can tell you that she didn't want me, but she did want a very rare breed known as an Aegis man."
"What do you mean by that, Link?" Malon asked, trying to wretch her arms free from the shadow. She wanted to get to her swords. She didn't want to be helpless any longer.
"Our dear princess wanted Vincent all for herself. And she managed to scoop him in his painful distress that he went through when you left," Link cleared up. His smile turned more devilish. He was enjoying making Malon face the truth and he couldn't wait till he saw what else was going to happen with Vincent and Malon. It's not every day you hear that the person you love was off with someone else.
Malon's eyes widened as Link broke the news to her. She bit her bottom lip as she looked down to the floor. She didn't have the right to blame him. She walked out on him so she gave him all right to let him move on with his life. But she couldn't help but feel hurt, angry, and saddened. Vincent said he had loved her when she left. And then when she came back, she found out that he didn't bother to wait. He let himself be caught up with Zelda. But Malon fought back the tears, she didn't have time to cry or feel sorry for herself. She looked up to Link and then tried again to free herself.
And then she was freed. Her arms dropped and the feeling of being touched by cold hands was gone. Malon looked over as Vincent clenched his sides tighter with a free arm. The look of grimace on his face made it clear that it hurt bad right where he held. The arm with his sword fell, the tip of the sword scratching the marble floor. He breathed hard as he opened both eyes and letting a smirk crawl onto his face. He coughed again, dropping his sword again so he could cover his mouth. Malon looked at him in worry as more blood was coughed up, ruining his jacket even more.
Vincent looked at Malon, "It's true." Said with obvious remorse in his voice, that didn't automatically make things better.
"I suppose I might not have any other choice," Link mumbled softly as he watched Malon and Vincent. "Silvia," Link said with authority.
"What is it Link?" Silvia questioned. She was beginning to wonder who else might join in on the party. There were two redheads so far that jumped from nowhere. But each time she looked over to Vincent, she thought back to Link. She thought back to how Link used his powers over shadows to deliver such a blow. And she came to the point that it wasn't just a purely strong physical attack, there was much more to it than that. Link did something far worse to Vincent than just hitting him with such force and brutality and… cheapness. But pushing that aside, Silvia walked up to Link, "Is there something you want me to do?"
And the drumroll please.
"Silvia, I want you to see if you can knock them out for me. My shadows cannot do a thing if they are watching each other's back, no matter how hurt Vincent is. So can you use your own strengths so we can capture them and put them in the dungeons along with," Link looked over to the royal family. Without any regard or care, he snapped his fingers and the shadows that held them dragged them down into the ground. While all three of them tried to struggle and escape, it was for naught as they were swallowed up, the head of the king as the last thing anyone saw.
Silvia didn't catch it when he first said it and sighed but then it registered in her mind. She looked to Link who had his attention on Malon and Vincent. And then she did as well. Malon was helping Vincent keep steady. Silvia readied her favored dagger and slinked into the shadows.
"Are you okay, Vinnie?" Malon asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine, don't wor-," Vincent was caught off as he quickly wrapped his arm around Malon tightly and pulled her away. His other hand quickly grabbed his other sword and he quickly blocked a barrage of throwing needles that were aimed at both of them.
Vincent let Malon go so she could grab her swords. Vincent kept his only sword, his other arm holding his ribs. They stood, back to back in case there was another attack like that. But they didn't count for Silvia to have planned that out already in her mind. Silvia came from the ceiling, just like Malon had done, and locked blades with Malon. She had to admit, Malon had gotten stronger since she had left, and it was more than just her sword arm. Silvia smiled as her dagger managed to keep the giant blades at bay. The strain was there, no doubt. But her dagger was doing the trick. But before Vincent could act, Silvia quickly pushed Malon off and swept the feet from under her. And as she kept Malon down, she sensed Vincent coming from behind.
Silvia stepped out of the way and Vincent stumbled forward. Before he could regain his balance and turnaround, Silvia delivered a chop to his turned back, at the base of his neck and then dropped him with a leg sweep. She turned back to Malon who hopped back onto her feet. Silvia quickly kicked the dropped sword away from Malon's reach and watched as Malon didn't bother to retrieve them. Waiting for what Malon was going to do next, Silvia made sure to keep her eyes on her so she could read the next move. And it came quick as Malon executed a perfect roundhouse kick that Silvia easily blocked with her forearm. She grabbed Malon's ankle and threw it so that Malon would lose footing. And in that instant, Silvia managed to come from behind the redhead and placed her under a sleeping hold, blocking the flow of oxygen to her head.
It wasn't long until Malon too was knocked out. Silvia carefully laid Malon on the floor and stood up.
"That was great Silvia," Link said as he joined her. "A beautiful exhibition of your hand to hand."
"I get the job done," she said. "I had been place to guard the princess after all."
"Right," Link said. He took her hand in his and motioned for her to follow.
Silvia began to walk with Link, only turning back to see the shadows around Malon and Vincent form into a mock Link and took them down into the ground like what they had did with the royal family. Silvia sighed as she turned around. There was no turning back, no going back to yesterday. Her aunt would label her as a traitor if she did and she wouldn't be welcomed back anyways. But that wouldn't happen, Link was determined in taking over Hyrule so that wouldn't happen as long as he would succeed. And he managed to make his first move count. "What now Link?" she asked as they walked out of the throne room.
"Now," Link said as he stopped. He turned around to face her, cupping her face in his hand. He neared and put his forehead with hers, "We conquer the rest."
A/N: Exdaemon, congrats on finding a mistake. I had been dead certain xenophobia was a fear of change – or a general term like that. I should've doubled check on that, so now that's edited.
